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Steinitz,W — Lasker,Em
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(14)
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| D46/30 |
Semi-Slav: Meran (Chigorin)
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| 1894.05.08 |
CAN Montreal, PQ (Cosmopolitan
Club)
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Annotations by Lasker &
Steinitz
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6
| ** |
Steinitz: An old idea
revived
by Chigorin and Gunsberg, and also adopted by Lasker against Blackburne
in a similar position. It practically prevents the development of
White’s
c1-bishop on the kingside, but it has its drawbacks, notably that it
exposes
Black to an attack in the center, as in the game. |
4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bd6 6.Bd3 Nbd7 7.0-0 0-0
| ** |
Steinitz: If Black here
advanced
7...e5 White would have exchanged both pawns, creating an isolated pawn
in the adverse center. |
8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 h6
| ** |
Steinitz: He could not now
advance the e-pawn without losing a pawn, as White would have exchanged
twice, followed by Bxh7+, etc. |
11.Bc2 f5
| ** |
Lasker: Although this
advance
weakens the e-pawn, it paves the way for a strong attack on the
king’s
wing.
Steinitz: If now 11...e5 12.Qd3 f5
13.Qb3
Kh8 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Rd1, with a strong attack. The text move, however,
weakens his center at once. |
12.Re1 Nf6 13.Bd2 Bd7 14.Bc3 Qc7 15.Ne5 Be8 16.Qd3
g5
| ** |
Steinitz: Black, no doubt,
on his eleventh move speculated upon this attack. However, it will
be seen that it does not compensate for the weakness of his
e-pawn. |
17.Qh3 Qg7 18.Rad1
| ** |
Lasker: “White has
skillfully
prepared a strong attack in the centre of the board if an opportunity
arrives.
He threatens now P-Q5, and if then 19...PxP 20.PxP KtxP and 21.RxKt PxR
followed by a discovered attack on the queen.” |
18...g4
| ** |
Lasker: Playing
White’s
game, it merely drives the queen from a harmless post to a most
threatening
position. Black was under the impression that he could continue with
19...Qg5,
but saw too late that White could then gain a clear pawn by 20.Nxg4.
Black
should have played 18...Bh5 and if 19.f3 g4 or if 19.Rd2 Rae8 and his
position
would have been excellent. |
19.Qe3 Bh5 20.Nxc6
| ** |
Steinitz: The soundness of
the sacrifice here involved is shown by the sequel. |
20...Bxh2+ 21.Kxh2 g3+ 22.Qxg3
| ** |
Lasker: “The
combination selected
in the text is by far superior to the alternative 22.K-Q, because there
might follow PxP.” |
22...Qxg3+ 23.fxg3 Bxd1 24.Bxd1
| ** |
Steinitz: Better than
24.Ne7+
Kf7 25.Bxd1 Rfe8 26.Bb4 Rxe7 27.Bxe7 Kxe7 28.d5 Ne4 etc. |
24...bxc6 25.Rxe6 Ne4
| ** |
Lasker: This seems to be the
only move to prevent White from playing 26.d5.
Steinitz: If 25...Rac8, White intended
to continue 26.Bf3 Ne4 27.Rxh6 (or 27.Bxe4). It should be remembered
that
26.d5 would not work well on account of the continuation 26...Ne4 and if
27.Rg6+ Kh7 28.Rg7+ Kh8 29.Bd4 c5 30.Be5 Rfe8 etc. |
26.Rxc6 Nxc3 27.bxc3 Kg7
| ** |
The following note is not a
direct
quote from a single source. My first source gives
‘superior’ in place
of ‘inferior’, and then gives ‘mating’ where the
second source has ‘waiting’.
So for the sake of clarity I have merged the two sources to provide a
single
ambiguous rook-quote.-[Pope]
Lasker: “By far inferior to R-K.
White
could hardly then have taken the KRP on account of the close confinement
of his king, and if Black can force the entrance of his rooks into the
enemy’s camp it would be at least very
difficult
to avoid a mating position.” |
28.Ra6 Rf7 29.c5 Rd8
(Sealed)
| ** |
Lasker: Far superior would
have been 29...Re7. Although White would have had a chance to extricate
himself on account of the three moves that Black had lost, by means of
pawn to g4, followed eventually by Ra4, yet the maneuver would have made
the win more difficult for White. |
30.Kg1
| ** |
Steinitz: The only danger to
White’s game now was that the opponent
should
double rooks on the eighth file, and the move adopted tends to prevent
the formation of any possible mating position of this nature, but
creates
other difficulties which might have been obviated at once by 30.Re6
followed
by 31.Bf3, after which the advance of the pawns could not be
hindered. |
30...Re7 31.Kf2 Rb8 32.Bb3 Rbe8 33.Bc4 Rb8 34.Bd3 h5
35.Kf3
Rb2 36.Bxf5 Rf7 37.Ke4
| ** |
Lasker: The crossing of the
king into the support of his pawns practically ends the
battle. |
37...Re2+ 38.Kd3 Rxg2 39.Rg6+ Kf8 40.Be4 Rg1 41.d5 Rg7
42.Rxg7 Kxg7 43.c6 Kf6 44.c7 Rxg3+ 45.Kd4 Rg8 46.d6 1-0.
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The Sun, New York,
1894.05.09
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New-York Daily Tribune,
1894.05.09
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New York Recorder, 1894.05.09
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27
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