Walter Shipman, one of the last great amateurs from the great postwar generation of American chess, died last month at the age of 87 following a long illness.
His day job as a lawyer may have kept Shipman from reaching the very top, and certainly prevented him from competing in big-money international events over the course of his long career. But he was an always-dangerous opponent, with wins to his credit over such stars as Samuel Reshevsky and Larry Evans, while drawing his only tournament game with a young Bobby Fischer in the 1957 U.S. Open.
Shipman, who was awarded the international master title in 1982, had some fine U.S. Open finishes and was the 1960 New Jersey state champion. But his longtime base was the Manhattan Chess Club, where the New Yorker was club champion or co-champion an impressive six times.
One gets a good sense of the quality of Shipman’s play from today’s game, taken from the Manhattan’s club’s 1989 championship. His opponent here is GM Alex Yermolinsky, at the time among the strongest players on the American scene.
A classic battle develops out of this Queen’s Gambit Declined Exchange Variation: White initiates a minority attack on Black’s queenside pawns while Shipman as Black seeks counterplay in the center and on the kingside. White’s plans are trucking along nicely until 16. Nxg5 Qxg5 17. Kh2 f5 18. bxc6 bxc6 19. Na4?!, when it might have been more prudent to shore up the other wins with 19. Rae1, as now 19…f4 20. exf4 Qxf4+ 21. g3 Qf7 22. Na4 gives White a slight edge with far less risk.
After 19…Re6 20. Nc5 Rf6, Black’s kingside array is starting to look menacing, but Yermolinsky still could have kept White’s initiative with 21. Qb3! Kg7 (f4? 22. Ne4 wins the exchange) 22. Be2 f4 23. e4 Rf7 24. exd5 cxd5 25. Bf3. Play heats up with 21…f4 22. Bxh5 Qxh5 23. f3 fxe3 24. Qd3 (see diagram), when Shipman firmly grabs the initiative with the speculative piece sacrifice 24…Bxh3!?.
There’s no forced win, but White suddenly is forced to play defense, with his queenside strategy now a distant memory. In the game’s crunch time, it is Shipman who outplays the grandmaster.
The struggle for superiority is complex and fierce: 25. gxh3 (declining with 25. Qxe3 Bf5+ 26. Kg1 just gives Black the edge after 26…g5 27. Qe5 Raf8) Re8 26. Nd7 Rf4! (not falling for 26…Rxf3?? 27. Rxf3 Qxf3 28. Rf1 Qh5 29. Nf6+, forking the house; if Black can get a rook to the h-file, White’s king is toast) 27. Rae1 (the h-file perils are seen in lines such as 27. Kg2 Qg5+ 28. Kh2 Rf5, with the threat of 29…Qf4+ 30. Kh1 Rh5 31. Kg2 Rg5+ 32. Kh1 Rg3 33. Kh2 Qh4) Re7 28. Qa6, forcing Black to find the best road to victory.
After 28…Qf5! (and not the hasty 28…Rh4? 29. Qc8+ Kf7 30. Qf8+ Ke6 31. Nc5+ Kd6 32. Qd8+ Rd7 33. Qxd7 mate), things get murky after 29. Qxc6 Rxd4 30. Nf6+ Kg7 31. Ng4, though Black may opt for a pawn-up ending with 31…Qf4+ 32. Kg2 Rd2+ 33. Rf2 Rc7 34. Qe8 Rxf2+ 35. Nxf2 exf2 36. Qe5+ Qxe5 37. Rxe5 Rd7, with good chances to win.
Instead, Yermolinsky falters with 29. Ne5?? Rxe5! 30. dxe5 Rh4, and despite being a rook up, White can only postpone checkmate with 31. Kg1 Qxh3 32. Qc8+, giving up the queen and leaving Black with an easy win. White resigned.
Yermolinsky-Shipman, Manhattan Chess Club Championship, New York, 1989
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 Be7 8. Qc2 O-O 9. Bd3 Re8 10. O-O Nf8 11. h3 Nh5 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. a3 g6 14. b4 Ne6 15. b5 Ng5 16. Nxg5 Qxg5 17. Kh2 f5 18. bxc6 bxc6 19. Na4 Re6 20. Nc5 Rf6 21. Be2 f4 22. Bxh5 Qxh5 23. f3 fxe3 24. Qd3 Bxh3 25. gxh3 Re8 26. Nd7 Rf4 27. Rae1 Re7 28. Qa6 Qf5 29. Ne5 Rxe5 30. dxe5 Rh4 White resigns.
• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email dsands@washingtontimes.com.
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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