[Event "Peach State Open, Atlanta"] [Date "1966.??.??"] [White "Scott, William"] [Black "Sherwin, James"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Rick"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B37"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind"] [StudyName "William Scott Games"] [ChapterName "Scott, William - Sherwin, James"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/D5ng0DQy/CCqSAxS6"] [Orientation "white"] { Reporting on the Peach State Open in the February 1967 issue of Chess Life, GM William Lombardy passed along this anecdote, which made Scott’s defeat of IM Sherwin all the more impressive. Lombardy placed first in the tournament with 5½/6. Scott finished in a three-way tie for second place with five points. The big upset of the tournament came in the fifth round when Jim Sherwin unexpectedly collapsed under time pressure against Bill Scott. No one could have suspected that the president of the Atlanta Chess Association, an enthusiastic organizer, and able chess promoter, a chess patron, could also demonstrate similar versatility in over-the-board play. Something else makes Scott’s win even more incredible. During the course of the game, Sherwin observed that his opponent had disappeared! The clock had already been running some 40 minutes and Scott was nowhere to be found. Was he on special assignment for the newspaper of which he is editor? Not exactly. Scott later revealed that he had promised to drive his daughter to the airport. (“She’s only a college freshman at Barnard,” he said with fatherly concern.) He felt that this game would be a breeze for Sherwin and so he could safely make the trip to the airport, losing such valuable time. Needless to say, the round trip to the airport was sufficiently refreshing to spur him on to a splendid victory in what was a see-saw battle. } 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c4 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Nb3 d6 7. Be2 Nf6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Be3 Be6 10. f3 Nd7 11. Rc1 Na5 12. Nd2 Rc8 13. b3 Nc6 14. Ndb1 Nc5 15. O-O Bd7 16. Rc2 Re8 17. Rd2 { [#] } 17... b6 { Slow. Today Black would generally play more forcefully with } (17... Qa5 { and ...Nc6-b4, eventually aiming for ...b7-b5 or ...f7-f5. }) 18. Kh1 { White could get started with } (18. f4) 18... a5 19. a4 Qc7 20. Nb5 Qb8 21. N1c3 Nb4 22. Qb1 Bc6 23. Rfd1 Qa8 24. Nd4 Bd7 { Black's still more or less OK after } (24... Bb7 { or }) (24... Ne6) 25. Ndb5 Qb7 26. Nd5 Nc6 27. f4 f5 28. e5 { But this is too fast. White can keep building with } (28. Bf3 { -- there are ideas of taking on e7 and then d6, or switching over to the e-file. }) 28... dxe5 29. Nxb6 Qxb6 30. Rxd7 exf4 31. Bg1 Nb4 32. Bf3 Qb8 33. Bxc5 Rxc5 34. Rb7 Qe5 35. Re1 Qf6 36. Nc7 Rxc7 37. Rxc7 e5 38. Bd5+ { [#] } 38... Nxd5 { The engines say Black is slightly better after } (38... Kh8 { , thanks to the central pawn mass. Giving White a passed pawn is asking for trouble, especially since, as the result of the game would indicate, Sherwin was low on time. }) 39. cxd5 e4 40. Qc2 Qe5 41. Qc4 Qd6 { The queen, as they say, is not a good blockader! } 42. Rc6 Qb4 43. Qxb4 { Black lost on time. Something's going to promote after } 43... axb4 44. d6 Kf8 45. a5 Bd4 46. Rd1 Be3 47. a6 { From Chess Life, Feb 1967, page 28. } 1-0