| Fred Yates | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Full name | Fred Dewhirst Yates |
| Country | England |
| Born | 16 January 1884 Birstall, England |
| Died | 11 November 1932 (aged 48) London, England |
Fred Dewhirst Yates (16 January 1884, Birstall – 11 November 1932, London) [1] [2] was an English chess master who won the British Chess Championship on six occasions. He started a career in accountancy, but in 1909, abandoned it in favour of becoming a professional chess player and journalist.
Yates almost won the British Championship in 1911, when he tied for first place with Henry Atkins, but lost the play-off. He went on to secure the title in 1913, 1914, 1921, 1926, 1928 and 1931. [3]
Despite considerable domestic success, his record in international tournaments did not do him justice. Often the winner against his strongest opponents, he would then lose to those at the bottom of the table. This was particularly apparent at the Budapest tournament of 1926.
His lack of consistency was attributed to poor health and loss of stamina. A constant hacking cough went unchecked, as his funds did not stretch to a holiday in warmer climes; the advice given by his doctor. He was also subjected to journalistic pressures, frequently reporting on the tournaments in which he was playing. Yet, dedicating himself to the playing side of chess would have earned him insufficient sums to make a living. A number of his contemporaries believed that his talent could have placed him among the world championship contenders, had his circumstances been different. Nevertheless, in his time, he defeated most of his illustrious adversaries, the most notable exceptions being Emanuel Lasker and José Raúl Capablanca. His victory against Alexander Alekhine at Karlsbad in 1923 won the brilliancy prize, while his win against Milan Vidmar at San Remo in 1930 was described by Alekhine as the finest game played since the war. [4]
As a journalist he was the chess columnist of the Manchester Guardian and with William Winter, the co-author of Modern Master Play (1929). He wrote accounts of two world championship encounters; those between Alekhine and Capablanca, and Alekhine and Bogoljubow. [5]
In team competition, he played at the first, third and fourth Olympiads, representing the 'British Empire' team. On each occasion, he made a plus score and at London 1927, earned a team bronze medal. [6]
His life ended prematurely, when a leaking gas pipe caused him to asphyxiate during his sleep. [7]
According to the inscription on Yates' gravestone, [8] his birth name was actually Fred Dewhirst Yates. However, throughout his chess career he was known as Frederick Dewhurst Yates, or simply as F.D. Yates, both of which featured in his posthumously published, part-biographical, 'My Best Games' Collection. [9] 'Frederick Dewhurst Yates' was also used by the editor of British Chess Magazine in the title of Yates' obituary.
Competing within the British Isles, he was first at Glasgow 1911, Cheltenham 1913, Chester 1914, Malvern 1921, Edinburgh 1926 and Tunbridge Wells 1927. There were second-place finishes at Oxford 1910, Richmond 1912, Southport 1924, Hastings 1924/25 and Stratford-upon-Avon 1925.
Abroad, his best results included first equal with Savielly Tartakower at Kecskemét (B Final, 1927) and fifth at San Remo (the strongest tournament of 1930), when he finished ahead of Spielmann, Vidmar and Tartakower. He was second at Ghent in 1926, after Tartakower, but ahead of Colle and Janowski. [10]
Aron Nimzowitsch was a Latvian born-Danish chess player and writer. In the late 1920s, Nimzowitsch was one of the best chess players in the world. He was the foremost figure amongst the hypermoderns and wrote a very influential book on chess theory: My System (1925–1927). Nimzowitsch's seminal work Chess Praxis, originally published in German in 1929, was purchased by a pre-teen and future World Champion Tigran Petrosian and was to have a great influence on his development as a chess player.
Siegbert Tarrasch was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century.
The zwischenzug is a chess tactic in which a player, instead of playing the expected move, first interposes another move posing an immediate threat that the opponent must answer, and only then plays the expected move. It is a move that has a high degree of "initiative". Ideally, the zwischenzug changes the situation to the player's advantage, such as by gaining material or avoiding what would otherwise be a strong continuation for the opponent.
The Catalan Opening is a chess opening where White plays d4 and c4 and fianchettoes the white bishop on g2. A common opening sequence is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3, although various other openings can transpose into the Catalan. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) lists codes E01–E09 for lines with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2; other lines are part of E00.
Rudolf Spielmann was a Jewish-Austrian chess player of the romantic school, and chess writer.
The Budapest Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
Richard Teichmann was a German chess master and a chess composer. He was known as "Richard the Fifth" because he often finished in fifth place in tournaments. But in 1911 he scored a convincing win in Karlsbad, crushing Akiba Rubinstein and Carl Schlechter with the same line of the Ruy Lopez. José Raúl Capablanca called him "one of the finest players in the world". Edward Lasker recounted the witty way in which Teichmann demonstrated the Schlechter win in his book Chess Secrets I learned from the Masters, and generally admired Teichmann's mastery.
Andor Arnoldovich Lilienthal was a Hungarian and Soviet chess player. In his long career, he played against ten male and female world champions, beating Emanuel Lasker, José Raúl Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, and Vera Menchik.
Erich Gottlieb Eliskases was a chess player who represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition. In the late 1930s he was considered a potential contender for the World Championship. Eliskases was granted the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1952.
In chess, a desperado is a piece that is either en prise or trapped, but captures an enemy piece before it is itself captured in order to compensate the loss a little, or is used as a sacrifice that will result in stalemate if it is captured. The former case can arise in a situation where both sides have hanging pieces, in which case these pieces are used to win material prior to being captured. A desperado in the latter case is usually a rook or a queen; such a piece is sometimes also called crazy or mad.
In chess, the Cambridge Springs Defense is a variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined that begins with the moves:
The World Chess Championship 2010 match pitted the defending world champion, Viswanathan Anand, against challenger Veselin Topalov, for the title of World Chess Champion. The match took place in Sofia, Bulgaria from 24 April to 13 May 2010, with a prize fund of 2 million euros. Anand won the final game to win the match 6½–5½ and retain the title.
The World Chess Championship 1886 was the first official World Chess Championship match contested by Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort. The match took place in the United States from 11 January to 29 March, the first five games being played in New York City, the next four being played in St. Louis and the final eleven in New Orleans. The winner was the first player to achieve ten wins. Wilhelm Steinitz won the match 10–5, winning his tenth game in the twentieth game of the match. There were five draws.
The third World Chess Championship was held in New York City from 9 December 1890 to 22 January 1891. Holder Wilhelm Steinitz narrowly defeated his Hungarian challenger, Isidor Gunsberg.
Victor Leonard Wahltuch was an English chess master.
The 1935 World Chess Championship was played between challenger Max Euwe and title-holder Alexander Alekhine. It was played in various cities and towns in the Netherlands from October 3 to December 16. Euwe was the winner by overcoming a three-point deficit as late as the ninth game.
The St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament was one of the most famous chess tournaments of the early twentieth century. It included almost all the leading players of the time, and was won by World Champion Emanuel Lasker, who came from behind to narrowly defeat future World Champion José Raúl Capablanca. Another future World Champion, Alexander Alekhine, finished third, ahead of the former World Championship contenders Siegbert Tarrasch and Frank Marshall.
Vasily Osipovich Smyslov (1881–1943) was a chess master, and the father of Vasily Vasilievich Smyslov, World Chess Champion from 1957–58.
The 1992 Fischer–Spassky match between former world chess champions Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky was billed as a World Chess Championship, though it was an unofficial rematch of their 1972 World Championship match. Fischer won 10–5, with 15 draws.
Alberto López Arce was a Cuban chess player. He is noted for his involvement in an incident at the 8th Chess Olympiad, a team tournament where then-current champion Alexander Alekhine had expected to play the previous champion José Raúl Capablanca, also of Cuba. The Cuban team instead assigned López Arce to play Alekhine in a game which Alekhine quickly won.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
