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Aug-14-08
 | | Once: A wild game.
A word on the opening. 3. ... Qxd8 has earned the nickname "the banker". Black loses a tempo, but in return he argues that an exchange of central pawns has stopped white from building a strong centre. The move 3. Nc3 also has its drawbacks. If white continues with d4 at some stage, he may want to bolster that pawn with c3 or advance c4 to put two pawns abreast in the centre. But the Nc3 is standing in the way of either pawn move, so white often has to move that knight anyway. And that gives the tempo back. "The Banker" is not an opening that thrills the soul, but it is a relatively safe way to play for an easier life if you don't mind a draw. It can be particularly useful against aggressive players or book experts. As for the game itself - mind-boggling complications after Rxh7. Steinitz probably didn't need to set off the fireworks as he had a positional advantage anyway. But it's fun and he no doubt had confidence in his ability to beat Mongredien in a open position, regardless of whether the combination is sound or not. |
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Aug-14-08
 | | Honza Cervenka: <at a glance 15. ... Nxe5 looks better for black than the text.> Okay, but what next after 16.fxe5? Of course, 16...fxg4 (btw, Fritz 8's first choice) can be answered with 17.Rxh7!! 18...Qe8 would not have saved black for 19.Qh5+ Kg7 20.Qh6+ Kg8 21.Bxg6 Rf7 22.Kh1! Bf8 23.Qh5 Bg7 24.Rg1 Kf8 25. Rg3 with decisive attack. |
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| Aug-14-08 | | TheaN: A fellow clubplayer of my chessclub plays the Scandinavian extremely weird: <1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qg5?> I still have not found a clear move-order that would turn the tempo advantage of White, after either <4.d4> or <4.Nf3>, into material or mate in a forced way: nonetheless, I won both games as my position was still superior five to ten moves later. I always try to tell the player that 3....Qg5 does not compensate for Black in any way after losing another tempo, sometimes even two. Don't know if he's changing it next season. For him I hope he does. |
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| Aug-14-08 | | Sololoy: Kenkaku: A much faster win was 20. Qxg6+ Kf8 (20...Kh8 21. Qh7#) 21. Bh6+ Rg7 22. Bxg7+ Kg8 23. Bh6+ Kh8 24. Qg7# What? If 20...Kh8 then 21. Qh7# can't be done because the queen is pinned! |
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Aug-14-08
 | | Jimfromprovidence: The combination does not appear to be viable if black takes the knight first, say 15...Nxe5 followed by 16 fxe5.
click for larger viewNow, either 16...f4 or Bc8 (not fxg4, which transposes to the text) seem to be good alternatives for black. |
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| Aug-14-08 | | Chessmensch: With what black did to his kingside, it didn't take a Steinitz to beat him. The surprise is that he lasted as long as he did. I guess resigning was unfashionable. |
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Aug-14-08
 | | kevin86: I remember when this opening was called the Center Counter Game. If black deferred the recapture of the QP,it became the Center Counter Gambit. White's attack was effective in chasing the black king from "pillow" to post. |
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| Aug-14-08 | | A.G. Argent: <CG boys> - Excellent pun. |
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| Aug-14-08 | | RookFile: This game shows one of the risks of fianchettoing the queen's bishop when you have black. For all the good the b7 bishop did, black was effectively a piece down when white started to attack. Even worse, had black done nothing with it (or delayed developing it like modern GM's do), the bishop on c8 would have controlled h3, discouraging the rook from going there. |
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Aug-14-08
 | | sleepyirv: 3... Qd8 extremely passive or hyper-hyper-modern? I can't imagine why anyone would bother. It's not even that confusing- white can play simple development moves in reply. |
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| Aug-14-08 | | Pantagruel: Fittingly, this pun is a mondegreen. |
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| Aug-14-08 | | RedStarRising: <Kenkaku: A much faster win was 20. Qxg6+ Kf8 (20...Kh8 21. Qh7#) 21. Bh6+ Rg7 22. Bxg7+ Kg8 23. Bh6+ Kh8 24. Qg7#> 20. Qxg6+?? is catastrophic on all accounts, as it will lead immediately to the loss of White's queen after 20...Kh8 (20...Kf8? 21.Bh6+ Rg7 22. Qxg7#) |
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Aug-15-08
| | Once: <sleepyirv> On 3. ... Qd8 James Plaskett: "The Scandinavian defence": (Batsford 2004) "Stonewalling or what?
With this move Black either expresses no active ambitions whatsoever in the initial stages of the game, but rather he is aiming to avoid exposing his queen to early harassment from white's pieces whilst developing his pieces to sensible squares. Or he plays a quite different formation involving a quick fianchetto of the king's bishop to initiate play against d4. If the stonewall approach is okay, then, as with the variation 3. ... Qe5+ this may be telling us that the slight loss of time Black cedes with his two early queen moves really is not so significant at all after White prevents himself from putting up a two pawn centre with 3. Nc3." John Emms: "The Scandinavian" (Chess Press, 1997):
"3. ... Qd8 looks a little passive, but it does have some positive ideas, including a kingside fianchetto and the development of the king's knight to f5 via h6. ...
3. ... Qd8 and 3. ... Qd6 are certainly playable, but don't really challenge white in the way that 3. ... Qa5 does." |
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| Jul-07-09 | | just a kid: Kasparov gives 15...Nxe5 as better.After 16.fxe5 Bc8! 17.gxf5 Bxf5,he has absolutely nothing. |
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| Jul-07-09 | | just a kid: 16.Qxg4 also wins. |
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Mar-25-10
 | | jessicafischerqueen: This game was played in the great <London 1862> tournament, during the second London World Exhibition. It was won by Adolf Anderssen. It was Steinitz's debut at strong International Tournaments- he finished in 6th place and won <5 pounds>. In addition, however, he was awarded the BRILLIANCY PRIZE for this game against Mongredien. And it would prove to be the first of many. |
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| May-14-11 | | theodor: 25.Rf7 also wins |
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| Jun-07-11 | | James Bowman: Steinits was like a great samurai with two katana like bishops slicing and slashing his way to victory. |
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| Mar-20-12 | | Anderssen99: A faster mate is: 23.e6+, Kf8 (...,Ke8. 24.Qh7,Rf8. 25.Qxg6+,Rf7. 26.Qxf7 mate). 24.Qh6+,Rg7. 25.Qh8+,Rg8. 26.Bh6+,Ke8. 27.Bxg6 mate. |
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| Oct-25-12 | | wildrookie: What's da pun about 'cos I donna get it? |
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| Oct-25-12 | | paavoh: Perhaps "seize her" for "Caesar"? |
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Jun-16-21
 | | fredthebear: Here's video analysis of this game (more attitude than theory, but enjoyable): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNW... |
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| Jan-03-22 | | SymphonicKnight: A brilliancy prize winner that was considered one of the most brilliant of all time. An engine reveals marvelous secrets within this amazing game. Very Steinitzian was 10.f4, very unStockfishy, which prefers 10.Qe2 and an entirely diifferent flavor. This is fun and full of deep mating patterns. |
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| Feb-05-23 | | generror: The game that made Steinitz famous. Although in his younger years he was known to be a great attacking player, I found this game interesting as even back then he seemed to favour solid development more than all-out attacking. He plays <6.Bd3> instead of <6.Ne5> or <8.Be3> instead of <6.Ne4>. Mongrédien plays very passively, which helps Steinitz develop quickly, He <12...exd5?> blocks his bishop out of play, allowing Steinitz' nice rook manoeuvre. Stockfish would have preferred him to add his a-rook to the f-file, and <15.g4?> (D) is actually a mistake because Black could have equalized with <15...Nxe5! 16.fxe5 f4>. 
click for larger view<15...fxg4??> however loses the game by fatally opening the bishops' lines. The famous rook sac is not completely unsound, -- White is definitively winning after it --, although Stockfish prefers the simple <16.Qxg4 16.Qxg4 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Bc8 18.e6 Qe8 19.f5> (D) which, to me too, looks really crushing. 
click for larger viewAfter <18...Rg8?>, it's a forced mate in 10, although Steinitz misses <23.e6+>, but as Mongrédien also makes a few inaccuracies, the game ends pretty quick. According to Tartakower, the game ended after <28.Rf8+>. This was the first Steinitz game I analyzed and I'm glad that with him I'm beginning to get out of the Romantic era. Although he too turns out to be a bit too flashy at least at this stage, his attacks already seems to be more grounded in positional advantages. At least, unlike Morphy's, they're not completely unsound. (Sorry Morphy fans, I just like to troll, but it's not my fault if you take random statements by some internet dude about a long dead chess genius personally.) |
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May-07-23
 | | kingscrusher: 10.f4 is a lot of fun even if it isn't the "strict accumulation of advantages" before attack in practice such moves often win games as humans make mistakes. |
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Kibitzing
sac: 17.fxe5