Arturo Reggio vs Richard Teichmann (1902)

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Arturo Reggio vs Richard Teichmann
Monte Carlo (1902), Monte Carlo MNC, rd 19, Mar-06
Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern Variation (D50) · 0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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Nov-14-24		KEG: The moves of this game do not appear in the tournament book, which only says: "Teichmann soon obtained an advantage, and won after the midday adjournment. 1. d4 d5 2. c4...QGD 0-1, 40 moves." This site has supplied the balance of the game. Given some of the lapses attributed to Teichmann in the score, I question whether we have the actual moves of the game. Reggio finished 19th out of 20 in this tournament and also finished next to last at Monte Carlo 1903, so I could be persuaded that he played as badly as is reflected in the score given here. But Teichmann was a very strong player who finished 4th ahead of Tarracsh, Schlechter, and Wolf. If indeed we now have the correct moves to this game, this was Teichmann's weakest effort in this tournament. For the balance of my commentary, I will accept the score as presented here. But I retain my suspicions: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 b6 I have never been keen on this line for Black, and prefer 5...0-0 or 5...h6. But---if the score can be trusted---Teichmann as we will see had an idea in mind in playing 5...b6, 6. cxd5 exd5 click for larger view When I first played over the game and saw 6...exd5 instead of 6...Nxd5, I said to my self: "So why did he play 5...b6 if he planned to block the long diagonal?" While I haven't changed my mind about 5...b6, Teichmann ultimately answered my question. 7. Bd3 Bb7 8. Nf3 Ne4 A novelty (which has only a superficial resemblance to Lasker's ...Ne4 defense to the QGD...that Teichmann almost certainly had in mind in playing 5...b6. It left: click for larger view 9. Bf4 9. BxB also leaves White better placed. 9... 0-0 10. 0-0 c5 click for larger view Teichmann's notion of how to stomp on his far inferior opponent now comes into view. Theoretically, White is plainly better here. But Reggio was clearly flummoxed and quickly fell to pieces. Moreover (spoiled alert), the Black c-pawn was destined to be the hero of this game. 11. Rc1 11. Qc2 was plainly better, though White is still probably slighter for choice even after this second-best move. 11... Nd7 Development is always good, but here 11...NxN followed by 12...c4 and only then 13...Nd7 was a superior line for Black. But, and again as will be seen, Teichmann appears to be giving Reggio an opportunity to mess up the White game. If this was indeed Teichmann's plan, it worked like a charm. 12. Bb1 Very weak. 12. Qc2 was plainly much better. 12... Rc8 13. Nd2 Another amateurish effort by Reggio, who soon gets a truly bad game. At this point, however, he hadn't actually ruined his position to the point that he was in any significant trouble (yet), the position now being: click for larger view

Nov-15-24		KEG: Post II 13... NxN (c3) 14. RxN 14. bxN was surely better. 14... Bf6 I am surprised that Teichmann did not play 14...c4 or, perhaps better still, 14...g6 ending any threats to h7 among the diagonal. 15. Nf3 Re8 click for larger view At this point, the game was very much in the balance. But beginning here Reggio began a series of second-best (or worse) moves until he completely blundered away the game on move 27. 16. Qd3 A useless threat at this point. If Reggio wanted to attack (and why not!), 16. h4 or 16. Bf5 were superior ways to begin. 16... g6 17. Rfc1 This gets White nowhere. 17... c4 Ending whatever notions Reggio had in mind with his last move. 18. Qf1 Probably the weakest retreat with the Queen Reggio could have made. 18... c4! Beginning a very strong expansion on the Queen-side. As I mentioned before, the White c-pawn was to prove to be the main protagonist in this contest. click for larger view 19. a3 This only played into Teichmann's planned Queen-side advance by providing him an attractive target. 19... a5 Here comes Teichmann. 20. R3c2 b4 click for larger view 21. g4? Worse than useless. Reggio had nothing better than (the admittedly distasteful) 21. axb4. Now things get zonky. Teichmann seems to have something close to a won game with 21...b3! But: 21... Qb6? Giving Reggio another chance to trade pawns on b4. But... 22. h4? Continuing with his wild (and misguided_ King-side advance: click for larger view Now, surely, Teichmann would drive the stake through Reggio's heart with 22...b3. But... 22... Bc6? Now surely Reggio would play 23. axb4 (or maybe 23. Qb3), right? Nope: 23. h6 Ba4 24. hxg6 Yet again, 24. axb4 was indicated. 24... fxg6 Of course, not 24...BxR? which gets crushed by 25. gxf7+ Kxf7 26. BxB Nf8 27. Bf5. But 24...hxg6 was clearly best. This all left: click for larger view Reggio had played poorly to this point, but was probably not yet lost. Starting here, however, he seemed to lose his mind (perhaps time pressure given the approaching move-30 time control), and was soon dead in the water (even after a shocking omission by Teichmann on move 26 which almost blew his win. Among other things, Reggio had a Rook hanging here, not that this dissuaded him from his king-side attack fixation.

Nov-16-24		KEG: Post III 25. Qh3? His only decent choices were 25. axb4 or 25. Rd2 (though 25...bxa3 26. bxa3 c3 could get brutal for White). 25... BxR He could equally well have played 25...bxa3 and then 26...BxR. 26. BxB click for larger view 26... b3? Hard to believe Teichmann didn't just play 26...bxa3 or 26...Qe6 with b3 to follow shortly. Perhaps the approaching move-30 time control was a factor here. After the text, White might have a fighting chance with 27. g5! But instead, Reggio played: 27. Bb1? Just awful. Now, White is toast: click for larger view 27... Qe6 27...c3 would also be curtains for White. 28. Re1? Worse than surrender. The rest was brutal: 28... c3! The heroic Black c-pawn now crashes through and sacrifices itself so the Black b-pawn can decide the game: click for larger view 29. bxc3 A sad move, but there was nothing better. 29... Rxc3 30. Qg2? Futile and counter-productive. But the "better" 30. Kg2 would not have saved the game. 30... b2 Ouch! click for larger view The move-30 time control had been reached, so Reggio might have spared himself the rest. But he elected to play on in a position that not even Magnus Carlsen could hope to defend: 31. g5 Going for broke. 31... Bg7 31...Be7 is even more convincing, not that it really matters. 32. e4 Still trying to land a haymaker. 32... dxe4 33. Ne5 Attack is the only hope---though not much of one: 33... NxN 34. dxN click for larger view I will cover the balance of this contest in my final post on this game.

Nov-17-24		KEG: Post IV The result was o longer in doubt: 34... e3 This certainly did the trick for Teichmann, though 34...Bxe5 or 34...Qc4 appear to be easier ways to win. 35. Bxe3 Qxe5 Probably not the fastest way to close out the game, but a clear winning method nonetheless: click for larger view 36. Ba2+ Whatever it was Reggio was hoping for (a miracle back-rank mate from a gross blunder by Teichmann), it didn't happen. 36... Kh8 37. Qf1 It almost seems as if Reggio was attempting to manufacture some sort of help-mate: 37... Qf5 Teichmann could just have played 37...Rxa3, but at this point almost any sensible move for Black wins. 38. Qg2 If Reggio truly wanted to play on for a while, he had to play 38. Bb1 (not that this would have saved the game for him. Now came the obvious hammer-blow: 38... Rc1 Ouch! click for larger view For whatever reason, Reggio chose to allow Teichmann to annihilate what was left of the White position: 39. RxR bxR(Q)+ 40. BxQ Re1+ click for larger view White resigns Now, even if after 41. Kh2 Teichmann chose to play 41...RxB (41...Be5+ is murder of course), there is still no back-rank mate for White since c8 would be well covered by the Black Queen and the Black Rook.

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