| KEG: A case of double chess blindness. Schlechter, playing the Black side of a King's Gambit, outplayed Brody and was up a piece by move 17 in a clearly winning position. But Schlechter blundered on move 19, overlooking a winning (and rather obvious) Queen fork by Brody. Brody, in turn, overlooked this winning resource on move 20, and Schlechter--now safely a piece ahead--forced resignation shortly thereafter. This game displays what can happen at the end of a long tournament in which players have to replay draws and thus work overtime. Thank goodness this practice from the early 1900's was generally abandoned. 1. e4 e5
2. f4 exf4
3. Nf3 g5
4. Bc4?!
Playable and complicated, but inferior to the more usual 4. h4 (generally leading to the Kieseritsky Gambit). 4... Bg7
True to form, Schlechter avoids the wild Muzio Gambit that can develop after 4...g4. 5. d4
Brody, in turn, does not opt for 5. h4 (the Philidor Gambit) and instead enters the murky waters of the so-called Hanstein Gambit. The merits of this line were set forth in the book by Korchnoi and Zak on the King's Gambit: "Instead of striking at Black's pawn chain by means of either 4. h4! or 5. h4, White chooses another means of doing this, namely g3. This plan leads to a more favorable position for White than in the Philidor Gambit). Another reasonable move for White here is 5. Nc3. 5... d6
5...h6 is often recommended here (e.g., by Korchnoi and Zak), but the text (which is similar to the Fischer Defense to the King's Gambit) is solid and probably at least as good. Also possible for Black here is 5...Nc6. 6. Nc3
Rosenthal in the Tournament Book said that 6. c3 was best, but the text is also playable. 6.0-0 was another reasonable option. 6... Nc6
Black is still up a pawn and can develop his pieces while awaiting how White will justify the gambit. 6...h6 was a reasonable alternative. 7. 0-0?!
A daring move that is of questionable soundness. The thematic 7. h4 was probably best. 7... h6
Schlecther could also have reasonable played 7...Bg4 here. 8. Nd5
This is a gambit opening so Brody must attack. Either the text or 8. h3 preventing g4 were plausible options. 8... Nf6
Alternatively, Schlechter could have played 8...Nce7 or 8...Nge7. 9. c3
9. NxN+ was probably better.
9... 0-0
9...NxN was clearly better.
The position was now:
click for larger view10. Qd3
"Weak. The correct move was 10. NxN+." (Rosenthal in the Tournament Book). Rosenthal is surely correct that 10. NxN+ was better than the text. But best of all was 10. g3 attacking the Black pawn chair (the Korchnoi-Zak approach). The text gives Schlechter a chance he does not seize. 10... NxN
This is good enough to preserve Black's advantage, but 10...Na5 would have either eliminated the dangerous White Bishop at c4 or put it out of play (after 11. Bb5 c6 12. NxN+ QxN 13. Ba4). 11. exN?
After this inexplicable move (blocking his own Bishop's diagonal), Brody was lost. The seemingly obvious 11. BxN was essential. 11... Ne7
If Brody had hoped to gain some advantage by driving Schlechter's knight away, his plan failed miserably. At e7, the Black knight can contribute to the Black defense quite nicely. 12. h4
The thematic move for White in many variations of the King's Gambit is a means of attacking the Black pawn chain. But 12. Re1 or maybe 12. a4 were better here. The h4 idea no longer packs much punch in this position. 12... Bf5
13. Qe2 Ng6
Another possibility was the tricky 13...Re8 (14. hxg5 Re8). 14. hxg5 hxg5
15 g3?!
Brody is playing with fire Allowing Schlechter's next move leads to an immediate crisis in which White is unlikely to survive 15.. g4!
Schlechter happily accepts the challenge
The position was now:
click for larger viewSchlechter almost certainly has a won game here. He is up a pawn and rolling up the King-side. But from here, the game took a series of strange twists and turns as I will discuss in my next post on this game. | 
Kibitzing
