[Event "Biel 42/(327)"] [Site "?"] [Date "1986.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Rogers, Ian"] [Black "Hug, Werner"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C04"] [WhiteElo "2515"] [BlackElo "2455"] [Annotator "Rogers,Ian"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "1986.??.??"] [SourceTitle "148 Article by Rogers"] [Source "Chess Informant"] [SourceDate "2021.06.19"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.06.19"] [SourceQuality "2"] {With one round to play in the GM tournaments, and all open events having concluded, Cathy and I dropped into the Kongresshaus after our evening meal. I was feeling pleased with my win that day, which took me to my desired 50% score and which I was soon to discover was worth 100 francs and a free meal - the Torero Prize for that day.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nd7 6. Nb3 Be7 7. Bb5 a5 8. a4 Na7 9. Bd3 b6 10. O-O $146 (10. Bd2) 10... O-O $6 (10... c5 $142 11. c4 Bb7) 11. c3 c5 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Re1 Nc6 14. h4 $1 { [%mdl 128]} Nf8 (14... Bxh4 $2 15. Nxh4 Qxh4 {[%tqu "En","","","","e1e3","",10] } 16. Re3 Nf8 {[%CAl Ge3h3,Rh3h7,Rh3h8]} 17. Rh3 Qd8 {[%tqu "En","","","", "c2h7","",10,"c2h7","",0]} 18. Bxh7+ $1 (18. Bxh7+ Nxh7 19. Qh5 $18 {[%CAl Rh5h7,Rh5h8]})) 15. h5 {[%mdl 128]} c4 $5 16. Nbd2 {[%CAl Gd2f1,Gf1e3,Gf1g3]} f5 $5 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Nf1 Ra7 19. Bh6 $6 Bd6 20. Ne3 Kh8 21. g3 $1 {[%CAl Ge3g2,Gg2f4,Gf3h4,Rh4g6,Rf4g6][%mdl 384]} Qd7 $6 (21... Ne7 $142 22. Ng2 Ng8 23. Bf4) 22. Nh4 Qf7 23. Qf3 $16 {[%CAl Rf3f6]} Ne7 24. Ng4 {[%CAl Rf3f6,Rg4f6, Gf7f6]} Ng8 {[%CAl Rg8h6]} {[%tqu "En","","","","h6f8","",10]} 25. Bxf8 { [%mdl 192]} Bxf8 $6 {[%csl Gg6][%CAl Rh4g6] Diagram [#]} {[%tqu "En","","","", "h4g6","",10]} 26. Ng6+ $1 {[%mdl 704]} hxg6 (26... Kg7 {[%tqu "En","","","", "h5h6","",10]} 27. h6+ $1 Nxh6 28. Nxh6 Kxh6 {Diagram [#]} {[%tqu "En","","", "","g6h8","",10]} 29. Nh8 $3 {[%CAl Gf7h5,Gf7g8,Gf7b7]} (29. Nh8 {[%CAl Gf7h5, Gf7g8,Gf7b7]} Qh5 (29... Qg8 30. Qxf6+ Kh5 31. Re5+ Kg4 32. Qf4+ Kh3 33. Rh5#) (29... Qe7 30. Qh1+ {[%CAl Gh6g7,Gh6g5]} Kg7 (30... Kg5 31. Qh4#) 31. Qxh7#) 30. Qxf6+ $18)) 27. hxg6 Qe7 (27... Qg7 {[%tqu "En","","","","g1g2","",10]} 28. Kg2 $1 {[%CAl Ge1h1,Rh1h8]}) 28. Qh1+ Nh6 29. Nxh6 Bxh6 30. Qxh6+ Kg8 31. Kg2 { [%CAl Ge1h1][%mdl 2048]} Qg7 32. Rh1 {[%CAl Rh6h8,Rh1h8]} e5 {[%tqu "En","","", "","h6e3","",10]} 33. Qe3 $1 {[%CAl Gh1h7,Rh7g7]} Rae7 34. Rh7 Qf8 35. g7 $1 Rxg7 {[%tqu "En","","","","e3h6","Upon entering the almost abandoned foyer - most players had started heading home - I saw a man struggling to pack up and remove the Torero mannequin and I offered to lend a hand. We carried the mannequin to the man's car, placed it in the boot, he thanked me, and I returned to watch the adjourned games from the two Grandmaster tournaments. The next morning, dropping into the Kongresshaus after breakfast, Suri greeted me on arrival at the venue with an embarrassed look. 'The Torero went missing last night. I know it can't be true but someone said they saw you carrying it away.' 'Yes, it was me,' I replied. 'I was helping a man pack it up.' Suri's expression turned from embarrassment, to surprise, to worry. 'We have reported the Torero is being stolen. Would you mind going to the police station to help them with their enquiries?' So on the morning of Swiss National Day I found myself in an interrogation room, accompanied by Swiss friend Beat Zueger as an interpreter, facing two young police officers. 'What did the man you were 'helping' look like?' 'European, a bit older than me.' 'What sort of car did you put it into?' 'I am not sure - maybe an Opel?!' 'What sort of Opel?' 'There is more than one type of Opel?' I gained the impression that the officers decided I was being evasive - a sure sign of guilt. Zueger had the same feeling and started to talk directly to the policemen in Swiss German. I later learned that he had said: 'Look, the guy is from Australia. Maybe they don't have Opels. (True. I.R.) There is no way he wants to carry a Torero all the way back home. (True. I.R.)' After a few more minutes of conversation with Zueger, the police made it clear that they had decided they were dealing with a moron, not a thief. I was told I would not be charged and allowed to go, and to please be in touch if I could remember something that was actually useful. By 11am I was back in my hotel room preparing for Black against Alon Greenfeld. A gruelling 69 move draw followed, then a Torero banquet and, as the sun set, Cathy and I headed down to Biel's famous lake to watch the fireworks display celebrating Swiss National Day. To my relief, that evening the Torero was found, unharmed, apparently trying to make a call to Spain from a telephone box near the Kongresshaus. 'Probably a student prank for Swiss National Day,' was the organisers' conclusion, but I was not so sure... On all my subsequent visits to the Biel Chess Festival, until his death in 2013, Hans Suri would jokingly call me the Torero thief, finding the joke even funnier when I picked up Torero prizes in 1987 and 1992. ***Postscript*** Almost exactly 30 years later, I found out who had taken the Torero, and why. Travelling on the Chess Train - a Czech train which tours around Central Europe for 5 days, with a rapid tournament in the mornings and sightseeing at a new city each evening - I was approached by a German amateur player, who shall remain nameless. 'I have an apology to make to you,' he said. For some reason my mind immediately turned to the stolen Torero. 'For getting me questioned by the Biel police?', I responded. 'What?? I didn't know that! But yes, it is about the stolen Torero. I didn't do it but I know who did.' I looked at him expectantly and he sighed and continued. 'On the last day in Biel, a friend was to drive down from Germany to visit me. I boasted that I had decided to play a brilliancy in the last round and win the Torero Prize so that we could eat together at the Kongresshaus restaurant. Of course I didn't win the prize, but we ate at the Kongresshaus anyway. During the meal my fiend said: 'You shall have your Torero anyway!' With some help from you, he carried the Torero mannequin to his car, an Opel, outside the Kongresshaus and returned to the meal.' 'What have you done?' I said to him. 'We have to return it'. 'We can't do that,' he replied. 'They will catch us. Just take it back to Germany and display it at your house.' I absolutely refused. The next day we devised our plan to return the Torero and not be caught. My friend placed the mannequin in a telephone box and then ran into the foyer of the Kongresshaus to tell the organisers that he had found the lost Torero. So we were happy and the organisers were happy, but maybe it wasn't so good for you!?'",10]} 36. Qh6 {[%CAl Rh7h8] Upon entering the almost abandoned foyer - most players had started heading home - I saw a man struggling to pack up and remove the Torero mannequin and I offered to lend a hand. We carried the mannequin to the man's car, placed it in the boot, he thanked me, and I returned to watch the adjourned games from the two Grandmaster tournaments. The next morning, dropping into the Kongresshaus after breakfast, Suri greeted me on arrival at the venue with an embarrassed look. "The Torero went missing last night. I know it can't be true but someone said they saw you carrying it away." "Yes, it was me," I replied. "I was helping a man pack it up." Suri's expression turned from embarrassment, to surprise, to worry. "We have reported the Torero is being stolen. Would you mind going to the police station to help them with their enquiries?" So on the morning of Swiss National Day I found myself in an interrogation room, accompanied by Swiss friend Beat Zueger as an interpreter, facing two young police officers. "What did the man you were "helping" look like?" "European, a bit older than me." "What sort of car did you put it into?" "I am not sure - maybe an Opel?!" "What sort of Opel?" "There is more than one type of Opel?" I gained the impression that the officers decided I was being evasive - a sure sign of guilt. Zueger had the same feeling and started to talk directly to the policemen in Swiss German. I later learned that he had said: "Look, the guy is from Australia. Maybe they don't have Opels. (True. I.R.) There is no way he wants to carry a Torero all the way back home. (True. I.R.)" After a few more minutes of conversation with Zueger, the police made it clear that they had decided they were dealing with a moron, not a thief. I was told I would not be charged and allowed to go, and to please be in touch if I could remember something that was actually useful. By 11am I was back in my hotel room preparing for Black against Alon Greenfeld. A gruelling 69 move draw followed, then a Torero banquet and, as the sun set, Cathy and I headed down to Biel's famous lake to watch the fireworks display celebrating Swiss National Day. To my relief, that evening the Torero was found, unharmed, apparently trying to make a call to Spain from a telephone box near the Kongresshaus. "Probably a student prank for Swiss National Day," was the organisers' conclusion, but I was not so sure... On all my subsequent visits to the Biel Chess Festival, until his death in 2013, Hans Suri would jokingly call me the Torero thief, finding the joke even funnier when I picked up Torero prizes in 1987 and 1992. ***Postscript*** Almost exactly 30 years later, I found out who had taken the Torero, and why. Travelling on the Chess Train - a Czech train which tours around Central Europe for 5 days, with a rapid tournament in the mornings and sightseeing at a new city each evening - I was approached by a German amateur player, who shall remain nameless. "I have an apology to make to you," he said. For some reason my mind immediately turned to the stolen Torero. "For getting me questioned by the Biel police?", I responded. "What?? I didn't know that! But yes, it is about the stolen Torero. I didn't do it but I know who did." I looked at him expectantly and he sighed and continued. "On the last day in Biel, a friend was to drive down from Germany to visit me. I boasted that I had decided to play a brilliancy in the last round and win the Torero Prize so that we could eat together at the Kongresshaus restaurant. Of course I didn't win the prize, but we ate at the Kongresshaus anyway. During the meal my fiend said: "You shall have your Torero anyway!" With some help from you, he carried the Torero mannequin to his car, an Opel, outside the Kongresshaus and returned to the meal." "What have you done?" I said to him. "We have to return it". "We can't do that," he replied. "They will catch us. Just take it back to Germany and display it at your house." I absolutely refused. The next day we devised our plan to return the Torero and not be caught. My friend placed the mannequin in a telephone box and then ran into the foyer of the Kongresshaus to tell the organisers that he had found the lost Torero. So we were happy and the organisers were happy, but maybe it wasn't so good for you!?"} 1-0