🔸 Cecil Purdy
🔸 Australian Chess International Master
♦️ Cecil John Seddon Purdy was an Australian chess International Master, writer, and inaugural World Correspondence Chess champion. Purdy earned the Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess title in 1953.
🔹 Full name: Cecil John Seddon Purdy
🔹 Country: Australia Egypt
🔹 Born: 27 March 1906 Port Said, Egypt
🔹 Died: 6 November 1979 (aged 73) Sydney, Australia
🔹 Title: International Master (1951)
🔹 ICCF Grandmaster (1953)
🔹 ICCF World Champion 1950–53
♦️Cecil John Seddon Purdy was a Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess (1953) and winner of the first world correspondence chess championship (1950-1953). In 1923, at the age of 17, he won the New Zealand Championship. In 1929 he founded the Australasian Chess Review (later named Check!, then Chess World). He was the editor for nearly 40 years. He won the Australian Correspondence Championship in 1937 and 1945. He was the champion of Australia in 1935, 1937, 1949, and 1951. He earned the International Master title in 1951. His son was the junior champion of Australia. He won the Australian championship four times and held the Australian Correspondence Championship for 16 years in a row. Both Purdy's father-in-law Spencer Crakenthorp (champion from 1926 to 1929), and his son John (champion in 1962) have been champions of Australia. He died of a heart attack while playing a game of chess during the Sydney Championships. His last words were, "I have a win, but it will take some time." His opponent was Ian Parsonage. Purdy was born in Egypt. He learned to play chess from an encyclopedia at age 15. He played only 46 correspondence games in his entire life (won 34, drew 10, lost 2).
Bobby Fischer was once asked how to go about setting up a great chess library. He started his reply by saying, “Firstly I would get my hands on everything written by Cecil Purdy.
♦️A memorable game by Purdy👇🏼👇🏼
▪️ Cecil John Seddon Purdy vs Leopold Watzl
▪️ 1st World Correspondence Chess Championship (1950), May-01
▪️ Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation. Normal Line (D55)
♦️ Review and download PGN file👇🏼👇🏼
@unitychess
🔸 Australian Chess International Master
♦️ Cecil John Seddon Purdy was an Australian chess International Master, writer, and inaugural World Correspondence Chess champion. Purdy earned the Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess title in 1953.
🔹 Full name: Cecil John Seddon Purdy
🔹 Country: Australia Egypt
🔹 Born: 27 March 1906 Port Said, Egypt
🔹 Died: 6 November 1979 (aged 73) Sydney, Australia
🔹 Title: International Master (1951)
🔹 ICCF Grandmaster (1953)
🔹 ICCF World Champion 1950–53
♦️Cecil John Seddon Purdy was a Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess (1953) and winner of the first world correspondence chess championship (1950-1953). In 1923, at the age of 17, he won the New Zealand Championship. In 1929 he founded the Australasian Chess Review (later named Check!, then Chess World). He was the editor for nearly 40 years. He won the Australian Correspondence Championship in 1937 and 1945. He was the champion of Australia in 1935, 1937, 1949, and 1951. He earned the International Master title in 1951. His son was the junior champion of Australia. He won the Australian championship four times and held the Australian Correspondence Championship for 16 years in a row. Both Purdy's father-in-law Spencer Crakenthorp (champion from 1926 to 1929), and his son John (champion in 1962) have been champions of Australia. He died of a heart attack while playing a game of chess during the Sydney Championships. His last words were, "I have a win, but it will take some time." His opponent was Ian Parsonage. Purdy was born in Egypt. He learned to play chess from an encyclopedia at age 15. He played only 46 correspondence games in his entire life (won 34, drew 10, lost 2).
Bobby Fischer was once asked how to go about setting up a great chess library. He started his reply by saying, “Firstly I would get my hands on everything written by Cecil Purdy.
♦️A memorable game by Purdy👇🏼👇🏼
▪️ Cecil John Seddon Purdy vs Leopold Watzl
▪️ 1st World Correspondence Chess Championship (1950), May-01
▪️ Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation. Normal Line (D55)
♦️ Review and download PGN file👇🏼👇🏼
@unitychess
@unitychess Purdy-Watzl 1950.pgn
873 B
▪️ Cecil John Seddon Purdy - Leopold Watzl, 1st World Correspondence Chess Championship (1950)
▪️ PGN format
@unitychess
▪️ PGN format
@unitychess
📘 22.Rc5!
A powerful rook lift. Grischuk transferred the queenside rook to the kingside and created a direct attack against the king.
22...Rad8 23.Qc1!
The black king has been targeted by all the white pieces.
23...N×d4 24.N×d4 Re4
(24...B×d4 25.B×h6 Re4 (g6 26.Bg5+-) 26.B×g7+! B×g7 27.Rh5+ Kg8 28.R×g7+! and mate in 3 moves.)
25.R×c7 Q×d4 26.Be3 R×g4 27.h×g4 Qe4 28.f3 Qb4 29.R×b7 +-
A powerful rook lift. Grischuk transferred the queenside rook to the kingside and created a direct attack against the king.
22...Rad8 23.Qc1!
The black king has been targeted by all the white pieces.
23...N×d4 24.N×d4 Re4
(24...B×d4 25.B×h6 Re4 (g6 26.Bg5+-) 26.B×g7+! B×g7 27.Rh5+ Kg8 28.R×g7+! and mate in 3 moves.)
25.R×c7 Q×d4 26.Be3 R×g4 27.h×g4 Qe4 28.f3 Qb4 29.R×b7 +-
📘 10.g3
A novelty by Mamedyarov instead of the usual 10.e3.
10...Nd7 11.Bh3 b6 12.c×d5 c×d5 13.Qc6 Rb8 14.0-0 Rd8 15.Rfc1 Ba6 16.Bf1 =
A novelty by Mamedyarov instead of the usual 10.e3.
10...Nd7 11.Bh3 b6 12.c×d5 c×d5 13.Qc6 Rb8 14.0-0 Rd8 15.Rfc1 Ba6 16.Bf1 =
📘 87...Kf4??
After a long resistance, Black blundered in a drawish endgame.
88.Rc5 1-0
(88...Ke4 89.R×g5 +-)
(88...Be7 89.Rc4+ Ke5 90.R×h6 +-)
The correct continuation was:
87...Kg2 Any square except f4.
88.Rc5 Bf4!
(88...Be3?? 89.Rc2+ Kf1 90.Rc6--->R×h6 +-)
89.Rc6 Kg3 =
After a long resistance, Black blundered in a drawish endgame.
88.Rc5 1-0
(88...Ke4 89.R×g5 +-)
(88...Be7 89.Rc4+ Ke5 90.R×h6 +-)
The correct continuation was:
87...Kg2 Any square except f4.
88.Rc5 Bf4!
(88...Be3?? 89.Rc2+ Kf1 90.Rc6--->R×h6 +-)
89.Rc6 Kg3 =
📘 61...Nc4??
Black's blunder. but nevertheless, White's position was still winning.
62.Rg4+ K×h5 63.Bg6# 1-0
Black's blunder. but nevertheless, White's position was still winning.
62.Rg4+ K×h5 63.Bg6# 1-0
📕 17...d5!
Black is sacrificing a pawn, but he will get a control over the dark squares: 18.exd5 Nxd4 19.Qxd4 Bc5. It looks like a serious improvement in comparison to the previous games, where black haven't equalized: 17...a5 1-0 Grischuk, A-Tkachiev, France 2003, and 17...Nxd4 ½-½ Ivanchuk-Romanishin, UKR 2004.
Black is sacrificing a pawn, but he will get a control over the dark squares: 18.exd5 Nxd4 19.Qxd4 Bc5. It looks like a serious improvement in comparison to the previous games, where black haven't equalized: 17...a5 1-0 Grischuk, A-Tkachiev, France 2003, and 17...Nxd4 ½-½ Ivanchuk-Romanishin, UKR 2004.
📕 20.Bf4+!
A nice way to increase White's advantage. The dark-squared bishop helps out his light-squared colleague. The black e-pawn is forced forward and a new diagonal opened for the hitherto blunted bishop on g2. The rest proceeds rather by clockwork.
A nice way to increase White's advantage. The dark-squared bishop helps out his light-squared colleague. The black e-pawn is forced forward and a new diagonal opened for the hitherto blunted bishop on g2. The rest proceeds rather by clockwork.