Gligoric Trophy winners display the sporting side of chess

He was a grandmaster and a gentleman, which is not as rare a combination as some would have you believe.

The late, great Yugoslavian star Svetozar Gligoric was not just one of the best player his chess-mad nation ever produced, a first-class analyst and a worthy opponent for Bobby Fischer in a string of memorable games in the 1960s. Gligoric was also, by all accounts, the image of fair play at the board, generous in praise of his opponents and gracious in both victory and defeat.

FIDE, the international chess federation, has created the Svetozar Gligoric Prize in his honor, awarded annually to the player who “who displays exemplary behavior promoting the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship in chess.” It’s a useful corrective to the stereotype that chess is a game played by unhinged personalities who would sell their mother for a promising kingside attack.

FIDE officials are soliciting nominations for this year’s prize, but today’s diagram captures the moment just before young Slovak GM Jergus Pechac clinched the 2022 Gligoric Prize. It’s taken from an online 2021 game in the European Qualification Tournament against veteran Israeli GM Boris Gelfand, with a coveted slot in the FIDE World Cup tournament on the line.

It’s early in a tricky QGD Slav line. Pechac as Black has just played 15…bxc4, and White clearly intended to keep the fight going with 16. Qb7 (Qa4+?? Nfd7 17. Qxc4 Qxg5 wins for Black), as there’s play for both sides after lines like 16…Nbd7 17. gxf6 gxf6 18. Rc1 Qc8 19. Qg2.

But due to a “mouse slip,” Gelfand transmitted the move 16. Qb4??, hanging his queen and virtually guaranteeing a loss. Instead of taking the queen, however, Black instantly offered a draw, not wanting to benefit from the keying error.

Virtue was rewarded: Pechac went on to win the mini-match — without the free point — in a blitz playoff.

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Speaking of good sports, Bobby Fischer might never have become world champion had it not been for one of the most generous and selfless acts in the history of American chess.

On the odd grounds that he felt the 11-round tournament was too short, Fischer had refused to play in the 1969 U.S. Championship, which also happened to be the qualifying tournament for the 1970 Interzonal Tournament to start selecting the next challenger for Russia’s Boris Spassky.

Hungarian-American GM Pal Benko, who had qualified twice before for the candidates cycle, grabbed one of the three qualifying spots but, incredibly, volunteered to step aside and let Fischer go in his place.

“The idea … was my own,” Benko recalled later. “I felt that as one of the world’s strongest players, [Fischer] should have the right to participate in that critical Interzonal. The U.S. Chess Federation had always treated me well; by my action I hoped to show my gratitude.”

That Benko was far from washed-up himself at the time can be seen from his nice win over strong IM Karl Burger from the 1969 title  tournament, where Benko finished 7-4 with only one loss.

White’s 3. e3 steers away from Benko’s beloved gambit line (3. d5 b5!?), and a classic positional battle over White’s isolated d-pawn develops after 9. h3 dxc4 10. Bxc4. As Black rushes to blockade the pawn and nail down control of the d5-square, Burger seems to dawdle with moves like 11. a3?! (Ne5 is more energetic) and 16. Nh2?!, allowing Black to seize a clear initiative.

Black’s subsequent play is a clinic in how to remove your opponent’s most effective pieces, leading to an attack that White’s remaining forces are unable to stop: 19. Rfd1 Nh5! (eliminating the bishop that holds White’s center together) 20. Qe2 Bxe5 21. dxe5? (Qxe5 Nxd4 22. Ng4! was perhaps the last chance to hold things together; e.g. 22…Rc5 23. Nxh6+ Kh7 24. Qe3 Qc6 25. f3, and it’s still a fight) Qc6 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8.

More defenders leave the board to set up a cute finish: 23. Qf1 (losing, but little better were 23. Qf3 Qc7 24. Qe2 Bxg2! 25. Kxg2 Nf4+; 23. f3 Nf4 24. Qc4 Qxc4 25. Bxc4 Rd2 26. Bf1 Ng3; or 23. Qg4 Rd4) Nf4 24. Nf3 Nd4! 25. Nxd4 Rxd4 26. Rd1 (f3 Rd2; 26. Kh2 Ba6! 27. Qg1 Rd2 28. Nd5 Qa4 29. Ne3 Qe4 30 Bc4 Bb7 31. Bf1 Rxb2 32. Rc4 Qxe5, with a winning endgame) Rxd1 27. Nxd1 Ba6! — Nxg2 was also good enough, but Benko’s move forces instant resignation as 28. Qxa6 Qxg2 is mate.

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It must also be acknowledged that the less flattering stereotypes are not completely fanciful.

The long run-up to the 1886 world title match between Austria’s Wilhelm Steinitz and Polish-born challenge Johannes Zukertort was a dreary spectacle of veiled insults, hostile newspaper columns and mutual suspicion, chronicled in sometimes numbing detail in Dutch IM Willy Hendriks’ recent book, “The Ink Wars.”

Though Zukertort ran out to a 4-1 lead to start the match, Steinitz’s keener positional understanding and the strain of a match that shifted from New York to St. Louis to New Orleans proved too much for the fragile challenger. Steinitz delivered the coup de grace with a Game 20 miniature that clinched a 12½-7½ victory, catching Black unawares in a pet gambit line the champ had been saving for just the right occasion.

Steinitz was famous for his devotion to ugly moves if he felt them positionally justified and for being one of the first to appreciate the usefulness of the king, even in the game’s earliest stages. To this day, the soundness of White’s 3. f4 exf4 4. d4 d5 exd5 Qh4+ 6. Ke2 is a matter of theoretical debate.

Unfamiliar with the entire line and with the clock ticking, Black fails to find the stronger 9…Bd6!, which keeps the material balance since 10. dxc6 gxh2 11. Nf3?? Qg3 mate is clearly out for White. Three moves later, Black had to find 12…Kf8!, preventing White’s threatened 13. Rh4 by unpinning the bishop on e7.

Instead, the game and match are over after 12…Nf5? 13. Nf3 Bd7 14. Bf4 f6 (to stop the threat of 15. Ne5, trapping the queen) 15. Ne4! Ngh6 16. Bxh6 Nxh6, and now the pin proves fatal after 17. Rxh6! gxh6 18. Nxf6+ Kf8 19. Nxg4, and Black resigned a hopeless game.

(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)

Burger-Benko, U.S. Championship, New York, December 1969

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. e3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 cxd4 6. exd4 d5 7. Nc3 O-O 8. O-O Nc6 9. h3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 b6 11. a3 e6 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bf4 Bb7 14. Ba2 Ne7 15. Be5 Nf5 16. Nh2 Rc8 17. Rc1 Qd7 18. Qd3 Rfd8 19. Rfd1 Nh5 20. Qe2 Bxe5 21. dxe5 Qc6 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. Qf1 Nf4 24. Nf3 Nd4 25. Nxd4 Rxd4 26. Rd1 Rxd1 27. Nxd1 Ba6 White resigns.

Steinitz-Zukertort, Game 20, World Championship Match, New Orleans, March 1886

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 exf4 4. d4 d5 5. exd5 Qh4+ 6. Ke2 Qe7+ 7. Kf2 Qh4+ 8. g3 fxg3+ 9. Kg2 Nxd4 10. hxg3 Qg4 11. Qe1+ Be7 12. Bd3 Nf5 13. Nf3 Bd7 14. Bf4 f6 15. Ne4 Ngh6 16. Bxh6 Nxh6 17. Rxh6 gxh6 18. Nxf6+ Kf8 19. Nxg4 Black resigns.

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