KEG: After Schlechter's 24. Rde1, the position was as follows: click for larger viewAs Schlechter notes in his commentary on this game, he here was threatening 25. Qxf7+ and if 25...Kh8 (25...RxQ loses to 26. Re8+) 26. Re8! According to Rosenthal, Tchigorin's 24...Nd8 in the diagrammed position was "forced." But surely 24...Ne5 was better. After 24...Nd8 25. Qf5 Rc7 Schlechter's 26. Bg5 was a thing of beauty, and--to quote Rosenthal--"concludes the game brilliantly." Tchigorin should have tried 26...Ne6, though--as Schlechter has shown--Black would still have been lost after 27. RxN! (yet another beautiful Schlechter concept). In any case, Tchigorin's 26...Qb8 was hopeless. Schlechter replied 27. Re8! The game was now clearly over. The only chance to avoid instant loss by Tchigorin here would have been 27...d5. After Tchigorin's actual 27...Qc8 the position was as follows:  click for larger viewSchlechter here had a brilliant forced mate beginning with 28. RxR+ KxR 29. Qxh7, as Rosenthal spotted. Schlechter's 28. Bxf7+ was also sufficient to win, but Tchigorin was able to hang on in a lost position for another 20 moves. Had Schlechter played 28. RxR+, this game might well have been in contention for a brilliancy prize. |