Isidor Gunsberg vs Siegbert Tarrasch (1902)

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Isidor Gunsberg vs Siegbert Tarrasch
Monte Carlo (1902), Monte Carlo MNC, rd 3, Feb-08
Spanish Game: Morphy Defense. Tarrasch Variation (C77) · 0-1

White to move.

ANALYSIS [x]

0-1

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1

FEN COPIED

Given 3 times; par: 108 [what's this?]

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Aug-07-11		madhatter5: 22.♖xd5? is certainly creative, but simply loses.

Aug-27-21		KEG: Tarrasch got off to a horrible start at Monte Carlo 1902. In the first four rounds, he had lost three times (to Tchigorin, Marshall--a game Tarrasch should have won easily--and Janowki) and had drawn with Gunsberg. This game was the replay of the Round 3 draw with Gunsberg. Under the rules at Monte Carlo 1902, draws were replayed with both players receiving a quarter point for the first game and then playing for the remaining half point. The bottom line was that Tarrasch received only a half-point for this win (for a total of .75 points including the original draw). This only moved Tarrasch to 18th place (out of 20), but it signaled that he was ready to compete. Unlike what happened to Euwe at the 1948 World Championship Tournament (where he started off with four losses), Tarrarsch pulled himself together, scored 11 1/4 points in his final 15 rounds, and finished in a respectable tie for 5th prize. Of course, the opposition Tarrasch faced in his remaining games was nowhere nearly as formidable as the opponents Euwe faced in 1948 (Botvinnik, Smyslov, Reshevsky, and Keres). But it displayed yet again Tarrasch's resilience after a poor start. The instant game is of little real interest. The game was about even when Gunsberg blundered away the exchange on move 22 as a result of an apparent miscalculation. Tarrasch was less than stellar in closing out the game, and game Gunsberg some chances to avoid defeat. But, after such a poor beginning, for Tarrasch any win must have been welcome, even against an opponent against whom he was a big favorite. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Not as popular a 5. 0-0, but certainly sufficient for equality. 5... Bb4 click for larger view Tchigorin's favorite move here, and one adopted at least three times by Tarrasch after this game. 5...Bc5 is probably best, but the text is certainly reasonable and a good option if the Black player has studied the line in advance since it is likely to be a surprise for White. 6. 0-0 0-0 7. d3 d6 8. BxN bxB click for larger view 9. Ne2 This idea of bringing the Knight to g3 is very slow if White wants to play for any kind of advantage. In light of his past failures against Tarrasch (Gunsberg had lost three times after winning in their first encounter and then drawn at Hastings 1895 and in their earlier game here), perhaps Gunsberg would have been satisfied with a draw, at least at the outset. 9... Re8 10. c3 Bc5 The need to move this piece a second time is one indication of the superiority of 5...Bc5 over 5...Bb4. click for larger view 11. Be3 This looks awkward. He could have continued with his plan and played 11. Ng3. Alternatively, Gunsberg could have tried the prophylactic 11. h3. The text allowed Tarrasch to mess up his hair with 11...BxB 11... Bb6 It is hard to see why Tarrasch didn't just play 11...BxB. Maybe he wanted Gunsberg to initiate the exchange thus allowing him to repair his Queen-side pawn formation. If so, he got his wish. 12. BxB cxB 13. Ng3 click for larger view

Aug-27-21		KEG: Post II 13... d5 13...c5 was also a possibility, but Tarrasch was likely reluctant to create a hole on d5. The text is equally logical in fighting for the center. 14. Re1 Nd7 14...c5 or 14,,,dxe4 look much better. The text is so uncharacteristic of Tarrasch's usually logical play that one must wonder whether he was trying to goad Gunsberg into doing something rash. If that indeed what the mighty Tarrasch was up to here, his plan succeeded--eventually (see move 22). 15. d4 f6 click for larger view 16. Qb3 "This is the crisis of the game. White had a better position, but overrated it perhaps. He could have played 16. exd5 cxd5 17. dxe5 [This would forfeit most of White's edge, 17. Re3 or 17. Qg3 would be stronger, although 16. exd5 would already have lessened any edge White may have enjoyed as a result of Tarrasch's doubtful 14th move] Nxe5 with good prospects to win or to draw." (Gunsberg) 16. exd5 was hardly the strongest effort by White to capitalize on 14...Nd7. Either 16. Nf5 or maybe 16. h4 were better tries. 16... Bb7 17. exd5 Gunsberg looks like--perhaps as a result of his prior poor results against Tarrach--he was playing for a draw. 17. Nf5 or 17. Rad1 were better efforts to try to get something out of the position. 17... cxd5 18. Nf5 This move no longer packed much punch. 18... Qc7 click for larger view 19. Nf3 Wimping out. 19. Qa3 or 19. Qb4 were better efforts to try to squeeze something out of the position. 19... Qd6 19...Qc6 was probably more accurate. But the text didn't give much away. 20. dxe5 "This move allows the Black Knight to get into the game with strong effect." (Gunsberg) 20. Rad1 immediately was definitely better. But as will be seen Gunsberg was chasing a mirage at this point. 20... fxe5 21. Rad1 Nc5 click for larger view As it turned out, this proved to be the critical position in this game. 22. Rxd5? "Played under the impression that White would obtain two pawns for the exchange." (Gunsberg) As <madhatter5> has already pointed out on this site, the text loses. The mistake under which Gunsberg was operating becomes clear on move 25. 22... BxR 23. QxB+ QxQ 24. RxQ Rad8 click for larger view As Gunsberg related, he had thought that he could win a second pawn here for the exchange with 25. Nxb6, but notice that 25...Nd3! refutes any such notion. 25. Ne3 Gunsberg had nothing better. 25... Nd3 Tarrasch could also have played 25...b5. In any case, White is lost, the position after 25...Nd3 being: click for larger view White's position is not resignable. As will be seen, Black still has plenty to do to score up the win, and indeed Tarrasch did not give what followed anything like best play. But this sort of lost position cannot be much fun to play from the White side, and Gunsberg subsequent play was often listless. He certainly did not grasp the chances Tarrasch afforded him.

Aug-27-21		KEG: Post III 26. Re2 b5 27. h3 e4 27...a5 or 27...Nf4 were perhaps stronger, but the text was likely also sufficient to win if properly followed up. 28. Nd4 b4 click for larger view 29. Rc2 29. Nb3 would have offered more stubborn resistance. 29... bxc3 30. bxc3 click for larger view 30... g6? 30...Rb8 was much stronger. 31. Nc4? 31. Nb3 would again have been a much better choice. 31... Rd7 32. Re2? This only makes Black's task easier. 32. Rd2 was much better. 32... Nf4 33. Rb2 Nd5 34. Ne2 Rc8 35. Nd2? 35. Ne5 was the only remotely legitimate chance. But from here, in a clearly winning position, Tarrasch got sloppy, the position after 35. Nd2? being: click for larger view An in-form Tarrasch would have made short work of White from here. But Tarrasch was in horrible form at the beginning of this tournament and nearly blew the win: 35... Nxce? Tarrasch could have finished off Gunsberg here with 35...e3!, e.g. 36. fxe3 Nxe3 37. Ne4 Re7 etc. But with this and his weak 38th move, Tarrasch let Gunsberg back in the game. 36. NxN RxN 37. Nxe4 Rc1+ 38. Kh2 click for larger view 38... Rc6? Incredible. Tarrasch still had a likely win after, e.g., 38...Rdc7. But now... 39. f3 Kg7 40. Kg3 Rdc7 Too late! 41. a3 Kf7 42. Rb8 Ke6 click for larger view Thanks to Tarrasch's sloppy play, Gunsberg had counter-play and arguably decent compensation. He might well from here have saved the game. But--perhaps because of time trouble with the move-45 time control lurking--Gunsberg from here fell apart and--as will be seen--Tarrasch was soon able to chalk up his first win at Monte Carlo 1902

Aug-28-21		KEG: Post IV 43. Rd8? Giving Tarrasch a chance to finish off the game. He should have played 43. Kf4 after which it is doubtful if Black can win against best play. 43... Rd7 Taking advantage of White's last move and seizing the d-file, which allows Black to penetrate. 44. Rf8 He had to play 44. Re8+ to have any chance. 44... Rd3! click for larger view 45. Ng5+ Kd5 46. Nxh7 Rxa3 click for larger view Now the Black a-pawn had become a monster. Gunsberg's play from this point was feeble. But I'm not sure that even Magnus Carlsen could do much with the White forces from this point. 47. Kg4 Gunsberg was lost, but this looks close to resignation. 47. Nf6+ or 47. Kf4 or 47. h4 were the best options (though likely inadequate). 47... a5! The a-pawn began its march, and there was not much Gunsberg could have done about it. 48. Kg5? After this lemon, Tarrasch's task was no longer difficult. Gunsberg had to try some emergency measures to have even a ghost of a chance, maybe 48. Nf6+ or 48. h4 or 48. Kf4, doubtful as it was that even these moves could have altered the result. 48... Rb3! Tarrasch's logical play from here gave Gunsberg not the slightest chance. 49. Re8 Rbb6 50. f4?! A doomed effort to drum up counterplay on the King's side. It only speeded Gunsberg's demise: 50... a4 click for larger view 51. g4 Continuing with his hopeless King-side plan. 51... a3 Meanwhile, Tarrasch's a-pawn marched to victory. 52. Re2 Hopeless. 52... Rb2 52...Ra6 was simpler 53. Re5+ 53. Nf6+ was the only way to hold out for even a little while. 53... Kd4 click for larger view 54. Ra5? This lead to instant lose. But nothing else would have really helped. 54... Rc5+ With the loss of White's Rook, the Black a-pawn Queens quickly. So... Resigns

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