Tomorrow, 12/27/2015, would have been Emory Tate’s 57th birthday. Emory left chess enthusiasts with so much to remember him by that he will truly never be forgotten. Below, I am sharing Emory’s account of his victory in a blindfold simul held just one week before his untimely passing. All of the colorful annotations are Emory Tate’s and are placed here as an example of the passion he brought to every chess class he taught. Further proof that Emory, right up until his life ended, was a professional of the highest order.
[Event “Emory Tate’s Blindfold Simultaneous Exhibition”]
[Site “Fremont, California (USA)”]
[Date “2015.10.10”]
[Round “”]
[White “Tate, Emory (USA)”]
[Black “Opponent 2/5”]
[Result “1-0”]
[Eco “D20”]
[Annotator “Emory Tate”]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 {The first surprise came early.. This was my only d4 game and this move was
played by World Champion Karpov as black many many times…. This set my nerves on edge.}
3.e4 {Still I choose aggression.}
3… Nc6 {A fine move. White must react.}
4.d5 {OK}
4… Ne5 {A serious response… and I seem to remember that I should take on c4 now and
play the Qa4 tactic… leading to a long positional struggle. Again??? I refuse.}
5.f4 { A move seeking tactics..}
5… Nd3+ {Clearly best.}
6.Bxd3 cxd3 7.Qxd3 e6 {Now my queen is in an uncomfortable pin.. My d pawn is exposed. These new kids play very well indeed… I had to go into deep reserves of my own skill set.}
8.Nc3 Nf6 {The pressure is at the breaking point. Calm is required.}
9.Nf3 exd5 {Why not c6 to crack my position once and for all??? I had prepared d6 with
nasty forks all around the center. Failing that, I protect the d6 pawn with e5
and a win! Still and all, black has two bishops and a wonderful game.. I am in trouble. The limit of tactics is revealed.}
10.e5 {I gasp for air.}
10… Nh5 {Quite risky.. Even fearless.}
11.Qxd5 {I did not want to trade queens blindfolded, but if Nd5 then c6 puts me in a pickle!}
11… Qxd5 12.Nxd5 Kd7 {Necessary agression.}
13.g4 {I thought here that I had tricked my young opponent… but NO!!}
13… Kc6 {!} {Meeting fire with fire. I was puzzled. What to do? So I remained calm..}
14.gxh5 Kxd5 {My pawn structure is compromised, and under eniormous pressure I announced
0-0-0 check.. only to be told.. “illegal move.” and it all came back to me.. I
have 5 boards and 5 dangerous opponents.. ultimate failure is just over the mental horizon. Honestly…}
15.Rg1 {Then I played Rg1 (not only to restrict his development, but a mult-faceted
move.. if he wants to move the f8 bishop, perhaps he might play g6 giving my
doubled h pawn exchangibility. Value… and there are other factors.) I was
playing my hardest now. I keep his bishop off g4, a move which could ruin me. And I survive another moment.}
15… Ke4 {A super-aggressive play. Against Tate?}
16.Ng5+ Kd3 {And he is deep in my rear area. Now I see. I considered a drawing sequence..
i.e., Nf7 Rg8 Nh6 Rh8 Nf7 Rg8 etc… Until I noticed he can break the sequence
at any time with Bb4 check. I became a bit desperate so I tossed in a check….}
17.Rg3+ Kc2 {Honestly?}
18.Rc3# 1-0
