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

336 SULTAN KTIAN
would be drawn according to lhe usual laws of
(see DriRA s MArEi sEArfuNi.)
SULIAN KEAN, MIR (190tu6), perhaps lhe
greates! nalural player ol nodern lines. Bom in
the Punjab. he learned Indian che$ when he was
dne- was taken into lhe hoBehold of Sir umar
Hayat Khan, and leamed theinternationalgame i.
1926. Two years laler he won tbe AI India
Championship and in the spring of 1929 hisparon
and master took him to L,ndon. Within a lew
monihs he won lhe British Championship. returning
ro India shortly afleNards. In Euiope in May
1930 he hegan abriefcarcertnat includcd defcats
of na.y leading playeB.
A stiking figure, of dark compbnon, wilh a
leanfaceandbroadforehead, hisblackbairusual,
turbanned, he sa1 at the hoard impassively.
showi.g.o €molio. i. posiiions good orbad. He
did nol believe he possessed any special skill.
ratherlhat the playerapplying rhe grealer conen
tration should Nin. Ir events of ahout category 10
Sullan KIatr cane second to r
^RrA(owER
at Lifge
1930,1hird(+5=2 2) a[ter EwE and cfaBGNcA
ar Hastings lg3r}-l, and thnd (+6:3,2) equal
with kse^N afier ^LEMNE
a.d tsLoHRat London
1932. ln evenls olabour caregory t he came fourth
or cqnal founh ar Scarborolgh i930, Hastings
1931 2, and Berne 1932 (+10:2-3). SDltan Khan
eon the British Chanpionship aSain in 1932 and
1933 a.d played n$t board lor the British Chess
Federatio. in lhe Olympiads of 1930, 1931, and
1933. In malch ptay he deleated Tartakowo
(+4=5 3) in 1931and lontoFlohr(+1-3 2)in
1932. At thcend ot1933 he wenr back to lddia at
the bidding oI his n6rer. Whe, Sn Unar died
Sulld Khan Nas left a small lamstead near hh
birlhpla@, and there be liled oul his days.
Appa.ently he had tew rcgrets. A friend visiting
him in i958 lound him sitting quicdy under the
sh.de ofa tree snoking his hookah. chatiing witn
Deighbouring faroes *hile lhe Nodenlolk did rhe
In the Indian gane ofhis tine ihc pieces were
moved as in international cbess but the laws of
promotio. and stalemate Nere diflerent, c.stling
was nol pemiitedj and a pawn could no1 be
advan@d two squaresonns fiBl nove. Tb€ game
opened slowly vilh enphasis on positional play
rather than lactics. and no1 surprisingly Sultan
Khanbeameapositionalplaye!. He hadlewpeers
in the MDDLE-G$E dd was anong the wo.ld's
best two or lhree ENDGAME players, bur he never
mastered theopeningswhich. by nalure cmpiri@I.
€nnot be leamed by lhe applicalion ol conrnon
When Sulta. Khan 66t travelled to Europe his
En8lish was so rudimentary rhar he needed an
int€rpreter, He suflered trod bouts otnalana and.
in the Englisb clinate. from conrinual colds and
throat inleclions, ofienturning up to playwilhhis
neck swaihed in bandages. Unable to read or write.
he never stndied any books on tne game. and he
was nistakenly put in the hands oI l.aine6 who
were also his rilals in play. Udder lhese adveR
cir.nmsrances. and having known the international
gamelorameresevenyears.onlyhallof whichsas
sPen t id EuroPe. S ult.n Khan nevertheiess became
one of the world's best ten playere. This achieve
ment brought admnadon iiom Capablanca who
called him a genius, an accolade be rarely il ever
beslowed on anyo.e else.
R. N. Coles, n Su&dn ,odr Gev. edn. 1977)
Sulran Khan-Flohr 3rd math ganc 1912 CarGKam
Derence, Exchange vaiation
tss4 7ABh5 3Nc2c6 9Nd2Bd6 l0Bg3O.7 llNb3
BE6 l2Rcl Bxdl 13 Qxdl G0 l4Bid6Qxd6 15G0
Rlelt 16Ng3g6 lTRcelRaca l3Re2N63 19a4Nld7
20ai016 21Qxa6bxa6 22Ra1R.7 23NclRcc3 24
Nd3Rb7 25Ra3Nc6 26Nrl Rh5 27b4Nd3 23Ne3
Nc6 33 Ng4 Rb1 3,1 Nc5 N$5 35 t!e5 IC3 36 Ke3
Rcb3 37 Rrz Xe7 33 R€ Kd7 39 Raa2 R3b:r 411Kd3
Rdl+ 4l Rd2 Rcl 42 RaCRcbl Aner much sparing
Whnc h no* ablc .o ra*c thc innia vc.In$cadol42. .
Rcr,r Black courd have prayed 42 Rar and if 43 Raz
Rcr leekins r dra* by repetirion.
ww t t
i t
72&
w %,
%Hffi@% Wz
%Hffi W,i
'% '&
4l Rrz Ke7 14c6 Rblt 4sc.1Rlb3+ ,16Rc3 drc4+ ,17
(f,c4 R3b4+ €K Rea 49 Kc1Rb5 50 Ra2 Rf3 5l
E1Kd3 52c7+Kc3 5l Rl2Rxas 54RcGRar+ 55Ke4
Kd7 56 Rxr+ rs.n 57 LaA K{.7 53 Rr+ Kd3 59
Rin? g5 60 Rg7 Ra2 6l R{95 Rxh2 62 Re3+ Kc7 6l
&6a5 61Rxe6Kb7 65 Rf6 Rg2 6i5e6Rxg4+ 67 Kds
Kc7 6ltRr+ KdB 6SRia7Rh4 ?oKci BlackEsi$s
SUM OF PROGRF,SSTVE SCORES, an Auxrlrany
used lor tie breaking in Swiss
syslcm tournamenls. The aggreSate $ores made
by a player after each round are added 1oge1her.
For eranple a player whose progressive sores
read 1.2.3.3,3- (=12) would be plaed above a
playe. who* progressive scores rcad 0,0,1,2-3,
(= 6). This popnlar and sinple Ray of resol,inc ties
is baed on the supposirion that a ptayer vho scores
nore poi.ts in lh. early rolnds will have been
Pitled agai.sl stronger opposition.
SVENONIUS VARIATION, 456 in rhe louR
$'cH1s orENrNc: 558 in the xNc's c^Mn'r De-