chess-The Oxford Companion to Chess - First Edition by David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld

a1 15 he won (+3=3) the 6nal (or play_olo oI a
&nal toumament at Bue.os Aires and cooPeled
in tbe Sousse interzonal. 1967. sha.ing eleventh
place. He wa( no mure succestul in his ne\r
,nreuonal Palndde Ma or.a l970.bur thrcc leaE
latcr he took lisl place (+?=10) in thcretropolis
inre,on,l ln l9?4 he losl his 6rst Candidates
match to (oRcHNor. In this match Mecking
obtained cxcelleni MIDDLE-GME positions but
lcckcd rhe e\penenlc to male the most of the
ad!antapes he Aa'ned AEdn he son (+8-r0 i)
an rnle;oncl. Manrla lq7o, and aeain nr loqr rhe
.nfter final march- fhis time to TLUGAYFVS(r
An inknrb 0edou\ player, Mecking 6nds (
diraolt to hold up unJer {rc\s. He nudic\
intensively, and claimed 10 have Played through
1.200 of Korchnoi s ganes belore ftcn match.
Aoart from wurld champiunrhip evenrs he hds
ol;ved m rE$ t.umamenB. He won (+8=7) aL
Vriac 19?1-scored +7=6 l loshare second place
with ANDERssor and rAI- after uuBorEvla at Las
Palmas 1975. and scorcd +3:6 l10shaleseond
Dnze wirh Po ugayeEkr, LARTEN, aod PFLEGEB
irrr Ltuho evic ar Mnnrla lo75.In iqTq Mccking
dev.loDed a bone disse that seriously impaired
his b;lrh, and when he conpetcd in the tuo dc
Janeiro interzonal later in thc year a special couch
was provided so that he might resi during play: bul
ne withdrew afre, two rounds on thc advice oi his
Tseshkorky-Mc.ting Manila intcrzonal 1976 Sicilian
Defe.cc, Najdorr variation
re4.5 2Nf3d6 3d.1cxd4 4Nxd4Nf6 iNc3a6 6Be3
.5 7NEOt7 3Bg5Nbd7 944h6 l0Bh4Be7 llNd2
g5 12 BeJ Nf3 l3Bc4Bc6 14BbrNs6 15Qc2h5 16
h]0.0.0 17 Go{l h4 13 Bh2
13 d5 (FoEseeing thai h. will obkin a ravourable
endsme Black bnns! rbou. cx.hmees 1o that e.d.) 19
cxd5 Nxd5 20 Nxd5 Bi5 2r K61 16 22 Brd5 Rrd5
25 Rdr Rids 26 *d]
0{6 27Oeaoxe4 23 drc4 NI3 29 K.2Nc6 30l3Kc?
31Kdh6 32NclBc5 33 Ne2 K.6 3433Bd6:l5exh4
gxh4 :16 Bg1 Ng5 37 B12 NxI3 :13 b.l NE5 r9 Kd3
Whnc bn on nme, bnr his gme .ou1d not havc bccn
MEDIAN SYS1EM, a tie-breaking nethod for urc
in swss slsrEM toumimenk. Each Ila],els soL'
MEDIEVAL CHESS 209
koFF scoE (he sum oropponentJ $ores) has thc
top a.d bottom conponenls removcd. Some
organiz€B renove tbe highest and lowesl paiB oI
opponents' sores in cvenrs ol nine to Nelvc
roundsandlhcthrce ateachendforeventsolmore
MEDIEVAL CIIESS. Tle game spread afoss
Europe lron the srh ro the loth centuries lnd was
played accordi.g to the laws of slATeNr. as
codfimed hy lhe Einsiedeln MS, ..1100. Several
changcs took place subsequcndyr the leaP ot lhe
rEns desnbed in EZRA s l2lh-cenlury poemi the
kins's leap dcs.ribed by cEssoLE and the Pawn s
double move given in the ALrcNso Ms, both in thc
131h .enturyi tbe laN ihat stalenale *as a drawn
gamej.ored in the cracow Ms,1422; and lhe EN
s^ssNr law fisl nored in the 15tn.cntu.y. Tlese
innovarions. however. werc .ot universal and
there se.e nan, local laria.ts. In Germanyonly
the a-, d-. e , and h-pawns could make a doubie
nove. In several cou nrries before rh is doub le nove
was inboduced lhe tediln of ihc opening phase
@uld be relieved by the short ^sslzE
Tbe
Lombard assize alloBed no win by BAi. krNo. In
sone reaioos a playe. could not promor€ a pawn ii
he already had a Ie6 on rhe board. (Nowhere could
a playe. pronote to any piec€ olher tha! a les.)
The playersol Lomba.dy Nere rePutedly tne besti
tbey f ayhavc beenlessklentedlhan thenlslamic
predc.esso8 but lhey were piofleeB in the de
velopnent of rhe problem ari. (See MED'rxaL
Betore 1100 ihe chequered board was inrro
duced.Itsas adaptedin thcform oIa 10 x 5 board
for aftounting pu.poscs, and the revenue department
of Nomaody and England {as callcd lhe
Eschecker (Exchcque4. At one tine the Church
*as opposcd to chess playing, probably becauseoi
the frcquent use ot srakes. Some edicts Nere
issued. notablr one by Cardinal Danianiin 1061,
fo.bidding the clergyto play. By the 13ih ccnlury
this prohibition had bee! eased or forgotten.
Played by lhe nobiliry and ki.gs. regarded as a
knightly aconplishmcnl, Ned synbolically in
MouLmEs- chcss is lrequently mcntioned in
lilerary sources, notably in romanccs. A knighl
Gavin pla,5 Charlenagnc for stakes, lhe knighl
offenng his life, the king hn MIe and the realm oi
France. Charlcmagne loses snhbadgracc. Cain
disdeetly rctuses lhe queen\ ha.d hut acceph the
losn oI Lyons Rhich as it happens is in the hands ol
the Saracens. A mcrchant Beryn wages thatifhe
loses he will d.ink all the sallwatcr in lhe seabut
cscapes thh task by means of a technic.hy: the
winnernuslliist stop all fresh waiei irom fiovifle
to the sea. Somc accounts oI kings playing chess
when thcyshould be ariendjng to matte.s olslate
and oI hostages playingwhile they awan execulion
nay halea basis in fact. There rere 6agicboards
nade by Mcrlin and nany accounts ol violence
when boards or nen were used as wcaponsr