Monday 15 September 2008

Scorebooks

Although I still see the occasional chess scorebook, like analogue clocks and (dare I say it), Grandmaster draws, the scorebook seems to be on the way out. When I started playing seriously 25 years ago the scorebook was a standard piece of chess equipment, like the analysis board and the spare clock for blitz. I still have my own scorebooks from the start of my career, but after filling up 3 of them (around 150 games) I stopped using them. And I began to notice that other players stopped as well.
I guess part of the reason was the rise of the chess database. Instead of keeping your games together in a book, you used the scoresheet supplied by the organisers and then typed it in to your computer at home. Retrieving old games simply happened at the push of a button, rather than half an hour of searching the study.
The other reason was to do with the rules. Over the years I've had a couple of incidents where players were accused of looking at old games in their scorebooks. While in the two cases I can clearly remember I was certain that their was nothing untoward in what happened (one was just idle flicking, the other was getting the name of the opening right), I began to announce that players use the scoresheets provided, and enter the games into the scorebook at the completion of the game. This way any potential disputes were avoided before they arose.
Nonetheless it is a shame that handwritten collections of games are disappearing. It is always much more interesting (and personal) to flick through an old scorebook, as opposed to hotting the 'search' button on your computer.
Here is one such game from my first scorebook. It was played against IM Zoran Ilic, who came to Canberra in 1984 and gave a simul at the Belconnen Churches Centre. I was quite pleased to hang on for as long as I did, and even went as far as to offer a draw (A simul breach of etiquette, which I wasn't aware of at the time). Although he declined the offer I then pulled the 'I have a bus to catch' gambit, resulting in him offering his hand. Of course he was winning in the position, but it is in my book as my first draw against a titled player!

Ilic,Z - Press,S [D23]
IM Simul, 25.05.1984

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qa4+ Bd7 5.Qxc4 e6 6.g3 Bd6 7.Bg2 Nc6 8.0-0 h6 9.Nc3 Nb4 10.Qb3 Bc6 11.a3 Nbd5 12.Qc2 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Be4 14.Qb3 b6 15.a4 a5 16.Rd1 0-0 17.Ba3 Bxa3 18.Qxa3 Qd5 19.Ne1 Bxg2 20.Nxg2 Qc4 21.Qa2 Qxa2 22.Rxa2 Rad8 23.e3 Rd6 24.f3 Rfd8 25.Kf2 c5 26.Rb1 Nd5 27.Rc2 cxd4 28.cxd4 Rb8 29.Ne1 Nb4 30.Rc7 Rc6 31.Rxc6 Nxc6 32.Nd3 Kf8 (D) ½-½

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