Carl Schlechter vs Arturo Reggio (1902)

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Carl Schlechter vs Arturo Reggio
Monte Carlo (1902), Monte Carlo MNC, rd 2, Feb-04
Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack (D37) · 1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

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Mar-29-04		Pawn Ambush: White rooks to the G-file,beautiful!!! This man could really play chess and would have probably been an even greater chess coach or teacher,he was such a gentleman, I think if I studied chess 3or4 year's under Schlect,I'd be ready!

Jun-23-16		Mateo: This not Schlechter at the top. 14..Nc5? simply loses a pawn. 16...Bd4? is refuted by 17.0-0-0 (instead of 17.exd4?). 25.f4? was not the best. 25.Qe4 Rh6 26.Rh4+ Rh6 27.Qxb4, White wins a pawn. 28...Rd8? was just a blunder losing a pawn.

Apr-11-21		KEG: Like <Pawn Ambush>, I greatly admire Schlechter's play during his too short career. But I must agree with <Mateo> that this game that this game does not show Schlecter at anywhere near his best. He twice missed chances to close out Reggio (see his poor 17th and 25th moves) and won this game more on account of Reggio's repeated lapses. 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 a6 This Janowski-style move is playable, but probably inferior as a theoretical matter to 5...0-0; 5...dxc4; and even 5...b6. The text did, however, have the merit of inducing Schlechter to play an inferior line. 6. c5?! click for larger view 6. e3 and 6. cxd5 are both thematic and better. Perhaps Schlechter hoped to confuse and/or intimidate his less experienced opponent. 6... 0-0 7. e3 Following a line later played by Bogoljubow, Petrosian, Giri, and Kasparov (twice!). 7... b6 click for larger view 8. b4?! Kasparov played this on one occasion (in a game he drew), but 8. cxb6 seems clearly better. In this case, however, the move succeeded thanks to some second-best play by Reggio. 8... Nbd7 This is often a good move against the QGD, but here 10...Ne4; 10...Nh5; and 10...a5 were better attempts to equalize. 9. h3 Ne4 This attempt at simplification should not have brought him any benefit had Schlechter played the kind of simple strong positional chess which his admirers have come to cherish from him. Here, 9...a5 was better. 10. NxN dxN click for larger view With 11. Ne5, Schlechter would have had a small edge, but instead he played the much inferior: 11. Nd2 This retreat is hard to believe coming from Schlechter. But it worked like a charm when Reggio responded: 11... e5?! Black would have been (at least a bit) better with 11...bxc5 or 11...Nf6. The text allowed Schlechter to build up a comfortable and superior position: 12. dxe5 bxc5 13. Nxe4 cxb4 14. Bd3 click for larger view Despite his doubled e-pawns, Schlechter was clearly better here. And his edge turned into what should have been a quickie win in light of Reggio's blunder in his next move.

Apr-12-21		KEG: Post II 14... Nc5? "?"--(Tournament Book)(<Mateo>) "Allowing a decisive double attack." (Tournament Book) "Simply loses a pawn." (<Mateo>) As will be seen Reggio had a--clever but flawed-- idea of how this move could actually work for him. 15. NxN BxN 16. Qc2 "!"--(Tournament Book) click for larger view Looks simple. White just wins a pawn, right? But now we find out what Reggio had in mind. 16... Bd4? "?"--(Tournament Book)(<Mateo>) click for larger view This looks cute, and it fooled Schlechter. But as both the Tournament Book and <Mateo> have pointed out, White simply wins a piece with 17. 0-0-0! since the Bd4 Bishop is then pinned (because of the Bishop check on h7 winning the Queen). But--incredibly--Schlechter missed this possibility and let Reggio back in the game: 17. exB? "?"--(Tournament Book)(Mateo) 17... Qxd4 click for larger view Now it is Reggio who has the double attack and who now regains the lost piece. 18. 0-0 18. Bxh7+ immediately is no better. 18... QxB click for larger view Now, with 19. Bxh7+, Schlechter would still have enjoyed some advantage. But here he erred yet again: 19. Rae1? "!"--(Tournament Book) "Played with deep positional understanding." (Tournament Book) As no one has apparently yet recognized, the text is a blunder that let Reggio achieve full equality, the position now being: click for larger view 19... Bb7? As everyone has also missed, Reggio would now have been fine with 19...g6. But, instead, he blundered fatally with the text. Now, Schlechter was back in control--at least through move 24. 20. Bxh7+ Kh8 21. Be4 "!"--(Tournament Book) click for larger view 21... Rab8 22. BxB RxB 23. Re4! Well played. Now Schlechter would seem to have the game in his grasp: 23... Qg5 24. Rg4 24. Rd1 was arguably slightly better, but the text seems more than adequate to win. 24... Qe7 If 24...Qd8 25. Rd1 would be a killer. And if 24...Qh6, 25. Qe4 spells fini. Reggio found the only move to give him any chance at all. After 24...Qe7, the position was: click for larger view In this won position, Schlechter again missed his way and nearly blew the win, as I will discuss in my next post on this game.

Apr-13-21		KEG: Post III 25. f4? "?"--(<Mateo>) "25. Qe4 Rb6 (25..."Rh6" given by <Mateo> is an obvious typo) 26. Rh4+ Rh6 27. Qxb4 wins a pawn." (<Mateo>) Another fine piece of analysis by <Mateo> missed by previous commentators. After the text, Black again had chances of saving the game, the position now being: click for larger view 25... Rb6 26. Rf3 a5 27. Rfg3 Rg6 click for larger view 28. Qf5? 28. RxR fxR 29. Rg4 was much stronger. After the text, White's edge was all but gone, the position now being: click for larger view But here, having an excellent chance of saving the game, Reggio blundered: 28... Rd8? "?"--(Tournament Book)(<Mateo>) "Just a blunder, losing a pawn." (<Mateo>) With 28...c5 or 28...a4, Reggio should have been able to hold the game. But now, to echo <Mateo>, White simply wins a pawn--and the game, since the Black Rook on the back rank no longer defends the Black pawn on f4. The position was now: click for larger view 29. RxR fxR 30. Qxg6 30. Rxg6 was much stronger. (We must wonder whether Schlechter was in time trouble, this being the final move before the move-30 time control). After the text, Reggio perhaps had a ghost of a chance: click for larger view 30... c5?? So much for the "ghost of a chance." For better or worse, Reggio had to play 30...Rd4. Now--at last--Schlechter played like Schechter and closed out the game with dispatch. 31. Rg5! Game over: click for larger view 31... Kg8 32. Rh5 Rf8 This only hastens defeat, but the game was dead lost for him anyway. 33. e6! click for larger view Mate can now only be delayed for a few moves by sacrificing the Black Queen. 1-0

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