Invisible Chess: Culture Club #1
Steinitz - von Bardeleben, Hastings 1895
What makes a chess game one of the greatest ever?”, I wondered.
There are, of course, any number of criteria to choose from. Mati, gender scavenger feels: “… the greatest games to me are not the most accurate or perfect … but ones which showcase amazing themes you don’t see every day.” Which, as definitions go, is a pretty good start.
Mati has perfectly summed up today’s game - White’s opening is somewhat ropey, Black’s response is far from the most challenging and the players exchange significant inaccuracies on move 16. And yet the way Steinitz’s rook chases the Black king across the files at the end is just marvellous.
ABOUT THIS SERIES
Before we crack on, let me tell you something about this newsletter series - which will be released at 8am London time every Wednesday for the next 12 weeks.
As I mentioned in the preview episode for The Invisible Chess Podcast: Season 2, my aim is to create a collection of some of the greatest chess games every played. Use them for visualisation practice, yes, but also to build our ‘chess culture’. By which I mean, memorise them/learn them by rote so we can carry them around in our heads and enjoy them whenever we want to.
Steinitz - von Bardeleben,
Hastings 1895
1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bc4 Bc5
4 c3 Nf6
5 d4 exd4
6 cxd4 Bb4+
7 Nc3 d5
8 exd5 Nxd5
9 0-0 Be6
10 Bg5 Be7
11 Bxd5 Bxd5
12 Nxd5 Qxd5
13 Bxe7 Nxe7
14 Re1 f6
15 Qe2 Qd7
16 Rac1 c6
17 d5 cxd5
18 Nd4 Kf7
19 Ne6 Rhc8
20 Qg4 g6
21 Ng5+ Ke8
22 Rxe7+ Kf8
23 Rf7+ Kg8
24 Rg7 Kh8
25 Rxh7+
1-0
So why did Black resign*?
BONUS QUESTIONS
BQ1: Instead of 7 … d5, could Black have played 7… Nxe4? Or is the pawn protected?
BQ2: After 9 … Nxc3, 10 bxc3 Bxc3, 11 Qb3 Bxa1 how much material is White down? What is White’s next move? How do you evaluate this variation?
BQ3a: What happens if Black tries to capture the White rook with 22 … Qxe7?
BQ3b: What happens if Black tries 22 … Kxe7?
BQ4: Why doesn’t White snatch Black’s queen on move 23 instead of continuing with Rf7+
* Well, the story goes that von Bardeleben didn’t so much resign as get up from the table, walk out of the tournament hall and never return. But that’s a tale for another podcast - Invisible Chess Histories - that might get made one day.
It took me a while, but I got there! I was really struggling with the rook moves at the end. My intuition was screaming at me. The previous (noob) episodes really helped pull the ending together. A great game for sure! Thanks, Jonathan!
So nice to revisit this game blindfold...! It's one of my top 3 favorite games of all time (I already new it by heart); and it was one of my first attempts to reproduce a game without a board, trying to improve my visualization skills...
Nevertheless, there are (I think) two mistakes:
1. Last move is: 25. Rxh7+ (if I'm not mistaken)
2. I think the first bonus question is wrong: it's impossible to play 9... Nxe4 , isn't it?