Berlin, 1922....
Herr Schmidt arrives home in Elisabeth Strasse, from another long day at the office, kisses his wife, ruffles the kid's hair as they run around him, happy to see Papa before bed-time.
He sniffs appreciatively at the fine smells wafting from the kitchen where Gertrude, the cook, is preparing the evening meal ( Sauerbraten Klopse and Kartofelsalat : you have to economise in these dark Weimar-days of hyper-inflation ).
The newspaper contains reportage of the latest "art": moving pictures, kinema, called Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens and he wonders at the decadence of the modern age...
Luckily, there is still the eternal truth of chess, and in dismay he sets down the Berliner Zeitung and reaches for the just-delivered Nueste Schachnachrichten from Bernhard Kagan, and is happy to see another endgame study from the victor of the Teplitz-Schönau tournament, Richard Réti ( although only a Third prize winner in this magazine...surprising ! )
"Ach", he thinks, as he ponders the smudged diagram..."It's quite an open position on the board, but Réti has a note referring to that idea of zugzwang that has been written about...this isn't so straightforward..." maybe after dinner, and the children are in bed, when Mathilde is sewing, and with a refreshing Weisse beer, inspiration will come..
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| Réti, Berlin, 1922 : White to move and win |
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