Gerald Abrahams and the blindfold exhibition
His first entry into competitive play seems to have been in a vital League encounter between Civil Service and Belfast. The two teams were tied on 6 match points out of 7 going into their final round encounter, which would decide the outcome of the League championship. This report appeared in the chess column of the Belfast News-Letter for Thursday 8th February:
The deciding match in the Ulster Trophy tournament was played on Friday evening in the Civil Service rooms. The home team was strengthened by the addition of a new member, G. Abrahams, of Liverpool, who took third prize in the last British championship tournament. He had a worthy opponent in H. Thomas, and the progress of the game was watched by a larger gallery than had been seen at a Belfast chess match for a very long time. Abrahams had White, and played the QP opening. In the middle game Black sacrificed the Exchange unnecessarily, and it did not work out as he expected. At the end he permitted the exchange of the remaining pieces, and, seeing that White would Queen a Pawn first, he resigned, though he might have secured a Queen and struggled on for a draw.
At the close of play the match score was 3.5 points each with two adjourned games. The first of these was drawn on the 14th February, and W. J. Allen beat Alexander Orr the next evening to secure the title for Civil Service.
Abrahams next reported game was a victory over J. J. O'Hanlon on Board 1 for Belfast in the annual challenge match against Dublin on the 24th February 1934. He then played in a friendly match on the 21st April 1934 between Queen's University and C.I.Y.M.S, winning his own game against W. Minnis. The same evening he also gave a simultaneous exhibition, taking on 12 of the Queen's University and C.I.Y.M.S. players and beating them all.
A further exhibition was promised, and on the 21st May 1934, Abrahams this time gave an exhibition of blindfold play at the Belgravia Hotel, Ulsterville Avenue, Belfast. He faced four players - P. J. McMahon, W. Minnis, A. L. Davies and S. Coulson. They were certainly a strong quartet. McMahon had finished equal first in the 1926 Irish Championship, before losing out in the play-off and had won the Williamson Shield (and with it the title of Champion of Belfast) for four successive years from 1926-29. In 1935 he won the Ulster Championship. Davies had finished third in the 1933 Ulster Championship, and subsequently was second equal in 1935 and third again in 1936, before finally gaining the title in 1944. Minnis played for Ireland in the 1939 International Team Tournament (Olympiad) in Buenos Aires and was Ulster champion in 1945. Coulson was the weakest of the quartet, but was probably at the time in the top dozen Belfast players.
W. J. Allen, the 1933 and 1934 Ulster Champion, writing in his Belfast News-Letter chess column for the 24th May 1934, described Abrahams' play in these glowing terms: "As the games progressed the single player's skill in manoeuvring and in building up position seemed almost uncanny. Two of the games were won decisively by him, the other two, against Minnis and McMahon, being drawn by agreement." Here is his fine attacking display against Davies.
G. Abrahams - A. L. Davies
Blindfold simultaneous x 4, Belfast, 21 May 1934
1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 d6 3.e3 Nf6 4.c4 Nbd7 5.Bd3 Be7 6.Ne2 b6 7.Nbc3 Bb7 8.0-0 Nf8 9.f4
After an apparently quiet opening, Abrahams indicates with this move that the game will be played in his usual attacking style.
9...exf4 10.Nxf4 Ne6 11.Ncd5 Nxf4 12.Nxf4 c5 13.Nh5 Rg8
If 13...0-0 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Qg4+ Kh8 17.Qf5 with checkmate on h7 to follow.
14.Rf2 Qc7 15.Bf5 Bc6 16.Bh3 Bd7 17.Bxf6 Bxf6
17...gxf6 had to be played.
18.Bxd7+ Kxd7 19.Rxf6 gxf6 20.Nxf6+ Ke6 21.Qf3
Much stronger than 21.Nxg8. Black, with his king now caught in the centre, is unable to withstand the numerous threats Abrahams has conjured up.
21...Rac8 22.Rf1 1-0
Black resigned because after 22.Rf1 he was faced with severe material loss to avoid a variety of checkmates, the most immediate of which is 23.Qe4. Here are two sample lines:
(a) 22...Qc6 23.Nd5 Rg5 (to prevent 24.Qf5#) 24.Qf6+ Kd7 25.Qe7#; and
(b) 22...Rg5 23.Nd5 Qd8 24.Qxf7+ Ke5 25.Qf4+ (25.d4+ also leads to a quick mate: 25...cxd4 26.exd4+ Kxd4 27.Qf4+ Kd3 28.Rd1+ Kc2 29.Qd2#) 25...Ke6 26.Qe4+ Kd7 (26...Re5 27.Qg4+ and mate next move) 27.Rf7+ Kc6 28.b5#
