David Janowski vs Carl Schlechter (1902)

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David Janowski vs Carl Schlechter
Schlechter - Janowski (1902), Karlsbad BOH (Austro-Hungarian Empire), rd 7, Jun-17
Spanish Game: Closed. Averbakh Variation (C87) · 1-0

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Aug-17-08		ughaibu: I'd never heard of this match. The games are amazing, in almost all of them Schlechter goes in for a sacrificial attack. This was his only loss, he won six and three were drawn.

Jul-18-25		KEG: After getting manhandled by Schlechter in the first six games of the match (in which he managed only a single draw against five losses), Janowski finally played and won a fine Game #7. This hardly gave him much of a chance to save the match since he was still four games down (5-1) with at most seven games to play, especially since Schlechter was always an extremely difficult opponent to defeat. With only three games as White remaining, Janowski's prospects remained remote (and indeed he did not win another game in this match). Nonetheless, we can enjoy and appreciate Janowski's one fine display of his skills. As <Chessical> has pointed out, Schlechter's 27...Rd2 was an oversight. But he was almost certainly lost even before this error, and the combination by Janowski that Schlechter overlooked remains pleasing to behold. 1. e4 e5 Schlechter had played the Petroff in Game #1 and the French Defense in Game #3, winning both times after bad mistakes by Janowski. Schlechter turned to the Ruy Lopez in Game #5 (which ended in a draw) and played it again here and in Game #9 (another draw). 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Janowski had played the then fashionable 5. Nc3 in Game #5. He played the more usual 5. 0-0 in this game, and employed the Berlin Defense in Game #9 (the final game in this match in which Janowski had White). 5... Be7 6. Re1 d6 A deferred version of the Steinitz Defense. Perfectly sound even if not tremendously dynamic. 7. c3 0-0 8. d4 8. d3 has been more usually played here, but the text is entirely in the spirit of this opening. 8... Bd7 9. Nbd2 As played in Lasker-Steinitz St. Petersburg 1895-1896: click for larger view 9... Re8 10. Nf1 exd4 Steinitz played 10...Bf8 in the above-cited game. The text (or maybe 10...b5) look best. 11. cxd4 d5! With this fine move, Schlechter had nearly equalized. click for larger view 12. e5 Ne4 13. Bc2 13. a3 to prevent 13...Nb4 looks most prudent, but the text was certainly not a mistake. 13... Nb4 14. Bb1 As always, Janowski liked to keep his Bishops (and thus no 14. BxN here), and especially liked keeping a Bishop on this diagonal. 14... c5! click for larger view 15. a3 Nc6 16. dxc5 Bg4 This looks best to me although it allowed Janowski to retain an extra pawn at least for now: click for larger view Quite a sharp and double-edged position in which--for once in this match--Schlechter soon seemed out of sorts and quickly found himself in major trouble. I quite like Schlechter's play to this point, but perhaps this line did not best suit his positional strategic strengths.

Jul-19-25		KEG: Post II 17. b4 In his zeal to retain his extra pawn, Janowski seems to have missed a strong line (17. Ne3!) that would have given him the better game. The text, by contrast, should have led to an even game in which Schlechter actually would have regained his pawn or have achieved equality in other ways, i.e., 17...a5 18. b5 Bxc5 19. BxN dxB 20. QxQ RexQ 21. bxN exN 22. Be3 fxg2 23. Kxg2 Be7 24. cxb7 Rab8 25. Bb6 Re8 26. Bxa5 Rxb7 27. Bd2 with a likely draw despite White's extra pawn. But instead, Schlechter here erred badly with: 17... g6? click for larger view From here matters went steadily downhill for Schlechter: 18. Bb2 Ng5 19. N1d2 Bf8 20. Qb3 Bg7 21. Ba2 click for larger view Schlechter was a pawn down with almost certainly insufficient compensation. For now, he had to guard his d-pawn with 21...Be6. Instead, he relinquished one of his Bishops: 21... BxN? 22. NxB NxN+ Desperately seeking relief through exchanges. 23. QxN Bxe5 24. BxB NxB 25. Qxd5 The capture Schlechter should have prevented back on move 21. The position now was: click for larger view 25... Qf6 To have any practical chance, Schlechter here had to try 25...Qc7. The text hung the Black b-pawn: click for larger view 26. Rad1? Janowski seemingly could have won with 26. Qxb7. But Janowski preferred to play for tactical tricks: click for larger view Despite failing to put away the game with 26. Qxb7, Janowski probably still was a favorite to win with his extra pawn, even if Schlechter made the normal move: 26...Nc6. But Schlechter now fell into the trap I suspect Janowski had set for him. 26... Rad8? For once in this match, Schlechter's positional and tactical prowess here deserted him. The reason for this error would soon become apparent. 27. Qxb7 click for larger view Schlechter was a fine enough player to see the evil mirage that Janowski had concocted for him. Black to play and lose. Only a very fine player could make the final fatal mistake Schlechter had unwittingly prepared. A devilish concept that--if I am right--Janowski decided would lead Schlechter to disaster,

Jul-20-25		KEG: Post III 27... Rd2?! click for larger view There is a clear refutation of this move, as Janowski quickly demonstrated. Did Schlechter miss it? Perhaps. But there is another possibility. Being two pawns down and probably lost on any reckoning, it has occurred to me that Schlechter likely also saw the refutation. But Janowski was playing horribly in this match and had already blundered away a win in Game #3. So maybe, just maybe, Schlechter played as he did in the not futile hope that Janowski would miss the winning reply. Perhaps Schlechter thought it was worth a try. Just a guess on my part. Back to the actual game. In the above-diagrammed position, White to move and win. 28. Bxf7+! The only way to win. Had Janowski sloppily played 28. RxR? Schlechter could have drawn: 28...Nf3+! 29. gxN RxR+ 30. Kg2 Qg5+ and Black draws by perpetual check. Janowski's fine move, however, put an end to all such hopes for White. It left: click for larger view 28... Kf8. Probably the worst of the options open to Black. But even on 28...QxB ["best:] White wins with 29. QxQ+ KxQ 30. RxR Nf3+ 31. gxN Re1+ 32. Kg2 and White with his three extra pawns--including a protected passed c-pawn, wins easily. 29. BxR Qxf2+ 30. Kh1 Nd3 click for larger view 31. Qf7+ 31. Qe7+ Kg8 32. RxR is a faster and more brutal way to win, but the text was more than sufficient. 31... QxQ 32. BxQ click for larger view Game over. 32... Nf2+ 33. Kg1 NxR 34. Bc4 click for larger view 1-0 With the White King safe, the ending is hopeless for Black.

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