Miguel Najdorf: An Unsung Hero, (Part 3)- "The Polish Immortal"

Even though this game was played in 1930, Najdorf did not write comments to this game until 1975!

In the book "Najdorf: Life and Games", this game appears on page 62, with Najdorf's notes!

Let's read Najdorf's introduction to this game:

" A player's age exerts a natural influence on the development of his style. You don't play the same way at 18 as you do at 40 and over. How should a young player conduct the game, then? Quinteros was criticized for declining draws offered by famous masters. "I didn't travel 10,000 kilometers to Leningrad just for the sake of drawing", he retorted. Fortune was not on his side, and he lost to Byrne and Tal. For my part I applauded him. Young players have time enough to achieve results. Combination, attack and the quest for beauty- these things are the privilege of talented youth. This was and is the attitude of Bobby Fischer, as well as that of Morphy, Capablanca, Tal, Keres, etc. And I was no different."

Note: Miguel Quinteros! I remember hearing his name!

Quinteros-Kasparov, Moscow Interzonal 1982, 1/2-1/2

Photo: B. Dolmatovsky via http://chesspro.ru .)

In the 1973 Leningrad Interzonal, which Najdorf makes reference to, he did not do too badly! Here is the tournament table, along with 2 wins, against Tukmakov and Larsen!

D. Tartakower called this game the "polish Immortal". Oddly enough, although it has travelled the whole world, I have never annotated it before (1975)."