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Emanuel Lasker vs Wilhelm Steinitz
Lasker - Steinitz World Championship Rematch (1896), Moscow RUE, rd 12, Dec-23
Spanish Game: Morphy Defense. Modern Steinitz Defense (C71)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
Feb-10-04  Whitehat1963: Where does Lasker go wrong here?
Feb-10-04  Brian Watson: the idea 8.Qd5, forcing the doubling of black's pawns, seems wrong, since it loses time. By the eleventh move, black is practically three tempi ahead. Also, the doubling of black's pawns isn't a serious weakness -- it opens the f-file to black's advantage.
Sep-17-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  Chessical: Lasker having dominated the match to date makes a careless move in an equal position with <19.Nb3??>. He should have played 19.Nc2 =

Perhaps <8.Qd5!?> is the first illustration of a rather casual attitude by Lasker in obtaining a quick draw with so many points (+7) already in the bag.

Steinitz pounces with the shattering <19...Nxe4!>, a coup based on 20.fxe4? Rf2 and mate. After that Lasker has no chance.

Steinitz won the next game in this match; who knows if he would have scored any wins at all if he had not been reinvigorated by this game.

Oct-21-06  RookFile: Steinitz was like Muhammed Ali, in that he hung around too long in the ring, and took too many punches. Sometimes, you need to learn to just move onto other things in your life.
Oct-25-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  maxi: There is a nice positional subtlety in this game. The move 13...Ba7 seems to waste a tempo with respect to the move 13...Bb6, since the black bishop is then in a square that will be attacked by the white rook after the usual plan by white, which is the advance a4 and b5, with the pawn exchange opening the rook file. But 13...Ba7! is the correct move, because it allows to answer white's 14.a4 with black's 14...b5! and check white's expansion on the queen side. The move 13...Bb6? is not good because it allows white to get space in the queen side.
Oct-27-07  notyetagm: Position after 19 ♘d2-b3?:


click for larger view

Here the great tactician Dr. Lasker (White) has committed a tactical mistake. He was not sufficiently cognizant of the threat to the f2-mating square next to his White e2-king.

Since White cannot <DEPEND> upon the Black f6-knight to <BLOCK> the f-file, he must <DEPEND> upon -his- White f3-pawn to <BLOCK> the f-file. But if the White f3-pawn is <BLOCKING> the f-file, who is <DEFENDING> the White e4-pawn? Nobody!

Steinitz (Black) then won a pawn for free with the nasty <DISCOVERED PIN> 19 ... ♘f6xe4!.

Position after 19 ... ♘f6xe4!:


click for larger view

The point is that the White f3-pawn cannot recapture on e4, due to the resulting <PIN> down the f-file against the f2-mating square.

(VAR) Position after 20 f3xe4?? ♖f7-f2#:


click for larger view

Nov-01-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  maxi: Lasker was winning the match 7-0 at the point when this game was played. This probably helps explain the peculiar cavalier style. He exchanges pawns, pieces and queens to double black's king pawn, while giving black opens lines and an easy development. He then plays the awful 11.c3 and the suicidal 19.♘b3. Finally he resigns in what is, yes, an inferior position, but Steinitz had already shown he was insecure and prone to making blunders during this match.
Mar-01-08  Knight13: First win by Steinitz in this pathetic rematch, who had to rely on Lasker's occassional oversight to win.
Mar-10-09  thegoodanarchist: A win by black without castling by either side - is this the only WCC game where that happens?
Jul-16-09  Artemi: Oversight is part of playing chess! Steinitz is 60 years old when this match is played! Lasker is only 27 years old! A win is a win !
Sep-17-10  soothsayer8: I'm kind of glad Lasker lost this game, he was clearly getting a bit cocky in this match. Ke2? really? Castling not good enough for you anymore now that you're world champ?
Jan-23-11  Lennonfan: Is 19.Rf1 no good instead of Nb3? It stops black taking the e pawn with his knight
Jul-10-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: <Steinitz won the next game in this match; who knows if he would have scored any wins at all if he had not been reinvigorated by this game.> Well, before this game was played Steinitz at least twice let Lasker slip off the hook by mistakes in won positions after outplaying him in great style. Lasker only returned to Steinitz his favour in this game.
Jul-20-12  King.Arthur.Brazil: 19...Nxe4! Lasker cannot reply f3xN because of Rf2#! Still 27...Kxd8 if 28.Rf2 Nc4+ and 29...Bf2. White must play 28.Nc2 then 28...Nxf1. After 7x0, Lasker gave a hand to poor Steinitz, let him win at once...
Nov-11-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  profK: A most un-Lasker-like tactical error on the 19th.

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