Amos Burn was born in Hull on New Year’s Eve 1848 but moved to Liverpool as a teenager, and retained a connection to that city his whole life. He learnt to play chess at the relatively late age of 16, and in some respects this paralleled the chess development of Blackburne. One major difference was that Burn remained a lifelong amateur, working in the shipping industry and dealing in commodities. His work commitments meant that he participated in relatively few tournaments and there were periods of chess inactivity, but when he did take part in major events he achieved considerable success.
His best result was at Cologne 1898, where he won a point ahead of Cohn, Charousek and Chigorin, with Steinitz, Schlechter and Janowksi further down. In view of his age, his fourth place in the mammoth Ostend 1906 event, level with Rubinstein and ahead of Teichmann, Marshall and Janowski, was a very good result. Burn retired to London and was editor of the highly regarded chess column in The Field from 1913 until his death. From all accounts, he had a great love for the game and was a regular visitor to the City of London Chess Club. On 24th November 1925 he attended the club and appeared in good health, but after returning home he suffered a stroke and died the next day.
Perhaps because of his limited appearances in international play, Burn is not as well remembered today as he should be. Another factor might be his style of play, which tended toward solid defence. He played few spectacular games, and his best achievements were in counterattack and in the endgame, which he played to a high standard. In the openings, he contributed a line in the French Defence (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4) which remains highly regarded today.
I can’t write about Burn without mentioning his most famous move.
Edmund Macdonald – Amos Burn
Liverpool, 1910
It’s Black to play and at first sight he should resign. His bishop is pinned and undefended, while White is attacking it twice and threatens to take it with check. There’s only one way to continue the game and Burn found it.
33...Qg4!!
This triple queen sacrifice may not save the game against the most accurate play, but it certainly causes White the most difficulty and one can imagine the shock value. It’s an example of what problemists call a Novotny interference, in which a piece lands on the intersection of two enemy lines of attack. Taking with bishop or pawn unpins the bishop to allow ...Bxd2, so the reply is forced.
34.Rxg4 Nf3+ 35.Kg2?
White should have preserved an extra pawn by 35.Kg3 Nxd2 36.Rxg5+ Kf8 37.Rf5+ Kg7 38.Bd1. However, even here Black can resist by 38...b5! and it won’t be easy for White to win since his bishop is restricted by the many white pawns on light squares.
35...Nxd2 36.Rxg5+ Kh6 37.h4 Nxb3 38.Rf5?
White should have settled for equality by 38.a6 bxa6 39.Bg4, with a likely draw.
38...Nxa5?
Missing a clear win by 38...Rg7+ 39.Kf1 Nd4 40.Rf7 Rxf7 41.Bxf7 a6, followed by ...Nb3. Black’s advantage is much larger once the rooks are exchanged since his king cannot be harassed.
39.Be2 Kg7 40.h5 Rf7 41.Rg5+ Kh8 42.h6?
White should have played to imprison the black knight by 42.Kf1 Rf6 43.Rg3, still with good drawing chances. After the move played, Black has a large advantage and Burn won comfortably.
42...Rf6 43.Rh5 Rf4?! 44.Rg5 Nxc4 45.Bd3?! Nb2 46.Bc2 c4 47.Rg7 Nd3 48.Bb1 Rxf2+ 49.Kg3 Rb2 0-1
Here is one of Burn’s best performances, combining positional play with a slow-burning(!) attack.
Georg Marco – Amos Burn
Hastings 1895
French Defence
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 gxf6
The pawn recapture is Burn’s contribution to the opening and these days it is by far the most popular choice.
7.c3?!
An unnecessary move, as pointed out by Blackburne in the tournament book. Today White almost invariably plays 7.Nf3 f5 8.Nc3, to meet 8...c5 by 9.d5.
7...f5 8.Ng3 c5 9.Nf3 Nc6
It’s the traditional struggle of two bishops against doubled pawns, a battle which occurs in several openings, such as the Exchange Ruy Lopez, French Winawer and Nimzo-Indian.
10.Bb5 Qb6
10...cxd4 11.Nxd4 Bd7 is a sound alternative, but Burn is playing to get two bishops against two knights.
11.Bxc6+ bxc6
Another exchange of bishop for knight and another pair of doubled pawns. The notes by Blackburne in the tournament book and the more modern coverage by Colin Crouch (in Hastings 1895, the Centenary Book) both portray the rest of the game as an unequal struggle in which the bishops slaughter the knights, but the truth is far more complex.
12.0-0 h5 13.Qd2?!
At this point, time is on Black’s side, and White could have played to exploit Black’s lagging development by 13.dxc5 Bxc5 14.Qe1! (threat Nxf5) 14...Be7 15.Qe5, trying to destabilise the position before Black can castle.
13...h4 14.Ne2 Ba6
In the long run the bishop clearly belongs on the long diagonal, so 14...cxd4 15.cxd4 Bb7 was better, with an eventual ...c5 to come.
15.Rfe1 0-0-0 16.a3
White correctly aims for queenside play.
16..Rh7?!
An artificial way to double rooks. 16...Rhg8 is better, so that 17.b4 cxd4 18.cxd4?! c5! 19.bxc5 Qc6 puts White under severe pressure.
17.b4!
Now this is unpleasant for Black. He doesn’t want to open lines by 17...cxd4, but after 17...c4 the a6-bishop is obstructed and it will be hard to achieve ...c5.
17...c4 18.a4 Rg7
19.Reb1?
The start of a faulty and passive defensive strategy. The correct plan involves Qe3, Nf4 and Kf1, taking time out to neutralise Black’s kingside play before proceeding further on the queenside. So long as White prevents a tactical breakthrough involving ...c5, the well-placed knights at least balance Black’s relatively inactive bishops.
19...Rdg8 20.Ne1 Bb7 21.f3 Qd8
From this square, the queen can switch to the kingside or, should the long diagonal be opened, to d5.
22.b5?
Opening the diagonal is suicidal. As Blackburne comments, 22.Qa2 would have offered some defensive chances.
22...c5 23.Qe3 Qc7 24.a5 Bg5 25.f4
25.Qe5 is strongly met by 25...Bd2, but playing f4 opens another line to the sensitive g2-square.
25...Be7 26.g3 Qd7?!
26...hxg3 27.hxg3 Bd6 would have been decisive as White cannot prevent a breakthrough on f4 or g3.
27.dxc5?!
27.Kf2 was the last chance, to block the diagonal by Nf3.
27...hxg3! 28.hxg3
The key line is 28.c6 gxh2+ 29.Kh1 Qd5+ 30.Nf3 Ba8, when the threats of 31...Bc5 and 31...a6 are decisive. It’s ironic that the small move of the a-pawn should be a way for Black to break through on the kingside. After the move played Burn crashes through.
28...Qd5 29.c6 Bc5 30.cxb7+ Kxb7 31.Nd4 Rxg3+ 0-1