|
The Three Secrets of the Saavedra
Back in the days when Queen Victoria was on the throne and the sun never set on the British Empire, two Englishmen sat down to play a game of chess.
Little did they know that years later their efforts would result in one of the most beautiful, and best loved, endgame compositions in the history of the game.
The two combatants -- a Mr. Fenton and a Mr. Potter -- reached a rook and pawn endgame. Fenton saw no way to continue and offered a draw, which Potter immediately accepted. His half-point secured, the crafty Mr. Potter then showed his opponent a way he could have won the game after all. History does not record Mr. Fenton's emotions at this turn of events, but one can always imagine.
Years later, Potter died. His game against Fenton was published as part of his obituary in the Glasgow Weekly Citizen. The author of that piece was G.E. Barbier, a former Sottish champion. Barbier was so enchanted with Potter's winning idea that he used it, in a slightly modified form, to compose an endgame problem, which he published a few days later.
It just so happened that a chess-loving Spanish monk by the name of Fernando Saavedra was visiting Scotland then. Brother Fernando picked up a copy of that day's Weekly Citizen and naturally enough his eye was caught by the chess column. As he read, he became more and more intrigued by the position he saw there:
Barbier claimed that with white to move black could draw this position. Saavedra looked a little deeper and found otherwise...
>>>The Saavedra Move-By-Move: The Three Secrets Revealed>>>
|
