| Jan-02-22 | | SymphonicKnight: To 26...Qf5 Lasker, in Lasker's Manual of Chess appends a ?, asking, "Why Black should have proposed to exchange Queens here is explicable only from the supposition that he looked out for some violent, some forcing move. The natural move was 26...Qc6." Following 27.Qxf5, Lasker continues, "Now white has obviously the best of it, all of the black pawns being weak. Moreover, Steinitz did not defend patiently and thus failed to make use of the slender opportunities he had. White won the ending with ease." However, Stockfish evaluates 27.Qxf5 as 0.00, and actually evaluates the line as far as 35...Ra6 as also 0.00 instead of 35...Rc5? as played, which is given +1.5 at depth 30.
This shows a lack of objectivity based on result and misses the resilience of Steinitz' position which should have been a draw even after white's 35.hxg3. |
| Feb-06-23 | | generror: The very first encounter between Anderssen and Steinitz is not the most flashy game of its time, but I found it a fascinating battle where both play great moves. Steinitz defends himself smartly in a cramped position and achieves equality via a most devious swindle, but he then blunders the well-deserved draw in the endgame, which Anderssen conducts perfectly. It's also interesting for being an early Spanish Game. Steinitz' <6...Nb8?> instead of <6...Nd6> or <6...a6> gives him a pretty cramped position, and after <12...Bxf3?> and <14...b5??>, White could already have been winning with <16.Nxb5! cxb5 17.Qxb5 Rf8 18.Qb7 Na6 19.Qxe7> (D), being up two pawns and controlling the center. (Also note the funny symmetrical ravaged kingsides -- yep, we're still deep in the romantic era.) 
click for larger viewBut Anderssen's <17.c7!> combination is good enough, and after <20.Qe3> (D), threatening <Qh6+>, <Kh1> and <Rg1>, things look really bleak for Steinitz. 
click for larger viewHere now Steinitz plays <20...Kg7!>, apparently giving up his bishop to save his king. Now <21.Kh1!> followed by <Rg1> would have easily won for Anderssen. But he happily goes for the material via <21.Nxe7??>, but after <21...Rb5!>, it must have dawned on him that victory wasn't as near as he had hoped. Yep, you guessed it: It's a classic swindle, and a fine one and that. Now, he could at least have retained a slight advantage with <22.f4! Kf8 23.c4!>, but, as usual in these cases, instead he blunders himself, losing his knight with <22.Nf5?> because after <22...Rxf5!>, capturing the rook doesn't help much because of <23.Qxe8 Rg5+ 24.Kf1 Qh3+ 25.Ke2 Re5> (D) and now Black has a queen for two rooks in a very equal position, just as in the continuation that Anderssen chose instead. 
click for larger viewWhat a crazy sequence of moves, and it definitively shows that even back then Steinitz was an awesome player! The ensuing endgame however shows that he still had to learn a bit. Or maybe he just wasn't content with maintaining a draw, but after <35.hxg3> (D), he for some reason decides to give White a nice passed pawn in exchange for a worthless blocked and doubled pawn via <35...Rc5? 36.Rxd6 Rxf5??>. What the heck, Wilhelm! 
click for larger viewAnd after Anderssen's clever <37.b4!>, the game is suddenly lost because there's just no way the rook will be able to stop these pawns. Steinitz swindled himself XD A highly intense and enjoyable game that, in my eyes, is much more interesting than many of the flashy early "classics" with their flawed sacrifices, however beautiful they are. To understand that sequence of moves 20-22 was just pure bliss, and I'm definitively looking forward to the games on my chronological todo-list. It seems that they finally started to play chess in the 1860s and not just go for the equivalent of a bar brawl. This game deserves to be better known! |
Kibitzing
