Robert Wade (1921-2008)
Robert (‘Bob’) Wade was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 10th April 1921 and started his chess career by winning the New Zealand Championship in 1944 and 1945. New Zealand offered few opportunities to further his chess, so he travelled to Europe and competed in several events in the late 1940s. He won the New Zealand Championship a third time in 1948, but in 1950 he settled in England and that year also saw improved results, with 8/15 at the strong Venice tournament and a drawn match 5-5 with Lothar Schmid, in which every game was decisive. That same year he gained the International Master title. Chess was Wade’s full-time occupation, and he was one of the most active English players in the 1950s. He won the British Championship twice, in 1952 and 1970, and qualified (along with Golombek) for the Saltsjöbaden Interzonal 1952, scoring 6/20. He also played for England six times in Chess Olympiads in a period stretching from 1954 to 1972, and once for New Zealand in 1970. Wikipedia slightly unkindly comments that ‘Wade was generally no more than a middle-ranking player in strong international tournaments’, but by the standards of British chess at the time his results were quite good.
Wade also qualified as an international arbiter, and later in life he turned to other areas of chess activity. He accumulated a massive and somewhat unruly chess library in his Blackheath home, which became a focal point for chess researchers. He was also instrumental in starting the Batsford chess list, which over decades became a world-famous source of English-language chess literature. I visited his home several times for research purposes, and although I had no idea how to find a particular item Bob seemed to have a personal indexing system in his head, and was able to locate everything without difficulty. It was all a bit ramshackle; on one occasion I asked why there was a metal tray and a pair of wooden tongs next to the photocopy machine, and he explained that this was to extract the paper when a jam caused it to burst into flames. His research ability was much prized, and Bobby Fischer was one of the players who made use of it in his preparation. He continued to play occasionally, and in 2006 scored 6/10 in the Queenstown Open, drawing with grandmasters Chandler and Hecht, a fine performance for someone in his mid-80s. He died in 2008 following a short illness, just a few weeks after his last serious game.
Wade adopted a wide range of openings, but playing over his games I got the impression that he rarely gained the advantage from the opening. His main strength lay in the middlegame, and he was always alert for a tactical opportunity, so that even in bad positions he could often come up with a surprising ‘swindle’. The following excellent game against a strong grandmaster showed that he could also win (fairly) convincingly.
Robert Wade - Wolfgang Uhlmann
Skopje/Ohrid 1968
French Defence
1.e4 e6
The opening choice is no surprise, as Uhlmann championed the French Defence throughout his long career.
2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4
In this line White aims to support his central pawn-wedge by f4 and c3, leaving the onus on Black to obtain counterplay one way or another. The danger for White is that he falls behind in development, and this sometimes gives Black the chance to open the position with a sacrifice.
5...c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ndf3
The queen’s knight goes to f3 and the king’s knight to e2, offering maximum support to the d4- and e5-pawns. The downside is that it’s hard for White to get the f1-bishop into play.
7...cxd4
A typical line is 7...Qb6 8.Ne2 Be7 9.g3 0-0 10.Bh3 cxd4 11.cxd4 f6!?, offering the e6-pawn to break up the white centre, with very sharp play in prospect.
8.cxd4 h5?!
This move looks too slow. White wasn’t intending to play g4 soon, so ...h5 may very well not be necessary. Instead, 8...Qb6 9.Ne2 f6 is more direct. Then White must take care, since, for example, 10.g3 Bb4+ 11.Nc3 fxe5 12.fxe5 0-0 13.Bf4 is well met by 13...Ndxe5! 14.Bxe5 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Bxc3+ 16.bxc3 Qb2 17.Qc1 Qf2+ 18.Kd1 Qxf1+ 19.Rxf1 Rxf1+ with a roughly equal position. 8...Nb6 9.Bd3 Bd7 is another plan for Black, preparing play on the queenside rather similar to the game, but without loss of time.
9.a3 Nb6 10.Bd3
This position favours White since he has managed to develop this bishop before being forced to play Ne2.
10...Bd7 11.Ne2 a5
Black intends to play ...a4 and ... Na5-b3, but there is an obvious risk in leaving his king in the centre for so long.
12.0-0 a4 13.Qe1
A critical moment. Black must decide whether to continue on the queenside or take time out for the safety-first ...g6.
13...Na5?
Black decides that White doesn’t yet have a major threat, but this is a mistake. He should have played 13...g6, although then 14.Bd2 prevents ... Na5 and forces Black to find another way to make progress on the queenside.
14.f5!
This sacrificial breakthrough is totally correct, and gives White a large advantage. Black’s exposed king and dark-squared weaknesses provide excellent compensation, made even more substantial by the offside black knights.
14...exf5
There’s not much choice, since 14...Nb3 15.fxe6 Bxe6 16.Ng5! Nxa1 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.Bb5+ Nd7 19.Qf2 Qe7 20.Bg5 wins for White.
15.e6!
This is the most straightforward, but White could also have played 15.Nf4! Be6 16.Ng5! Rh6 (or 16...Qxg5 17.Nxe6 Qe7 18.Nxf8 g6 19.Bb5+ Nc6 20.Bd2 Rxf8 21.Rc1 Qd7 22.Bg5 and Black is totally paralysed) 17.Nxf7! Bxf7 18.Bxf5, followed by e6, with a winning attack.
15...fxe6 16.Qg3
Although this retains a considerable advantage, 16.Nf4! Qf6 17.Ng5! would have been crushing. Then there are beautiful lines after 17...Qxg5 18.Nxe6 Qe7 19.Bg5 Qxe6 20.Bxf5! Qxe1 21.Bg6# and 17...e5 18.Nh7!! (stronger than 18.dxe5 Bc5+ 19.Kh1 Qxg5) 18...Rxh7 19.dxe5 Bc5+ 20.Kh1 Qe7 21.e6 Rh6 22.Bxf5, with overwhelming threats. These lines were quite hard to see so it’s not surprising that Wade opts for a more mundane continuation.
16...Kf7
Relatively best. 16...Qf6 17.Bg5 and 16...Be7 17.Qxg7 Bf6 18.Qg6+ Ke7 19.Bg5 Bxg5 20.Qxg5+ Kf8 21.Qg6 are even worse.
17.Nf4?
This slip lets Black back in the game. White plays to win the exchange with Ng6, but he could have achieved more by 17.Bg5! Be7 (17...Qb8 18.Ne5+ Kg8 19.Nf4 Nc6 20.Neg6 Nxd4 21.Nxh8 Kxh8 22.Rae1 also wins the exchange, but in this line White retains a huge initiative) 18.h4 followed by Nf4 and Rae1, when the sheer weight of attacking forces will prove too much for Black’s shaky defences.
17...Kg8 18.Ng6
18...Nb3?
Black misses his chance. 18...h4! 19.Nfxh4 Rxh4! 20.Nxh4 Be7 21.Bh6 Bf6 22.Rae1 Nb3 would have left White with at most a slight edge. Black already has one pawn for the exchange and the d4-pawn will fall soon, but most importantly White’s attack has been greatly weakened. This line is a good example of how a timely return of material can break the force of an attack.
19.Nxh8
19.Bg5! Qe8 20.Nxf8 Qxf8 21.Qc7 was even better, but the move played also gives White a clear advantage.
19...Nxc1
19...Nxa1 20.Ng6 Nb3 (20...Nc4 21.Bg5 wins the a1-knight) 21.Bg5 Qb8 22.Bf4 Qc8 23.Qg5 followed by Qh5 is hopeless.
20.Raxc1 Kxh8
Here Black also has two pawns for the exchange, but his bishop is languishing on f8, while White’s pieces are very active.
21.Ne5 Be8
21...Qf6 22.Rc7 Be8 23.Rxb7 picks up a pawn while maintaining the pressure.
22.Rc7?
This tactical flourish is unnecessary and endangers the win. The simple 22.Ng6+ Bxg6 (22...Kg8 23.Nxf8 Kxf8 24.Rc7) 23.Qxg6 Qe8 24.Bxf5 exf5 25.Qxb6 wins without difficulty.
22...h4?
22...Nc4! was the only chance. Then 23.Ng6+ (the tricky 23.Rf7? is strongly met by 23...Kg8!) 23...Bxg6 24.Qxg6 Nd6! (24...Qxc7? 25.Rxf5 exf5 26.Bxf5 mates in a few moves) 25.Qxh5+ Kg8 26.Rc3 Be7, followed by ...Bf6, gives Black good drawing chances.
23.Qf4 g5
23...Nc4 24.Rf7! Kg8 no longer works due to 25.Rxf5! exf5 26.Qxf5 with a quick mate.
24.Ng6+!
Wade spots the refutation of Black’s defensive plan.
24...Kg8
24...Bxg6 25.Qe5+ Kg8 26.Qxe6+ transposes.
25.Qe5
The weak e6-pawn proves Black’s undoing.
25...Bxg6 26.Qxe6+ Kh8 27.Rxb7
27.Qe5+ Kg8 28.Bxf5 is even simpler.
27...Qe8 28.Rxb6
White’s material advantage is decisive, especially as Black’s king remains exposed.
28...Bg7 29.Qxg6 Qe3+ 30.Kh1 Qxd3 31.Qh5+ Kg8 32.Rd1 Qc2 33.Rb7 Rf8 34.Rxg7+ Kxg7 35.Qxg5+ Kh7 36.Rc1 Re8 37.h3
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