[Event "London"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Bird"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4
3.¤f3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.¤e5
This is known as the Kieseritzky variation in the King's gambit where
White's idea is to put immediate pressure on Black's f7 square.
5...¤f6 6.¥c4 d5
Black must stop White from coming in on the f7 square.
7.exd5 ¥d6
7...Bg7 preparing to castle while adding protection to Black's kingside
should be preferred.
8.d4 ¤h5 9.¤c3 ¥f5
9...O-O removing the king from the center would have been a better plan.
10.¤e2 ¥xe5 11.dxe5 f3
12.gxf3 gxf3 13.¥g5 f6
13...fxe2 14.Qxe2 White has a double attack on Black's queen and knight.
14.exf6 £d6
14...fxe2 15.Qxe2+ Kf8 would allow White a mating attack.
15.£d4 fxe2 16.¥xe2 £g3+ 17.¢d2 O-O
Black's king will come under fire since he has just castled onto the
open g- file.
18.¦ag1
Black resigned since after his queen moves, the open g-file would win
the game for White. 18. Rag1 Black resigned due to White's mating attack down
the open g-file.
18...£d6 19.¥f4+ ¢h8 20.¥xd6 cxd6 21.f7+ ¤g7 22.£xg7# 1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Bottin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "57"]
1.e4 e5 2.c3 ¤f6 3.d4 ¤xe4 4.dxe5 ¥c5
The opening has turned into a very sharp position, and now White turns
up the heat!
5.£g4 ¤xf2 6.£xg7 ¦f8
White's invasion is more dangerous than Black's.
7.¥g5 f6 8.exf6 d5 9.¥e2 ¥g4
This minor nuisance can be dealt with in an obvious way.
10.¥xg4 ¤xg4 11.f7+ ¦xf7 12.£xf7+ ¢xf7 13.¥xd8 ¤f2
Black has made far too many moves with this knight, which now moves into
a position from which it will never escape.
14.¥h4 ¤xh1 15.¤f3 ¤c6 16.¤bd2 ¦g8 17.¢f1 d4 18.cxd4 ¤xd4 19.¤xd4 ¥xd4 20.¤f3 ¥b6 21.¦e1 h6 22.¦e7+ ¢f8 23.¤e5 ¦g7 24.¤d7+ ¢g8 25.¦xg7+ ¢xg7 26.¤xb6 axb6
White wins because Black's knight is trapped. Notice that this would be
true even if the White king were far away, since the bishop on h4 controls all
of the escape squares for the knight.
27.g4 ¢g6 28.¢g2 h5 29.h3 1-0
[Event "Paris Opera"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Duke of Brunswick & Count iso"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.e4
This is another game against Royalty (see also Morphy-Lyttleton). The
present game is better known, having been played at the Paris Opera during a
performance of the Barber of Seville. Talk about distractions!
1...e5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 ¥g4 4.dxe5 ¥xf3 5.£xf3 dxe5 6.¥c4 ¤f6 7.£b3 £e7 8.¤c3
Given the circumstances of the
game, Morphy just didn't feel like capturing the pawn at b7. That would have
taken the fun out of the game!
8...c6 9.¥g5 b5 10.¤xb5
That's more like it! Morphy sacrifices a knight for the b-pawn instead
of capturing it for free at his 8th turn.
10...cxb5 11.¥xb5+ ¤bd7 12.O-O-O ¦d8
Both knights are pinned, and Morphy now trades one pin for another.
13.¦xd7 ¦xd7 14.¦d1 £e6 15.¥xd7+ ¤xd7
Black has an extra piece, but White checkmates in two moves. If you
can't find Morphy's brilliant finish on your own, continue on and let Gambit
show you. Either way, it is a pleasant sight!
16.£b8+ ¤xb8 17.¦d8# 1-0
[Event "Blindfold Game"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Carr"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.e4 h6 2.d4 a5
A time-honored strategy when playing against a blindfolded opponent is
to adopt an obscure, and often bad, opening, in the hope of creating confusion.
It is a bad idea, and rarely works!
3.¥d3 b6 4.¤e2 e6 5.O-O ¥a6 6.c4 ¤f6 7.e5 ¤h7 8.f4
White has superior development and complete domination of the center.
Morphy hardly seems to be confused by his opponent's ridiculous opening
strategy.
8...¥e7 9.¤g3 d5 10.£g4 O-O
This is knows as "castling into it".
11.¤h5
Suppose Black plays 11... g6 here. How could you bring the game to a
rapid close.
11...g5
Black has little choice but to create this major weakness on the
kingside.
12.fxg5 hxg5 13.¥xh7+ ¢h8
13...Kxh7 14.Nf6+ Bxf6 15.Rxf6 and checkmate will follow shortly.
14.¤f6 dxc4 15.¥c2
Everyone at Electronic Arts hopes that you will never, ever, be in such
dire straits as Black is here, even if your opponent is blindfolded! Black now
uses a combination to exchange queens, but loses material.
15...£xd4+ 16.£xd4 ¥c5 17.£xc5 bxc5 18.¥xg5
Black's position cannot be said to be much improved. Fortunately, Morphy
does not allow Mr. Carr to live long enough to suffer greatly.
18...¤c6 19.¦f3 ¢g7
Now Morphy forces checkmate in 6 moves.
20.¥h6+ ¢xh6 21.¦h3+ ¢g5 22.¦h5+ ¢f4 23.¢f2 ¦g8 24.g3+ ¦xg3 25.hxg3# 1-0
[Event "Blindfold Game"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Lyttleton"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.e4 e5
Morphy's opponent is not just an ordinary citizen, but a British Lord
and President of the British Chess Association. All of which is of no use when
seated at the chessboard against Morphy, even when Morphy is blindfolded!
2.f4 exf4 3.¤f3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.¤e5
This position was frequently seen in games played in the 19th century.
5...d6 6.¤xg4 ¥e7
Black gains time by attacking the weak pawn at h4.
7.d4
White occupies the center, achieving one of the primary objectives of
the opening.
7...¥xh4+ 8.¤f2 ¥xf2+
It might have been nice to maintain this pin a bit longer, but Black
wants to be able to bring the knight at g8 into the game.
9.¢xf2 ¤f6 10.¤c3 £e7 11.¥xf4 ¤xe4+ 12.¤xe4 £xe4 13.¥b5+
A powerful move, threatening a nasty pin with Re1.
13...¢f8
13...c6 14.Re1
14.¥h6+ ¢g8 15.¦h5
White is closing in for the kill. The king is trapped along the back
rank, so if White can get a rook or queen to the e- file and then to e8, the
game ends.
15...¥f5 16.£d2
The threat is Re1.
16...¥g6 17.¦e1
The move that was set-up by 13.Bb5+ finishes the game, as if the queen
moves, Re8+ mates.
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Unknown"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥c4 ¤f6 4.d4 exd4
5.¤g5 d5 6.exd5 ¤xd5
This loses, as Black's king becomes too exposed.
7.O-O ¥e7 8.¤xf7
Now Black's king will get dragged to e6 where it will shortly die of
exposure.
8...¢xf7 9.£f3+ ¢e6 10.¤c3
This beautiful sacrifice has two purposes. First, White gets ready to
bring his queen rook into the fight, and second, Black's d- pawn is drawn away
from its post keeping the d-file closed. Black can't decline, since d5 is
attacked.
10...dxc3 11.¦e1+ ¤e5 12.¥f4 ¥f6 13.¥xe5 ¥xe5 14.¦xe5+
Now it will be White's rook, queen and bishop against Black's bare king,
not a fair fight.
14...¢xe5 15.¦e1+ ¢d4 16.¥xd5
Black's king has nowhere to run to.
16...¦e8 17.£d3+ ¢c5 18.b4+
Not 18.Qxc3+ Kd6. Now 18...Kd6 allows 19.Bf3 mate.
18...¢xb4
18...Kb6 19.Qd4+ Ka6 20.b5+ with a mate similar to the game.
19.£c4+ ¢a5 20.£xc3+ ¢a4 21.£b3+ ¢a5 22.£a3+ ¢b5 23.¦b1# 1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Anderssen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 £xd5 3.¤c3 £a5 4.d4 e5
A mistake since opening up the position will favor the side who is
better developed and in this case it's to White's advantage. 4...Nf6
5.dxe5 £xe5+ 6.¥e2 ¥b4 7.¤f3
White shows a deep understanding of the position. By giving up a pawn he
will gain the advantage of having his pieces developed.
7...¥xc3+ 8.bxc3 £xc3+ 9.¥d2 £c5 10.¦b1
White has developed four pieces to Black's one due to the sacrificed
pawn.
10...¤c6 11.O-O ¤f6 12.¥f4 O-O
12...Nd5 would allow White to win a piece.
13.¥xc7
White stands much better since he has regained his sacrificed pawn while
keeping his lead in development.
13...¤d4 14.£xd4 £xc7
14...Qxc2 With the idea of attacking both bishops would backfire after
15.Bc4 when White hangs on to his extra piece.
15.¥d3 ¥g4 16.¤g5 ¦fd8
16...Bh5 17.Ne4 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 Bg6 19.Qxb7 when White is a pawn ahead.
17.£b4
17.Bxh7+ Nxh7 18.Qxg4 Nxg5 19.Qxg5 Qxc2 20.Rxb7 Qxa2 allows Black to
keep the material even.
17...¥c8
A sad move but the only move that allows Black to keep the material
balance. 17...b6 18.Nxh7 Nxh7 19.Qxg4 17...Rab8 18.Nxh7 Nxh7 19.Qxg4
18.¦fe1
White has a big advantage due to his better development.
18...a5 19.£e7 £xe7
19...Rd7 Here White has a forced mate in two.
20.¦xe7
The exchange of queens has increased White's advantage due to his rook
being on the seventh rank.
20...¤d5
20...Rf8 21.Bc4 would force Black to part with his f-pawn.
21.¥xh7+
21.Rxf7 h6 when Black would win material because of the double attack on
both the White rook on f7 and the knight on g5.
21...¢h8 22.¦xf7 ¤c3 23.¦e1 ¤xa2 24.¦f4
With the idea of catching the Black king in a mating net after a future
Rh4.
24...¦a6 25.¥d3
Black resigned since the further loss of material is unavoidable. White
threatens 25.Nf7+ winning the rook on e8 and 25.Bxa6.
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Jounoud"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "33"]
1.e4 c5 2.d4
An early example of the Smith-Morra Gambit.
2...cxd4 3.¤f3
Better is 3.c3 at once.
3...e5
Suppose White takes the pawn at e5.
4.¥c4 ¥e7 5.c3 d6
6.£b3
There isn't anything to be done about the pawn at f7, because 6...Nh6
will be met by 7.Bxh6.
6...dxc3 7.¥xf7+ ¢f8 8.¤xc3 ¤c6 9.¥xg8 ¦xg8 10.O-O
Don't be confused! Black is not castled, and the king is vulnerable.
10...£e8 11.¤g5 ¥xg5 12.¥xg5 ¥e6 13.¤d5 h6
Now all White has to do is blast open the f-file and victory is his. The
method is easy to find!
14.f4 £d7
14...hxg5 15.fxg5+ Bf7 16.Nc7 Qe7 17.Nxa8 Ke8 18.Rxf7 Qxf7 19.Nc7+ Ke7
20. Qxb7 Black will not survive.
15.fxe5+ ¢e8
Now the Black queen is overworked, having to defend both c7 and e6.
16.¤c7+ £xc7 17.£xe6+ 1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "de Riviere"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥c4 ¥c5 4.b4 ¥xb4 5.c3 ¥c5 6.O-O d6 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 ¥b6
For the sacrificed pawn White has obtained a lead in development.
9.¤c3
The development of the queen knight in this position was a Morphy
specialty. 9. d5 was favored by another great attacking player: Adolf
Anderssen.
9...£f6
Black's idea is to put pressure on the White d-pawn. However, this is a
mistake since the Black queen will be subject to attack on f6.
10.¤d5 £g6
10...Qd8 Admitting that his last move was a mistake was Black's best
move.
11.¤f4 £f6 12.e5
White is able to open up the position for the attack due to the
unfortunate position of the Black queen.
12...dxe5 13.dxe5 £f5 14.e6 f6
Black desperately tries to keep the e-file closed. 14...fxe6 15.Nxe6
Bxe6 16.Bxe6 Qxe6 17.Re1 Black's queen is been trapped due to the pin on the e-
file.
15.¤h4 £c5 16.¥e3
As so often happens when one player has a lead in development it
transfers itself into a direct attack on the enemy king.
16...£g5
16...Qxc4 17.Qh5+ g6 18.Nhxg6 With a quick mate to follow.
17.¤f3 £a5 18.¥xb6 £xb6 19.¤d5
White's constant theme in this game has been to constantly gain time at
the Black queen's expense.
19...£a5 20.¤d2 ¤d4 21.¤b3 ¤xb3 22.axb3 £c5 23.£h5+
Black's backward development with his king remaining in the center gives
White a winning attack.
23...¢d8
23...g6 would allow White a winning combination.
24.¦ad1
Black resigned because he has no good defense to the discovered check on
the d-file.
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Anderssen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "39"]
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 ¤f6 4.d4
4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 with a kingside
pawn majority, is more commonly seen today.
4...¤xd4
4...exd4
5.¤xd4 exd4 6.e5 c6
A mistake which allows White a lead in development. Better was 6...Nd5.
7.O-O
7.exf6 Qa5+ 8.Bd2 Qxb5 9.Qe2+ Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 gxf6
7...cxb5 8.¥g5
Morphy, re cognizing the importance of development, continues to bring
his forces into the game, not wasting time on captures that can wait. The pin
on the knight at f6 is not going anywhere.
8...¥e7
8...h6 9.exf6 hxg5 10.Re1+ Be7 11.Rxe7+ Kf8 12.Qxd4 would be suicidal
for Black.
9.exf6 ¥xf6 10.¦e1+ ¢f8
Due to White's imaginative play Black has lost his right to castle.
11.¥xf6 £xf6 12.c3 d5
13.cxd4 ¥e6 14.¤c3
White has the better position despite his pawn minus this is due to his
better development.
14...a6 15.¦e5 ¦d8 16.£b3 £e7 17.¦ae1
A very strong developing move and one which the amateur should take note
as Black's d-pawn isn't going anywhere.
17...g5
The final mistake which fatally weakens Black's kingside. 17...g6
Creating a flight square for the king without weakening the f5 and h5 squares
would have been a better plan. .
18.£d1 £f6 19.¦1e3 ¦g8
An oversight which costs Black material.
20.¦xe6
Black resigned since material loss is unavoidable after 20...fxe6 21.
Rf3 pinning Black's queen to his king.
1-0
[Event "Blindfold Game"]
[Date "1859.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Cunningham"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1.e4 e5 2.¥c4 ¥c5 3.c3 ¤c6 4.¤f3 ¤f6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 £e7
This seems reasonable, but even at the time it was known that 6...d5 was
the correct move.
7.O-O ¤g8
7...Ng4 8.h3 Ngxe5 9.Nxe5 Nxe5 10.cxd4 Nxc4 11.Re1
8.cxd4 ¥b6 9.d5
White's control of the center is absolute. From such a position it is
easy to win, because Black has no room to maneuver, and will be unable to
complete development.
9...£c5
9...Nxe5 10.Nxe5 Qxe5 11.Re1
10.¤a3 ¤d4 11.¥e3
The pin is not the real problem for Black. It is that he must now part
with one of his only developed pieces.
11...¤xf3+ 12.£xf3 £f8
This is no place for a lady!
13.¥xb6 axb6
Now Black has no developed pieces. White has almost all of the forces in
the game. The end cannot be far off.
14.¤b5 ¢d8 15.¦ac1
White occupies the open file and takes aim at c7.
15...d6 16.exd6 cxd6 17.£e3 ¦a6
Morphy now puts on a display of his impressive talents. The Black king
has almost no maneuvering room. First, he employs a discovered attack on the
rook at a6.
18.¤c7 £e7
18...Kxc7 19.Bxa6+ would be a deadly discovered check.
19.¤e6+
White will exchange this knight for the rook at a6.
19...fxe6 20.¥xa6 ¥d7
Keeping in mind the possibility of Qxb6+, White now adds to the
pressure.
21.¥b5 ¢e8
21...Bxb5 22.Qxb6+ Ke8 23.Qxb5+ Kf7 24.dxe6+ Qxe6 25.Rfe1
22.dxe6 ¤f6
The pawn cannot be captured because of the pin on the bishop at d7.
23.¦c8+
One final exploitation of the pin at d7!
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Date "1859.??.??"]
[White "Budzinsky"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "34"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4
3.¥c4 d5 4.¥xd5 ¤f6 5.¤c3 ¥b4 6.d3
This creates a pin at c3. Because the knight cannot move, the bishop at
d5 and pawn at e4 have less support.
6...¤xd5 7.exd5 O-O 8.£f3 ¦e8+ 9.¤e2
A second pin is added, this time along the e-file. Remember that the
knight is not really protected by its colleague at c3, because that piece is
also pinned by the bishop at b4.
9...¥xc3+ 10.bxc3 £h4+ 11.g3 ¥g4
Black exploits the pin on e2 by adding one at f3. If the queen moves,
then Black wins material by capturing first at g3, then at e2. White actually
resigned here, but let's consider what might have happened.
12.£f2 fxg3 13.£g2
13.hxg3 Qxh1+ shows yet another pin being exploited, this time on the h-
file!
13...¦xe2+ 14.£xe2 ¥xe2 15.¢xe2 g2 16.¦g1 £xh2 17.¥e3 ¤d7
and Black will win easily, perhaps setting up yet another pin on the
e-file.
0-1
[Event "Paris"]
[Date "1859.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Laroche"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "25"]
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥c4 ¥c5 4.b4 ¥xb4 5.c3 ¥a5 6.d4 ¤f6
This is bad since White will kick the knight around and gain time.
7.dxe5 ¤g4
7...Nxe4 8.Qd5
8.¥g5
Now Black must let his kingside get opened up.
8...f6
8...Ne7 9.h3 Nh6 10.Bxh6
9.exf6 ¤xf6 10.e5 h6
Trying to break the pin in order not to lose a piece, but he allows something
even worse.
11.exf6 hxg5 12.fxg7
Now the pawn will win Black's rook, since the bishop controls the
promotion square.
12...£e7+ 13.£e2 1-0
[Event "London"]
[Date "1859.??.??"]
[White "Morphy"]
[Black "Lowenthal"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "61"]
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥c4 ¥c5 4.b4
This pawn sacrifice was invented in 1824 by the English chessplayer
Captain William Davis Evans, and his name has been retained in the name of the
gambit.
4...¥xb4
By sacrificing a pawn White gains time to storm the center with his
pawns by playing 5.c3 and 6.d4.
5.c3 ¥c5 6.O-O d6 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4
¥b6 9.d5
Although this move closes the light squared bishops diagonal it has the
advantage of disorganizing Black's game.
9...¤e5
9...Na5 10.Bb2 Nxc4 11.Qa4+ Bd7 12.Qxc4 would give White good play on
the a1-h8 diagonal.
10.¤xe5 dxe5 11.¥b2 £e7 12.¥b5+
12.Qh5 Trying to win the e-pawn would fail after 12...Bd4
12...¥d7 13.¥xd7+ ¢xd7 14.£g4+
Thanks to White's forceful play he now not only wins back his sacrificed
pawn but gains another pawn while maintaining his attack.
14...f5
14...Ke8 15.Qxg7 Qf6 16.Bxe5 wins Black's rook.
15.£xf5+ ¢e8 16.¥xe5
With Black's king in the center White wishes to attack and so naturally
avoids the simplifications that would have followed 16.Qxe5. 16.Qxe5 Qxe5
17.Bxe5 Kf7 would still be good for White.
16...¤h6 17.£f4 ¢d7
Black tries to connect his rooks in a rather artificial manner.
18.¤d2
18.Nc3 Rae8 Black has trapped White's bishop.
18...¦ae8 19.¤c4 ¥c5
With the idea of playing Bd6 strengthening the defense of his c-pawn.
20.¦ad1 ¥d6 21.¥xd6 cxd6 22.¦b1
With the idea of bringing both rooks in on the queenside offensive.
22...b6 23.¦fc1 £f6 24.£e3 ¤g4 25.¤xb6+
Very pretty! White clears two open files for his major pieces to attack
the Black king.
25...axb6 26.¦c7+
An ingenious move which utilizes the open c-file to it's full extent.
26...¢d8
26...Kxc7 27.Qxb6+ Kd7 28.Qa7+ Kc8 29.Rb8+ Mate.
27.£xb6 £xf2+ 28.£xf2 ¤xf2 29.¦a7
With the help of the open b-file White regains his piece due to the mate
threat on b8.
29...¤h3+ 30.gxh3 ¢c8 31.¢f2
Black resigned as he can't stop White from bringing his king to e3 to
protect the pawn followed by the advance of the a-pawn and doubling of the
rooks on the 7th. 31.Kf2 Rhf8+ 32.Ke3 h6 33.a4 g6 34.a5 h5 35.a6 g5 36.Rbb7 h4
37.Ra8+ Mates.
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Date "1859.??.??"]
[White "Mongredien"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "36"]
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥c4 ¥c5 4.b4
The Evans gambit where White sacrifices a pawn with the idea of building
a strong center.
4...¥xb4 5.c3 ¥a5 6.O-O ¤f6 7.d4 O-O
7...exd4 8.Ba3 d6 9.e5 Ne4 10.Re1 Nxc3 11.exd6+ Kd7 12. Ne5+ Nxe5
13.Qxd4 f6 14.Nxc3 White has a winning position due to the exposed
8.d5
An instructive mistake since White wishes to develop with gain of tempo.
By locking the center White keeps his own pieces out of the attack. 8.dxe5 Nxe4
9.Bd5 Nc5 10.Ng5 Qe7 would leave Black better developed.
8...¤e7 9.£d3
9.Nxe5 d6 10.Nf3 Nxe4 11.Qd4 leaves White with a little compensation for
the lost pawn.
9...d6
Black prepares to finish his development while consolidating his extra
pawn.
10.h3 ¤g6 11.¤h2 ¤h5
The Black knights head for the outpost at f4.
12.¥b3 ¤hf4 13.¥xf4 ¤xf4 14.£f3 f5
Following the rule that one should attack the pawn chain starting at its
base.
15.exf5 ¥xf5
Black's extra pawn and better development give him a winning position.
16.g4
This premature advance weakens the kingside and hastens the end.
16...¥d3 17.£e3
17.Re1 Ne2+ 18.Rxe2 Rxf3
17...¥b6
Instead of capturing the rook straight away Black improves the placement
of his pieces.
18.£d2 £h4
White resigned as he is defenseless against Black's kingside attack. If
you don't see how, play it out against Gambit.
0-1
[Event "London"]
[Date "1863.??.??"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "Hirschfeld"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4
3.¤f3 g5 4.h4
With this move White chooses the Kieseritzky variation of the King's
Gambit.
4...g4 5.¤e5 ¥g7
This move is a mistake as it allows White to build up his center. Better
was attacking White's pawn at e4 immediately with 5...Nf6.
6.d4 ¤f6 7.¥c4 O-O
7...d5 Blocking the White bishop out at c4 should be preferred.
8.¤c3 d6 9.¤xf7
With this move White not only obtains a rook and two pawns for his two
minor pieces but more importantly he exposes the Black king to an attack.
9...¦xf7 10.¥xf7+ ¢xf7 11.¥xf4 ¢g8 12.O-O ¤h5 13.g3
13.Bg5 Not delaying the opening of the f-file while attacking Black's
queen was also possible.
13...¤c6 14.¤e2
Although material is even as White has a rook and pawn for the two
pieces. White's position is superior since he controls the central squares with
his pawns which keeps Black's pieces inactive.
14...£e7 15.£d3 ¥d7 16.¥g5
With this move White not only attacks the Black queen but he also opens
the f-file for his rook.
16...¥f6 17.¥xf6 ¤xf6 18.¤f4 £xe4
This move is an oversight which allows White to win at least a piece.
19.¤h5
Black resigned. If 19...Qxd3 then 20.Nxf6+ followed by 21.cxd3 leaves
White a piece ahead.
1-0
[Event "London"]
[Date "1863.??.??"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "Mongredien"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1.e4 g6
The so-called "Modern Defense". Quite old, actually!
2.d4 ¥g7
What is so "modern" about this opening? The reader may well
wonder, since the early fianchetto was routinely employed by Mongredien in the
mid 19th Century.
3.c3 b6 4.¥e3 ¥b7 5.¤d2
The problem with Black's approach at that time is that it acted as if
White were not a participant in the game. Here Steinitz erects a solid center
with plenty of support, and he does not overextend, so Black has no targets.
5...d6 6.¤gf3 e5 7.dxe5
Steinitz reso lutely avoids advances which might provide targets for
Black's pieces. 7.d5 c6 8.c4 Ne7 9.Be2 f5 gives Black good counterplay.
7...dxe5 8.¥c4 ¤e7 9.£e2
White controls a lot of squares and is about to take the d-file, after
which the Black queen can be embarassed.
9...O-O 10.h4
The general rule is that one reacts to flank activity with a counter-
thrust in the centre, but here Black has nothing to do in the middle of the
board.
10...¤d7 11.h5 ¤f6 12.hxg6
12.Nxe5 Nxh5 13.Nxf7 Rxf7 14.Rxh5 gxh5 15.Qxh5 Qf8 16.O-O-O b5 17.Rh1 h6
12...¤xg6
12...hxg6 13.Nxe5
13.O-O-O c5
Black does not appreciate the danger he is in on the kingside.
14.¤g5 a6
This slow plan to dislocate the bishop has no chance of success.
15.¤xh7
The beginning of a decisive combination.
15...¤xh7 16.¦xh7 ¢xh7 17.£h5+ ¢g8 18.¦h1
18.Qxg6 Qf6!
18...¦e8
The only way to avoid mate at h7.
19.£xg6 £f6 20.¥xf7+
Now that the rook has been displaced from f7, this brings the game to a
close.
20...£xf7 21.¦h8+ ¢xh8 22.£xf7 1-0
[Event "London"]
[Date "1863.??.??"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "Deacon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4
Black accepts the gambit pawn. But what does White gain from this? The
f-file is now open for White's rook after castling. White also has an abundance
of central pawns.
3.¤f3 g5 4.h4
This move introduces the Kieseritzky and Allgaier variations to the
King's Gambit.
4...g4 5.¤e5 ¤f6
5...Bg7 6.d4 would leave White in control of the center.
6.¥c4 d5
The only move to block White's attack on the f7 pawn.
7.exd5 ¥d6 8.d4 ¤h5 9.¤c3 £e7
This move is a mistake as it breaks the opening rule that one should not
develop the queen before castling. 9...O-O getting the king out of the center
was a better move.
10.¥b5+ c6
This move leads to Black's defeat due to tactics on the a4-e8 diagonal.
10...Bd7 11.Qxg4 when Black's light squared bishop is unable to capture the
White queen due to White's control of the a4-e8 diagonal. 10...Kf8 perhaps is
the best move although Black's king would not be very safe on the semi-open
f-file.
11.dxc6 bxc6 12.¤d5
Initiates a beautiful combination made possible by White's light squared
bishop pinning Black's c-pawn.
12...£e6 13.¤c7+
A clearance sacrifice which opens the a2-g8 diagonal for White's light
squared bishop.
13...¥xc7 14.¥c4 £e7 15.¥xf7+ ¢f8 16.¥xh5
White has a won game due to the exposed position of Black's king.
16...¥xe5 17.dxe5 £xe5+ 18.£e2 £xh5
18...Qxe2+ 19.Kxe2 when Black has no way of preventing the loss of his
f- pawn.
19.¥xf4
White is a piece down but Black's exposed king and backward development
give White a winning initiative.
19...¥f5
Black tries to block the f-file leading to his king, but it is too late.
20.O-O ¤d7 21.¥h6+
A decoy move which aims at driving Black's queen from the protection of
his bishop.
21...¢f7
White now has a combination that wins Black's queen.
22.¦xf5+ £xf5 23.¦f1 £xf1+ 24.£xf1+
Although Black has two rooks for the queen his position is lost because
of his open King's position.
24...¢g6 25.¥g5 h6
25...Rhf8 would allow White to win material.
26.£d3+
Black resigned since he either loses material or gets mated.
1-0
[Event "Paris"]
[Date "1863.??.??"]
[White "de Riviere"]
[Black "Morphy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "44"]
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥c4 ¤f6 4.¤g5
This double attack on Black's f-pawn is as old as the game of chess.
4...d5 5.exd5 ¤a5
The classical system of counterattack for Black. Instead of recapturing
the pawn at d5, Black goes after the enemy bishop.
6.d3
This move allows Black to take the initiative. Better was 6.Bb5+ 6.Bb5+
c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 h6 9.Nf3 e4 10.Ne5 Bd6 Where Black's lead in development
compensates for his lost pawn.
6...h6
Black drives back the White knight.
7.¤f3 e4 8.£e2 ¤xc4 9.dxc4 ¥c5 10.h3
10.Bf4 O-O 11.Nfd2 Bg4 12.Qf1 Black has the advantage due to his lead in
development.
10...O-O 11.¤h2 ¤h7
Black shows a very deep understanding of the position since he realizes
that piece play alone will not break through White's position. He prepares a
pawnstorm with the f-pawn leading the way.
12.¤d2 f5 13.¤b3 ¥d6 14.O-O ¥xh2+ 15.¢xh2 f4
Black has the advantage due to his active pieces and White's vulnerable
king.
16.£xe4 ¤g5
The knight enters the game with a gain of tempo on the White queen.
17.£d4 ¤f3+
A beautiful sacrifice which takes advantage of White's light square
weaknesses.
18.gxf3 £h4 19.¦h1 ¥xh3 20.¥d2 ¦f6
Here White resigned, lacking any method of preventing checkmate.
21.£d3 £xf2+ 22.¢xh3 £g3#
Mates.
0-1
[Event "London"]
[Date "1866.??.??"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "Bird"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "23"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.¤c3 dxe4 4.¤xe4 ¤f6
Weak, as now Black must either expose his queen or let his kingside get
mangled.
5.¤xf6+ £xf6 6.¤f3 ¤c6
The losing move. He had to play 6...h6 to prevent White's next move.
7.¥g5 £f5
Losing more time with the queen, but White would have a big edge after:
7...Qg6 8.Bd3 f5 9.h4
8.¥d3 £g4
The only move here was 8...Qa5+.
9.h3 £xg2 10.¦h2 £xh2
No way out.
11.¤xh2 ¤xd4 12.¥b5+
Winning another piece, so Black gives up.
1-0
[Event "London"]
[Date "1866.??.??"]
[White "Steinitz"]
[Black "MacDonnell"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1.e4 c5 2.¤c3 ¤c6 3.¤f3 e6 4.d4 cxd4 5.¤xd4 a6 6.g3
White's idea is to fianchetto his light squared bishop on g2 Thus
preventing Black from striking back in the center with pawn d5.
6...¥c5
6...Nf6 would be less commital.
7.¤xc6 bxc6 8.e5
A good move. The idea is to restrain Black's normal development by
controlling the key squares f6 and d6.
8...£b6 9.£d2 ¤e7 10.¤e4
The White knight gains a grip on the dark squares.
10...O-O 11.¥d3 ¤g6 12.f4 d6
13.exd6 f5 14.¤xc5 £xc5
Black stands worse due to his broken pawn structure and bad bishop.
15.£c3
The White queen wastes no time in attacking Black's weakened dark
squares.
15...£xd6
15...Qxc3+ 16.bxc3 Rd8 17.Ba3 would allow White to keep his extra pawn.
16.b3 a5 17.a3 £d5
17...a4 18.b4
18.¦f1 ¦a7 19.¥b2
White's two bishops and control of the dark squares give him a winning
advantage.
19...c5 20.O-O-O £c6
20...Ba6 would allow White to win material.
21.h4 ¦ff7
Played to protect the seventh rank. However, by moving this rook Black
has weakened his back rank.
22.h5 ¤e7 23.¥c4
White's bishops have the Black pieces tied down defending each other.
23...¤d5 24.£e5
This centralization of White's queen brings just enough extra pressure
to break Black's position.
24...£c7
24...Rfc7 would allow White a winning rook sacrifice.
25.¦xd5
A brilliant sacrifice which exposes Black's weakened back rank.
25...exd5
25...Qxe5 26.Rd8+ Rf8 27.Rxf8+ Kxf8 28.Bxe5 would simply leave White a
pieceup.
26.£e8+ ¦f8 27.¥xd5+ £f7 28.¥xf7+ ¦xf7 29.£e5 ¦f6 30.h6
Black resigned since he has no compensation for his lost material.
1-0
[Event "Philadelphia"]
[Date "1882.??.??"]
[White "Martinez"]
[Black "Steinitz"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "41"]
1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥c4 ¥c5 4.b4
The Evans Gambit where White sacrifices a pawn for rapid development.
4...¥xb4 5.c3 ¥c5
This move allows White to play d4 with gain of a tempo on the dark
squared bishop. 5...Ba5 From a5 the dark squared bishop doesn't have to worry
about losing a tempo when White advances pawn to d4.
6.O-O d6 7.d4 exd4
7...Bb6 is another possibility.
8.cxd4 ¥b6 9.¥b2
Since the bisho p moves again in a few moves 9.Nc3 should be preferred.
9.Nc3 Bg4 10.Bb5 Kf8 11.Be3 would give White compensation for his pawn.
9...¤f6 10.e5
This move is inconsistent with
White's previous Bb2 since e5 didn't need any preparation. 10.d5
10...dxe5 11.¥a3 ¥e6 12.¤bd2 e4
Black already has a won game as White has no compensation for his lost
material.
13.¦e1
Although this piece sacrifice does not work White decided to go down
fighting.
13...exf3 14.£b3 £xd4
Black has his own attack on White's f2 square.
15.¤xf3
15.Bxe6 would allow Black a mate in two.
15...£xf2+ 16.¢h1 O-O-O
Now that the Black king has reached safety White could resign at any
time.
17.¦xe6 fxe6 18.¦f1 ¤e4
Black ends the game with a little combination based on White's weakened
back rank.
19.¦xf2 ¤xf2+ 20.¢g1 ¦d1+
Takes advantage of White's weak back rank.
21.£xd1
White resigned because of his material deficit.
0-1
[Event "World Championship"]
[Date "1886.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Zukertort"]
[Black "Steinitz"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "86"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.¤c3 ¤f6 4.e3 c5
5.¤f3 ¤c6 6.a3
A good waiting move. The idea is to move White's light squared bishop to
c4 in one move instead of two in the event Black plays 6...dxc4. White also
threatens to capture at c5 and then play b4 and Bb2. 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 when
White's bishop has moved two times to get to c4.
6...dxc4 7.¥xc4 cxd4 8.exd4
White has open lines as compensation for his isolated d-pawn.
8...¥e7 9.O-O O-O 10.¥e3
This is not the best move since the bishop on e3 acts as a big pawn
while it blocks the e-file for White's major pieces. 10.Re1 would give White's
pieces more activity.
10...¥d7
10...b6 With the idea of 11...Bb7 would keep the d-file open thus
putting greater pressure on the isolated d-pawn.
11.£d3
11.d5 would lead to massive exchanges after 11...exd5 12.Nxd5 Nxd5
13.Bxd5
11...¦c8 12.¦ac1 £a5 13.¥a2 ¦fd8 14.¦fe1 ¥e8
Black clears the d-file so his rook can pressure the isolated d-pawn.
15.¥b1
White forms a battery on the b1-h7 diagonal.
15...g6
This move not only stops any attack White might get against the h7
square, but it also allows Black' dark squared bishop to attack the d-pawn from
the g7 square.
16.£e2 ¥f8 17.¦ed1 ¥g7 18.¥a2 ¤e7 19.£d2 £a6
19...Bc6 20.Nd5 Qxd2 21.Nxe7+ Kf8 22.Nxg6+ hxg6 23.Nxd2 would leave
White a pawn ahead.
20.¥g5 ¤f5
Black has a big advantage due to his pressure on White's isolated
d-pawn.
21.g4
This weakening of White's kingside is a mistake even if the knight had
to go backwards. 21.Be3 With the idea of activating the king knight with 22.Ne5
would be a better idea.
21...¤xd4 22.¤xd4 e5 23.¤d5 ¦xc1 24.£xc1
24.Rxc1 exd4 25.Nxf6+ Bxf6 26.Bxf6 Qxf6 would give Black a winning
advantage due to his extra pawn and White's exposed king.
24...exd4 25.¦xd4 ¤xd5 26.¦xd5
Not 26.Bxd8 Bxd4 27.Bxd5 Qe2 when Black has an attack on three White
pawns b, f and g.
26...¦xd5 27.¥xd5
White's bishops are clearly more active, but there is a significant
weakness on the kingside.
27...£e2 28.h3
The h-pawn no longer enjoys the protection of the king.
28...h6
Black cannot capture this pawn.
29.¥c4
29.Bxh6 Bxh6 30.Qxh6 Qd1+ 31.Kh2 Qxd5
29...£f3 30.£e3 £d1+ 31.¢h2 ¥c6
31...hxg5 32.Qxe8+ Kh7 33.Bxf7
32.¥e7 ¥e5+ 33.f4
Now White's king is even more exposed, and all of a sudden the Black
bishops are more active than the White ones. Now Black has a winning sacrifice.
Try to find it yourself.
33...¥xf4+ 34.£xf4 £h1+ 35.¢g3 £g1+
White resigned, since the only legal move allows a crushing fork:
36.¢h4 £e1+ 37.£g3 £xe7+ 38.g5 £e4+ 39.£g4 £e1+ 40.£g3 hxg5+ 41.¢g4 £e4+ 42.¢xg5 £xc4 43.£b8+ ¢h7 0-1
[Event "Amsterdam"]
[Date "1889.??.??"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Bauer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "65"]
1.f4 d5 2.e3 ¤f6 3.b3 e6 4.¥b2 ¥e7 5.¥d3 b6 6.¤f3 ¥b7 7.¤c3 ¤bd7 8.O-O O-O
9.¤e2 c5 10.¤g3 £c7 11.¤e5 ¤xe5 12.¥xe5
Just compare the relative activity of the bishops! Black is already in
serious trouble.
12...£c6 13.£e2 a6
White has completed development and is ready to attack. The position of
the rook at a1 cannot be improved, for the moment. Lasker starts by eliminating
one of the few defenders of the Black king. But he doesn't part with the Be5.
14.¤h5 ¤xh5
White could simply recapture at h5 with a strong attack, but by
sacrificing a piece the momentum is greatly increased.
15.¥xh7+ ¢xh7 16.£xh5+ ¢g8
Now White might like to transfer a rook to the h-file, but this is too
slow, because Black is ready to play d5-d4 and threaten mate at g2. Then he
could sacrifice some material in return and stay in the game.
17.¥xg7
A brilliant move which threatens mate at h8.
17...¢xg7 18.£g4+ ¢h7
Now the queen guards g2 and White can threaten the sideways equivalent
of a back rank mate.
19.¦f3 e5
The only defense. Now the Black queen can come to h6.
20.¦h3+ £h6 21.¦xh6+ ¢xh6 22.£d7
This wins one of the bishops, and the game now is decisively in White's
favor.
22...¥f6 23.£xb7 ¢g7 24.¦f1 ¦ab8 25.£d7 ¦fd8 26.£g4+ ¢f8 27.fxe5 ¥g7
27...Bxe5 28.Qh5! f6 29.Qxe5 shows another method of exploiting the pin
on the f-file.
28.e6 ¦b7 29.£g6
White exploits the pin in the maximally efficient way.
29...f6 30.¦xf6+ ¥xf6 31.£xf6+ ¢e8 32.£h8+ ¢e7 33.£g7+
Now the rook at b7 falls, so Black gives up.
1-0
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