DAVID R. SANDS: Walter Browne’s genius lives on in great chess games

Suddenly and far too soon, America lost one of its colorful and most combative champions with the passing of six-time national champion GM Walter Browne last week at the age of 66.

The Australian-born, Brooklyn-reared star — Browne attended Bobby Fischer’s Erasmus High and, like Fischer, didn’t bother to graduate as he pursued a career in chess — died doing what he loved where he loved to do it, having just competed in the annual National Open in Las Vegas and getting in a little action at the poker tables as well. (Browne was a professional poker player and probably made far more money from cards than he ever did from chess.) He was an active participant in the Las Vegas Chess Festival last week, playing a 25-board simultaneous exhibition, giving lectures, and teaching at the chess camp.

Fortunately for his many fans, Browne in 2012 published a comprehensive and densely annotated anthology of his greatest games. We reviewed “The Stress of Chess and Its Infinite Finesse” (New in Chess, 464 pp., $34.95) in this space back then, including his acknowledged masterpiece, the win over GM Arthur Bisguier from the 1974 U.S. championship in Chicago, but the generous selection of 101 games is studded with lesser-known brilliancies.

Take, for example, Browne’s short, sharp refutation of British GM Tony Miles and his then-trendy opening system from the 1978 Tilburg Tournament in the Netherlands. Black’s 4. Bd3 f5!? had been scoring well for Miles at the time, but soon fell out of favor given Browne’s uncompromising reply: 5. exf5!? (“I wanted to refute his set-up, but I had not planned to sacrifice a rook before the game!” Browne wrote; 5. Qe2?! Nf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 gives Black just the pressure he wants) Bxg2 6. Qh5+ g6 6. fxg6 Bg7 (Nf6? 8. g7+ Nxh5 9. gxh8=Q Bxh1 10. Qxh7 Qh4 [Nf6 11. Bg6 mate] 11. Qg6+ Kd8 12. Bg5+ and wins) 8. gxh7+ Kf8, and after rejecting 9. hxg8=Q+ Kxg8 10. Qg6 Bxh1 11. Bg5 Qf8 12. Ne2 Nc6, and Black is fine, White took an hour before uncorking 9. Ne2!! Bxh1 10. Bg5 Nf6 11. Qh4 Nc6 12. Nf4 — White has just two pawns for the rook, but Black’s pieces are badly tied down and the cheeky pawn on h7 remains on the board.

We can’t do justice in the space here to all the ins and outs of the struggle, but Browne’s analysis, backed by later computer scrutiny, suggests Black’s best chance to defend was the wickedly complex 12…Nxd4! 13. Ng6+ Ke8 14. Qxd4 [Nxh8 Nf3+] Rxh7 15. Ne5! Rh3! 16. Bg6+ Kf8 17. Nc3 d6 18. 0-0-0 (the point where Browne’s over-the-board analysis end) Bb7 (dxe5 19. Qxd8+ Rxd8 20. Rxd8+ Ke7 21. Rg8 Bh6 22. f4 Bc6 is equal as well) 19. Kb1 Qe7 20. f4, with a long struggle still ahead.

After the game’s 12…Kf7? 13. Bg6+ Ke7 14. Nh5 Qf8 15. Nd2, White can finish his development while Miles remains tied up in knots. As in so many great Browne games, the attack comes in waves, with multiple tactical points: 15…e5 (d5 16. 0-0-0 Be4 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. d5! blows up Black’s defenses) 16. 0-0-0 Nxd4 (no better is 16…Bg2 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Re1 Kd6 [d6 19. f4] 19. Nxf6 Nxg6 20. Qg3+ and wins) 17. Rxh1 Ne6 18. f4 d6 (Nxg5 19. Qxg5 Bh6 20. Qxe5+) 18. Ne4 Nxg5 19. Qxg5, when 20…exf4 21. Nexf6 Bxf6 22. Re1+ wins easily.

By 22. fxe5 dxe5 23. Rf1, nearly every White piece is targeted on the pinned knight on f6 and Black’s defensive line can’t hold. White puts an exclamation point on things in the finale after 23…Kd7 24. Nexf6+ Bxf6 25. Nxf6+ Kc8 26. Be4 c6 27. Qh3+ Kb7 28. Bxc6+!, and Black resigns as all roads lead to mate if he takes the bishop; e.g. 28…Kxc6 (Ka6 29. Rf3! b5 30. cxb5+ Kb6 31. Nd5+ Kc5 32. Rc3+ Kd4 [Kd6 33. Qd7 mate] 33. Qe3 mate) 29, Qd7+ Kc5 30. Qd5+ Kb4 31. Qb5 mate.

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Once again, you’ll have to buy the book to take a deep dive into today’s second game, Browne’s brilliant win over Dutch GM John van der Wiel two years later at Wijk aan Zee, but we can cut to the brilliant chase. On the Black side of a Najdorf Sicilian, Browne presses hard for a win with a pair of pawn sacrifices. When van der Wiel misses a chance to shut down Black’s initiative (27. Qb3! Qxb3 28. cxb3 h5 29. h3 Ne5 30. Rc1 kills Black’s attack and leaves him struggling to hold a draw), Browne — fighting once again his chronic time pressure — uncorks the amazing 30. Ne2 Qb3 31. Ng3 (see diagram) Qxd1!!? (the last question mark is for the computer-aided line found much later that defends; over the board, Black’s idea is fully justified) 32. Rxd1 Re1 (with the hard-to-meet threat of 32…Nf2 mate), when Browne later found that White can hold with 33. Rd2!, as seen in landmine-filled lines such as 33…Rb1 34. Qh4 Ree1 35. Ne2 Ne4 36. Rd8+ Kh7 37. Qxh5+ Nh6 38. g4 Nf6 39. Qh3 Rxe2 40. g5 Ne4 [Nfg4 41. g6+ fxg6 Kxg6 43. Qd3+ and wins] 41. Qh4 Nf2+ 42. Kg2 Nd3+ 43. Kf3 Nf4 44. Kxf4 Rf1+ 45. Kg3 Rxg1+ 46. Kf3 Rgg2 47. g6+ and wins.

After the game’s 33. Rxe1? Rxe1 34. Nf1 Rxf1 35. Qh4 Ne4 36. g3 Nef2+ 37. Kg2 Ne3+ 38. Kf3 Nfd1+ 39. Ke4 Rxg1, White (with the computer’s aid) had one last off-ramp to equality: 40. Qd8+ Kh7 41. f6!! (the idea is to expose the Black king just enough for a perpetual check, as the White queen otherwise has no chance against Black’s rook and knights) Ng4 42. fxg7 Re1+ 43. Kf3 Ne5+ 44. Kg2 Kxg7 45. Qg5+ Kf8 (Ng6?? 46. Qd2 Ne3+ 47. Kh3 and White wins a piece) 46. Qd8+ Kg7 47. Qg5+, and Black’s king can’t escape the checks.

Instead, after 40. Qxh5? Rf1 41. Qg5 f6 42. Qh5 Rxf5, the perpetual check threat disappears and the Black pieces overwhelm White’s queen like, in Browne’s words, “three hungry hyenas vs. one old lion.” The finale: 48. Qc8 (axb5 Nd2+ 49. Kg2 Re2+ 40. Kh3 Nf2+ 51. Kh4 Re4+) Nd2+ 49. Kg2 (or 49. Kg4 Nf2+ 50. Kf4 g5 mate) Ne3+ 50. Kf2 bxa4 51. Qa6 Nd1+ 52. Kg2 Nxc3 53. Qd3+ Nde4, and the knights retain their unbreakable link while White faces a hopeless endgame; van der Wiel resigned.

Browne-Miles, Tilburg 1978

1. c4 b6 2. d4 e6 3. e4 Bb7 4. Bd3 f5 5. exf5 Bxg2 6. Qh5+ g6 7. fxg6 Bg7 8. gxh7 Kf8 9. Ne2 Bxh1 10. Bg5 Nf6 11. Qh4 Nc6 12. Nf4 Kf7 13. Bg6+ Ke7 14. Nh5 Qf8 15. Nd2 e5 16. O-O-O Nxd4 17. Rxh1 Ne6 18. f4 d6 19. Ne4 Nxg5 20. Qxg5 Bh6 21. Qh4 Bg7 22. fxe5 dxe5 23. Rf1 Kd7 24. Nexf6+ Bxf6 25. Nxf6+ Kc8 26. Be4 c6 27. Qh3+ Kb7 28. Bxc6+ Black resigns.

Van der Wiel-Browne, Wijk aan Zee 1980

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f4 Nbd7 7. Be2 e5 8. Nb3 b5 9. Bf3 Bb7 10. Qe2 Be7 11. a3 O-O 12. O-O Re8 13. Kh1 Rc8 14. f5 d5 15. exd5 e4 16. Nxe4 Bxd5 17. Ned2 Qc7 18. Bxd5 Nxd5 19. Qd3 N5f6 20. Nd4 Ne5 21. Qh3 Bc5 22. N2b3 Bxd4 23. Nxd4 Qc4 24. Be3 Neg4 25. Bg1 Re4 26. Rad1 Qa2 27. Rb1 Qd5 28. c3 Rce8 29. Rbd1 h5 30. Ne2 Qb3 31. Ng3 Qxd1 32. Rxd1 Re1 33. Rxe1 Rxe1 34. Nf1 Rxf1 35. Qh4 Ne4 36. g3 Nef2+ 37. Kg2 Ne3+ 38. Kf3 Nfd1+ 39. Ke4 Rxg1 40. Qxh5 Rf1 41. Qg5 f6 42. Qh5 Rxf5 43. Qe8+ Kh7 44. Qc8 Re5+ 45. Kf3 Nxb2 46. Qxa6 Nbc4 47. a4 Nd1 48. Qc8 Nd2+ 49. Kg2 Ne3+ 50. Kf2 bxa4 51. Qa6 Nd1+ 52. Kg2 Nxc3 53. Qd3+ Nde4 White resigns. 

• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email at dsands@washingtontimes.com.