William Napier vs Richard Teichmann (1902)

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William Napier vs Richard Teichmann
Monte Carlo (1902), Monte Carlo MNC, rd 16, Mar-01
Spanish Game: Closed Variations. Morphy Attack (C78) · 0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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Jan-28-19		zydeco: Good game by Teichmann. Accurate calculation is needed for both 19....Bxa2! and 38....Rxg3+!

Nov-08-24		KEG: At the time of this replay of a Round 16 draw (which the Tournament Book says was played on March 8 and not March 1 as stated here), Teichmann was fighting for a high prize at this tournament. He was in third place at the time of this game, a quarter-point behind 2nd place Pillsbury and a quarter-point ahead of Janowski. Napier was out of prize contention, but--as he again proved later that year at Hanover 1902 where he had a winning record against the prize winners (defeating Pillsbury and Wolf in the process). At this tournament (Monte Carlo 1902), Napier had already won against Janowski, and in the penultimate round knocked off Tchigorin (preventing the Russian from getting at least a minor prize). This, Teichmann, though clearly the superior player, had to be careful with Napier. In the instant game, Napier went astray when he left his a-pawn hanging, perhaps believing (as is suggested in the Tournament Book) that he would be able to trap Teichmann's Bishop if it tried to grab a pawn). Teichmann, however, had seen further and deeper and was able to grab a pawn and remain ahead in material until the end of the game. Napier may not have been lost when he allowed Teichmann to steal his a-pawn, but he continued to misjudge the position and was clobbered by the alert Teichmann. Napier chose to play on even after he was hopelessly behind in material and utterly lost. Teichmann finished off the game with a pretty (but unnecessary) exchange sacrifice on move 38 that yielded him a bunch of additional pawns. At the end of the game, Teichmann was still down the exchange, but had FIVE pawns in return (all passed). After about move 24, the game was essentially decided. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Nc3 A perfectly sound line for White that was popular in the early 20th century but has long since been out of fashion, 6. Re1 having become the usual move for White here. 6... b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. d3 click for larger view A decent but quite passive continuation. The more usual move here is 8. Nd5. 8. a4 is another more ambitious idea for White. 8... Bg4 An off-beat line that Pillsbury had played against Napier at Buffalo 1901 in a game Pillsbury won. Teichmann may have known of that game, but I have no way of being sure. 9. Be3 The same weak move Teichmann played against Pillsbury. He should force Black to declare his intentions with 9. h3. For whatever reason, Napier delayed played h3 until move 15 here. 9... 0-0 Pillsbury played 9...Qd7 in the above-cited game against Napier. Given Napier's failure to play h3, Teichmann could simply have played 9...Na5 and later messed up White's Queen-side pawns with NxB. 10. Ne2 Another questionable choice by Napier. Once again, 10. h3 looks best. After the text, the position was: click for larger view 10... d5 Still daring Napier to play 11. h3. Probably 10...Na5 was still the best course for Black. 11. Ng3 Qd7 12. c3 Now prepared for ...Na5, but still declining to chase the Black Bishop with 12. h3. 12... Rad8 13. Qe2 Rfe8 14. Rad1 h6 15. h3 Finally! 15... Be6 click for larger view Thus far, a cautious game by both sides seemingly played in slow motion. But, as will be seen, the action was soon to pick up.

Nov-11-24		KEG: Post II 16. Bc1 Ignoring the chance to seek the initiative with 16. c4 or 16. d4. 16... Bf8 Teichmann also seemed to be playing a waiting game. 16...Bd6 was the more active and probably better option. 17. Rfe1 Qc8 click for larger view 18. Bc2? Was this a calculated gambit, sacrificing a pawn for an attack (which never truly materialized) or a blunder losing a pawn in the mistaken belief that if Black tried to grab the White a-pawn his Bishop would get trapped? Napier is not around for us to ask him. One thing is certain. Teichmann (with "accurate calculation" as noted by <zydeco>) saw that he could win a pawn with minimal risk...and so he did it: 18... dxe4 19. dxe4 19. Nxe4 was hardly better. 19... Bxa2 click for larger view Having allowed Teichmann to snatch his a-pawn, Napier now was at the cross-roads. 20. b3 A futile effort to trap the Black Bishop. On the other hand, the attacking 20. Nf5 does not seem to lead to much if anything. 20... Qe6 As is so often the case, the stronger player has seen further. click for larger view 21. Nd2? Having gone this far down the rabbit-hole, Napier pretty much had to try 21. Rd5. Now the Black Knight on c6 out an end to Napier's illusions: 21... Na5 22. b4 Admitting that he would not be able to trap Teichmann's Bishop. With an extra pawn, Black probably had a theoretically winning position. But winning "won games" is not always so easy. 22... Nb7 23. Ndf1 Seems much too slow. To make anything in this situation, Napier might as well have played 23. Nf5. After this lemon, it should have been clear sailing for Teichmann: click for larger view 23... c5! Well played. 24. bxc5 Nxc5 25. Ne3 Bb3 25...Na4 looks even stronger. But the text seems more than sufficient to win. 26. BxB Playing like a beaten man. 26. Ba3 was the only serious chance for Napier to put up much of a fight. 26... QxB click for larger view 27. RxR Still playing like a zombie. 27. Ng4 was the last chance to breath any sort of life into the White position. 27... RxR click for larger view Now White loses a second pawn. The game seemed as good as over. In fact it was over, though later sloppy Teichmann play allowed Napier to extend the contest a bit.

Nov-11-24		KEG: Post III 28. Ng4 It was now far too late for Napier's attacking notions to have much chance of making an impression on so careful an opponent as Teichmann. 28... NxN 29. QxN Qxc3 30. Rf1 Rd6 click for larger view Teichmann was now up two connected passed pawns and the move-30 time control was met. All that was left for Napier were desperation tactics: 31. Qh4 Rg6 Teichmann decided now to play super-safe rather than taking any tactical risks with the theoretically faster and more immediately crushing 31...Nb3 or 33...b4 or 33,,,Nd3, 32. Be3 Nd3 Once again by-passing such powerful moves as 32...b4 or 32...Qd3 or 32...Ne6 (with Nd4 in mind). 33. Rd1 Qb4 And here 33...b4 was a faster road to victory. But Teichmann knew he had the game in the bag and was in no hurry. 34. Nf5?! click for larger view 34... Nc5 Just taking his time instead of pouncing with 34...Nf4 or 34...Ne1. 35. Ne7+ ?! Shedding another pawn for...whatever reason... 35... BxN 36. QxB Qxe4 click for larger view Napier was now down THREE pawns (still including two connected passed pawns on the Queen-side). It was now or never if Napier was to make any sort of closing fight: 37. Rd8+ The only move on the board that might have given Teichmann anything to think about was 37. g4. 37... Kh7 38. g3? Utterly hopeless, though by this point it was too late to get anywhere with 38. g4. The position now allowed Teichmann to finish off the game with a cute "sacrifice": click for larger view 38... Rxg3+ Pretty (and, as <zydeco> has noted, requiring "accurate calculation." In fact, Teichman could have won easily without this demonstration with something simple like 38...Ne6. But Teichmann perhaps wanted to play to the galleries (and the move DOES win). 39. fxR QxB+ 40. Kf1 Ne4 There were now many ways for Black to win: click for larger view Napier was now up the exchange. But what followed was nonetheless a massacre: 41. Qxf7 Qxg3+ 42. Kf1 Qxh3+ 43. Ke2 click for larger view Five (passed) pawns for the exchange is of course a crushingly decisive advantage. I will cover the (short) balance of the game in my next post on this contest.

Nov-11-24		KEG: Post IV 43... Nf6 There are of course faster ways to close out the game (e.g., 43...Qg2+ 44. Ke1 Qh1+ 45. Ke2 Nc3+ 46. Kd3 Qd1+ winning Black's Rook ). But the text definitely does the trick. With the move-45 time control approaching, Teichmann probably did not want to take the slightest risk in this completely winning position. 44. Rb8 This could lead to prompt catastrophe, but Napier's position was so utterly hopeless that criticism of his play is churlish. 44... e4 Yet again, and with the time control looming, Teichmann selected a clear winning line (44...Qg2+ is again faster). 45. Rb7 Qg2+ click for larger view Now that the move-45 time control had been reached, there was no reason for Napier to play on. But... 46. Ke3 Qg5+ 47. Kd4 e3 One of many ways to win (47...a5 or 47...h5 are also brutal). 48. Kd3 Ng4 click for larger view And here Napier resigned.

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