[blind-chess] Re: Annotated Game 001: Pillsbury-Tarrasch, Hastings 1895
- From: Rebecca Blaevoet <amrywoddyddiauheulog@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: blind-chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 08:01:32 +0100
Rod thank you so much for all the work you do.
Rebecca
On 2010-09-01, at 6:50 AM, Roderick Macdonald wrote:
> Annotated Game #001:
> Harry Nelson Pillsbury - Siegbert Tarrasch
> Hastings International Tournament 1895
> Adapted and Condensed from
> Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
>
> Contents:
> ++1 Pillsbury
> ++2 Tarrash
> ++3 the Game
>
> ++1 Harry Nelson Pillsbury
>
> Harry Nelson Pillsbury was Born December 5, 1872, in Somerville,
> Massachusetts, United States. He died June 17, 1906, at the age of
> 33.
>
> At age 22, Pillsbury won one of the strongest tournaments of the
> time (Hastings 1895 chess tournament), but his illness and early
> death prevented him from challenging for the World Chess
> Championship.
>
> ++1.A Early life
>
> Pillsbury was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, moved to New York
> City in 1894, then to Philadelphia in 1898.
>
> By 1890, having only played chess for two years, he beat noted
> expert H. N. Stone. In April 1892, Pillsbury won a match two games
> to one against World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz, who gave him odds
> of a pawn. Pillsbury's rise was meteoric, and there was soon no one
> to challenge him in the New York chess scene.
>
> ++1.B Hastings 1895
>
> Harry Pillsbury
>
> The Brooklyn chess club sponsored his journey to Europe to play in
> the Hastings 1895 chess tournament, in which all the greatest
> players of the time participated. The 22-year-old Pillsbury became
> a celebrity in the United States and abroad by winning the
> tournament, finishing ahead of reigning world champion Emanuel
> Lasker, former world champion Wilhelm Steinitz, recent challengers
> Mikhail Chigorin and Isidor Gunsberg, and future challengers
> Siegbert Tarrasch, Carl Schlechter and Dawid Janowski.
>
> The dynamic style that Pillsbury exhibited during the tournament
> also helped to popularize the Queen's Gambit during the 1890s,
> including his famous win over Siegbert Tarrasch.
>
> ++1.C St. Petersburg 1895
>
> His next major tournament was in Saint Petersburg the same year, a
> six-round round-robin tournament between four of the top five
> finishers at Hastings (Pillsbury, Chigorin, Lasker and Steinitz;
> Tarrasch did not play). Pillsbury appears to have contracted
> syphilis prior to the start of the event. Although he was in the
> lead after the first half of the tournament (Pillsbury 6= points
> out of 9, Lasker 5.5, Steinitz 4.5, Chigorin 1=), he was affected
> by severe headaches and scored only 1=/9 in the second half,
> ultimately finishing third (Lasker 11=/18, Steinitz 9=, Pillsbury
> 8, Chigorin 7). He lost a critical fourth cycle encounter to
> Lasker, and Garry Kasparov has suggested that had he won, he could
> well have won the tournament and forced a world championship match
> against Lasker.
>
> ++1.D U.S. Champion 1897
>
> In spite of his ill health, Pillsbury beat American champion
> Jackson Showalter in 1897 to win the U.S. Chess Championship, a
> title he held until his death in 1906.
>
> ++1.E Decline and death
>
> Poor health would prevent him from realizing his full potential
> throughout the rest of his life. The stigma surrounding syphilis
> makes it unlikely that he sought medical treatment. He succumbed to
> the illness in 1906.
>
> Pillsbury is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Reading,
> Massachusetts.
>
> ++1.F Lifetime records
>
> Pillsbury had an even record against Lasker (+5-5=4). He even beat
> Lasker with the Black pieces at Saint Petersburg in 1895 and at
> Augsburg in 1900. (however this was an offhand game, not played in
> a tournament):
>
> Lasker - Pillsbury, King's Gambit Declined
> 1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. exd5 e4 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Qe2 Bd6 6. d3 O-O 7.
> dxe4 Nxe4 8. Nxe4 Re8 9. Bd2 Bf5 10. O-O-O Bxe4 11. Qg4 f5 12. Qg3
> Nd7 13. Bc3 Nf6 14. Nh3 Ng4 15. Be2 Be7 16. Bxg4 (see diagram) Bh4
> 17. Bxf5 Bxg3 18. Be6+ Rxe6 19. dxe6 Qe8 20. hxg3 Bxg2 21. Rhe1
> Bxh3 22. Rd7 Qg6 23. b3 Re8 24. Re5 Bxe6 25. Rxc7 Qxg3 26. Kb2 h6
> 27. Rxb7 Rc8 28. Bd4 Qg2 29. Rxa7 Rxc2+ 30. Kb1 Qd2 0-1
>
> Diagram #1:
> White: King at c1, Queen at g3, Rooks at d1 and h1, Bishops at
> c3 and g4, Knight at h3, Pawns at a2, b2, c2, d5, f4, g2,
> h2
> Black: King at g8, Queen at d8, Rooks at a8 and e8, Bishops at
> e4 and e7, Pawns at a7, b7, c7, f5, g7, h7
> The position after 16. Bxg4
>
> Pillsbury also had an even score against Steinitz (+5-5=3) and
> Tarrasch (+5-5=2), but a slight minus against Chigorin (+7-8=6) and
> against Joseph Henry Blackburne (+3-5=4), while he beat David
> Janowski (+6-4=2) and Giza Marsczy (+4-3=7) and crushed Carl
> Schlechter (+8-2=9).
>
> ++1.G Blindfold skill
>
> Pillsbury was a very strong blindfold chess player, and could play
> checkers and chess simultaneously while playing a hand of whist,
> and reciting a list of long words. His maximum was 22 simultaneous
> blindfold games at Moscow 1902. However, his greatest feat was 21
> simultaneous games against the players in the Hannover Hauptturnier
> of 1902--the winner of the Hauptturnier would be recognized as a
> master, yet Pillsbury scored +3-7=11. As a teenager, Edward Lasker
> played Pillsbury in a blindfold exhibition in Breslau, against the
> wishes of his mother, and recalled in Chess Secrets I learned from
> the Masters:
>
> But it soon became evident that I would have lost my game even if
> I had been in the calmest of moods. Pillsbury gave a marvellous
> performance, winning 13 of the 16 blindfold games, drawing two, and
> losing only one. He played strong chess and made no mistakes
> (presumably in recalling the positions). The picture of Pillsbury
> sitting calmly in an armchair, with his back to the players,
> smoking one cigar after another, and replying to his opponents'
> moves after brief consideration in a clear, unhesitating manner,
> came back to my mind 30 years later, when I refereed Alekhine's
> world record performance at the Chicago World's Fair, where he
> played 32 blindfold games simultaneously. It was quite an
> astounding demonstration, but Alekhine made quite a number of
> mistakes, and his performance did not impress me half as much as
> Pillsbury's in Breslau.
>
> ++2. Siegbert Tarrasch
>
> Siegbert Tarrasch (March 5, 1862 - February 17, 1934) was one of
> the strongest chess players and most influential chess teachers of
> the late 19th century and early 20th century.
>
> Tarrasch was born in Breslau, Prussian Silesia. Having finished
> school in 1880, he left Breslau to study medicine in Halle. Later
> he lived most of his life with his family in Nuremberg, Bavaria,
> and later in Munich. He had five children. Tarrasch was Jewish,
> converted to Christianity in 1909, and a patriotic German who lost
> a son in World War I. Yet he faced antisemitism in the early stages
> of Nazism.
>
> Tarrasch was a highly esteemed chess writer. It was Tarrasch who
> wrote in his Preface to The Game of Chess (1931) that oft repeated
> line: " Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make men
> happy. "
>
> ++2.A Chess career
>
> A medical doctor by profession, Tarrasch may have been the best
> player in the world in the early 1890s. He scored heavily against
> the aging Steinitz in tournaments, (+3-0=1), but refused an
> opportunity to challenge for the world title in 1892 because of the
> demands of his medical practice. Soon afterwards, Tarrasch drew a
> hard-fought match against Steinitz' challenger Mikhail Chigorin
> (+9-9=4). Tarrasch also won four major tournaments in succession:
> Breslau 1889, Manchester 1890, Dresden 1892, and Leipzig 1894.
>
> However, after Emmanuel Lasker became world chess champion in 1894,
> Tarrasch could not match him. Fred Reinfeld wrote: "Tarrasch was
> destined to play second fiddle for the rest of his life." For
> example, Lasker scored much better against common opponents, e.g.
> vs. Chigorin, Tarrasch had +2 over 34 games while Lasker scored +7
> in 21; vs. Akiba Rubinstein Tarrasch was -8 without a single win,
> while Lasker scored +2-1=2; vs. David Janowski Tarrasch scored +3
> compared to Lasker's huge +22; vs. Giza Marsczy, Tarrasch was +1
> over 16 games while Lasker scored +4-0=1, vs. Richard Teichmann
> Tarrasch scored +8-5=2, while Lasker beat him all four tournament
> games. However, Tarrasch had a narrow plus score against Harry
> Nelson Pillsbury of +6-5=2, while Lasker was even +5-5=4. However,
> Tarrasch remained a powerful player, demolishing Frank Marshall in
> a match in 1905 (+8-1=8), and winning Ostend 1907 over Schlechter,
> Janowski, Marshall, Burn, and Chigorin.
>
> There was no love lost between the two masters. The story goes that
> when they were introduced at the opening of their 1908 championship
> match, Tarrasch clicked his heels, bowed stiffly, and said, "To
> you, Dr. Lasker, I have only three words, check and mate" -- then
> left the room. When Lasker finally agreed to a title match in 1908,
> he beat Tarrasch convincingly +8-3=5.
>
> Tarrasch continued to be one of the leading players in the world
> for a while. He finished fourth in the very strong Saint Petersburg
> tournament of 1914, behind only World Champion Lasker and future
> World Champions Jose Razl Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine, and
> ahead of Marshall, Ossip Bernstein, Rubinstein,
> Nimzowitsch, Blackburne, Janowski, and Gunsberg. His win against
> Capablanca in the 19th round, though much less famous than Lasker's
> win against Capablanca the round before, was essential to enable
> Lasker to achieve his famous come-from-behind victory over
> Capablanca in the tournament. This tournament was probably
> Tarrasch's swan song, because his chess career was not very
> successful after this, although he still played some highly
> regarded games.
>
> ++2.B Chess teachings
>
> Tarrasch was a very influential chess writer, and was called
> Praeceptor Germaniae, meaning "Teacher of Germany." He was editor
> of the magazine Deutsche Schachzeitung in 1897 and wrote several
> books, including Die moderne Schachpartie and Three hundred chess
> games. Although his teachings became famous throughout the chess
> world, until recently his books had not been translated into
> English.
>
> He took some of Wilhelm Steinitz's ideas (e.g. control of the
> center, bishop pair, space advantage) and made them more accessible
> to the average chess player. In other areas he departed from
> Steinitz. He emphasized piece mobility much more than Steinitz did,
> and disliked cramped positions, saying that they "had the germ of
> defeat."
>
> Tarrasch stated what is known as the Tarrasch rule, that rooks
> should be placed behind passed pawns - either yours or your
> opponent's. Andrew Soltis quotes Tarrasch as saying
> " Always put the rook behind the pawn.... Except when it is
> incorrect to do so."
>
> ++2.C Clash with hypermodern school
>
> He was a great target of the hypermodern school, led by Richard
> Reti, Aron Nimzowitsch, and Savielly Tartakower, all of whom
> criticized his ideas as dogmatic. However, many modern masters
> regard Tarrasch's actual play as not dogmatic. For example,
> Tarrasch annotated his victory on the Black side of the Advance
> French against Paulsen (Nuremberg 1888):
>
> 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4
> (Tarrasch gives this an exclamation mark, and points out that 6 ...
> Bd7 allows 7. dxc5 with a good game. However, most accounts credit
> Nimzovitch with such anti-dogmatic hypermodern inventiveness when
> he played 7. dxc5 against Gersz Salwe almost a quarter of a century
> later (Karlsbad 1911) in this game) 7. cxd4 Bd7 8. Be2 Nge7 9. b3
> Nf5 10. Bb2 Bb4+ 11. Kf1 Be7 12. g3 a5 13. a4 Rc8 14. Bb5 Nb4 15.
> Bxd7+ Kxd7 16. Nc3 Nc6 17. Nb5 Na7 18. Nxa7 Qxa7 19. Qd3 Qa6 20.
> Qxa6 bxa6 21. Kg2 Rc2 22. Bc1 Rb8 23. Rb1 Rc3 24. Bd2 Rcxb3 25.
> Rxb3 Rxb3 26. Bxa5 Rb2 27. Bd2 Bb4 28. Bf4 h6 29. g4 Ne7 30. Ra1
> Nc6 31. Bc1 Rc2 32. Ba3 Rc4 33. Bb2 Bc3 34. Bxc3 Rxc3 35. Rb1 Kc7
> 36. g5 Rc4 37. gxh6 gxh6 38. a5 Ra4 39. Kg3 Rxa5 40. Kg4 Ra3 41.
> Rd1 Rb3 42. h4 Ne7 43. Ne1 Nf5 44. Nd3 a5 45. Nc5 Rc3 46. Rb1 Nxd4
> 47. Na6+ Kd8 48. Rb8+ Rc8 49. Rb7 Ke8 50. Nc7+ Kf8 51. Nb5 Nxb5 52.
> Rxb5 Ra8 53. f4 a4 54. Rb1 a3 55. f5 a2 56. Ra1 Ra4+ 57. Kh5 Kg7
> 58. fxe6 fxe6 59. Rg1+ Kh8 60. Ra1 Kh7 61. Rg1 a1=Q 62. Rg7+ Kh8
> 0-1
>
> ++2.D Contribution to opening theory
>
> A number of chess openings are named after Tarrasch, with the most
> notable being:
> * The Tarrasch Defense, Tarrasch's favorite line against the
> Queen's Gambit.
> * The Tarrasch Variation of the French Defence (3. Nd2), which
> Tarrasch considered refuted by 3...c5, although this is
> certainly not thought so today.
> * The Tarrasch Variation of the Ruy Lopez, also sometimes known
> as the Open Defence (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6
> 5.0-0 Nxe4).
>
> ++2.E Famous Tarrasch combinations
>
> Diagram #2:
> White: King at g1, Queen at f3, Rooks at c1 and c2, Bishop at
> e5, Pawns at a5, b3, d3, f4, g2, h2
> Black: King at b5, Queen at d7, Rooks at c8 and g8, Bishop at
> h6, Pawns at a6, b4, c5, d4, h7
> Tarrasch versus Allies, Naples 1914
>
> In the game Tarrasch versus Allies, Black seems to be holding here
> (at least against immediate catastrophe), because the black queen
> guards against Qb7+ (followed by Kxa5 Ra1#), while the black rook
> on c8 defends against Rxc5#. Tarrasch played the ingenious
> interference move 31. Bc7! (known as a Plachutta interference
> because the pieces both move orthogonally). This blocks off both
> defences, and whatever piece captures becomes overloaded. That is,
> if 31. ... Rxc7, the rook is overloaded, having to look after both
> the key squares, since the queen is blocked from b7. So White would
> play 32. Qb7+ Rxb7, deflecting the rook from defence of c5,
> allowing 33. Rxc5#. But if Black plays instead 31. ... Qxc7, the
> queen blocks off the rook's defence of c5 and becomes overloaded:
> 32. Rxc5+ Qxc5 deflects the queen from defence of b7, allowing 33.
> Qb7+ Kxa5 34. Ra1#. Black actually resigned after this move.
>
> Diagram #3:
> White: King at g1, Queen at d3, Rooks at f2 and f4, Bishop at
> b2, Knights at d2 and f5, Pawns at a4, b3, c2, g3, h2
> Black: King at h8, Queen at e5, Rooks at g5 and g8, Bishops at
> d5 and d8, Knight at h5, Pawns at a6, b4, c5, d4
> Tarrasch versus Walbrodt, Hastings 1895
>
> In the game against Walbrodt, Tarrasch played rather poorly, and
> his opponent had the better of it for a long time. But the game is
> redeemed by the following startling combination:
>
> 34. Rxd4 seems obvious, because 34. ... cxd4 allows 35. Bxd4
> winning the queen. But Black has a seemingly strong counterattack
> which had to be foreseen ... 34. ... Nxg3 35. Nxg3 Rxg3+ 36. hxg3
> Rxg3+ 37. Kf1! Rxd3 and now the startling 38. Rg4!! with
> devastating threats of 39. Rf8+ mating and Bxe5 not to mention cxd3
> to follow. Black resigned.
>
> ++3: The Game
>
> Hastings International Tournament 1895
> White: Pillsbury, Harry Nelson
> Black: Tarrasch, Siegbert
> Result 1-0
> ECO D55 - Queen's Gambit Declined, Pillsbury Variation
> (Notes by R.J. Macdonald. Addtional notes from an unknown source.)
>
> 1. d4 d5
> 2. c4 e6
>
> (The Queen's Gambit Declined. Accepting the "gambit" pawn with 2.
> ... dxc4 is playable, as long as black is aware that he cannot hope
> to keep the pawn for very long.)
>
> 3. Nc3 Nf6
> 4. Bg5
>
> (It was Pillsbury who first demonstrated the
> strength of this move, which today is routine)
>
> 4. ... Be7
> 5. Nf3 Nd7
> 6. Rc1 O-O
> 7. e3 b6
>
> (In order to facilitate development of the Bishop from c8 to b7.
> This was the most popular way of defending the Queen's Gambit
> Declined at the time of this game.)
>
> 8. cxd5
>
> (Depriving Black of the opportunity to play dxc4 when the diagonal
> b7-g2 would be open for his Queen Bishop.)
>
> 8. ... exd5
>
> (The classical continuation more common today is 8. ... Nxd5, which
> accomplishes some simplification after 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nxd5 exd5.)
>
> 9. Bd3 Bb7
> 10. O-O c5
>
> (A strategic necessity. Otherwise this pawn will remain backward
> and vulnerable to White's Rook on the half open c-file.)
>
> 11. Re1
>
> (Whatever the purpose of this move, it turns out to be a loss of
> time, for the Rook later goes back to f1.)
>
> 11. ... c4
>
> (This move releases the tension in the center in order to commence
> a queenside attack. White will counter this by an attack on the
> other wing.)
>
> 12. Bb1 a6
>
> (In order to play b5. Black's plan is to advance his queen side
> pawns with the ultimate aim of obtaining a passed pawn.)
>
> 13. Ne5
>
> (The knight is aggressively posted in the neighborhood of Black's
> King.)
>
> 13. ... b5
> 14. f4
>
> (This move furthers White's attack in several ways. Should Black
> ever play Nxe5, White will recapture with the f-Pawn and open the
> f-file. The White f-Pawn may later advance to f5, threatening to
> break up Black's kingside via f6. White's Rook now can advance to
> Black's kingside via Rf1-Rf3 and Rg3 or Rh3. On the other hand,
> White now has a backward pawn on e3. Black has an active position/)
>
> 14. ... Re8
>
> (In order to be able to bring his knight on d7 to f8, where it is
> an excellent defensive piece.)
>
> 15. Qf3
>
> (Bringing the Queen to the attack.)
>
> 15. ... Nf8
>
> (15. ... h6 16. Bh4 gives white a slight advantage.)
>
> 16. Ne2
>
> (Transferring the Knight to the kingside. 16. Qg3!? gives white a
> slight edge.)
>
> 16. ... Ne4!
>
> (Black blocks the White King Bishop diagonal and exchanges off his
> King Bishop. Each exchange favors Black, for they lessen the vigor
> of a kingside attack. Queenside attacks, by contrast, are concerned
> with obtaining a passed pawn, which is even more advantageous in
> the endgame then the middle game. Black now has equal chances.)
>
> 17. Bxe7
>
> (Black was threatening to win a piece with f6)
>
> 17. ... Rxe7
>
> (Or 17. ... Qxe7 18. Bxe4 dxe4 19. Qg3 with equality.)
>
> 18. Bxe4
>
> (White is not happy to give up his Bishop, but there is no way to
> drive away Black's Knight at e4, and as long as it remains there it
> is more effective than the Bishop, since the knight blocks the
> bishop's diagonal.)
>
> 18. ... dxe4
>
> (White now has a protected passed pawn on d4.)
> 19. Qg3
>
> (Black is not the only one who has gained something from these
> exchanges. Now that Black's c-Pawn no longer has the support of a
> d-Pawn, black is much less free to advance his queenside pawns, and
> his attack on the queenside is thus slowed. White's backward e-
> Pawn, which previously was indirectly under pressure from Black's
> Kingside Rook, now has shelter behind Black's Pawn on e4.}
>
> 19. ... f6
>
> (This slightly weakens Black's kingside, but it is worth it to
> prevent White's f-Pawn from ever advancing to f6.)
>
> 20. Ng4
>
> (Threatening 21. Nxf6+.)
>
> 20. ... Kh8
> 21. f5
>
> (Cramping Black's kingside and vacating f4 which can now be
> occupied by a Rook or a Knight.)
>
> 21. ... Qd7
>
> (Threatening f5.)
>
> 22. Rf1
>
> (See note at move 11.)
>
> 22. ... Rd8
>
> (Preparing Qd6 to defend the f6 pawn a second time.)
>
> 23. Rf4
>
> (White is embarking upon a plan to attack Black's isolated e-Pawn,
> and tie up Black's pieces to defend it. 23. Qh4 Bd5 would lead to
> equality.)
>
> 23. ... Qd6
>
> (The position is now even.)
>
> 24. Qh4 Rde8
>
> (Or 24. ... Nd7 25. Rf2 and equality.)
>
> 25. Nc3
>
> (25. Rf2 Rc7 gives white a slight advantage.)
>
> 25. ... Bd5
>
> (To be able to guard the e-Pawn again via Qc6. The black bishop is
> well placed on d5. 25. ... Nd7!? appears to give black a slight
> advantage.)
>
> 26. Nf2
>
> (Putting heavy pressure on e4.)
>
> 26. ... Qc6
> 27. Rf1
>
> (White must be careful now about removing any pieces from the
> queenside, because Black can then play b4, followed by Qa4,
> menacing White's queenside pawns.)
>
> 27. ... b4
> 28. Ne2?
>
> (28. Nxd5 Qxd5 29. Nh3 Qb5 would have been better, with equal
> chances.)
>
> 28. ... Qa4
>
> (If Black tries to advance his c Pawn with 28. ... c3 there follows
> 29. bxc3 Qc4 with a solid advantage for black. (29. ... bxc3 30.
> Nd1 c2 31. Ndc3 Bc4 32. d5 Bxd5 33. Rc and Black loses his c-
> Pawn.))
>
> 29. Ng4
>
> (Black has the advantage.)
>
> 29. ... Nd7
>
> (29... Rf7!? is an interesting alternative that appears to favor
> black. 29. ... Qxa2? 30. Nxf6 g7xf6 31. Qxf6+ Kg8 (31. ... Rg7 32.
> Rg4) 32. Rg4+ winning for white.)
>
> 30. R4f2!
>
> (Defending the a-Pawn by a clever combination. The position now
> appears even.)
>
> 30. ... Kg8
>
> (30. ... Qxa2 31. Nf4, Bf7 32. Ng6! Bxg6 33. f5xg6 h6 (33. ... Nf8
> 34. Nxf6 g7xf6 35.Rxf6 Kg8 36. Rf7 forces mate.) 34. Nxh6 g7xh6 35.
> Qxh6+ Kg8 36. Rf5! and black is defenseless against 37. Rh5 and
> Qh8)
>
> 31. Nc1??
>
> (Guarding his Queen Rook Pawn. If he had done this on move twenty-
> nine, Black would have had the crushing reply Qc7. As it is, white
> releases the pressure on black's position with thsi move. Better
> woudl have been 31. Nf4 Qb5 32. Ng6 giving equality.)
>
> 31. ... c3
>
> (Black gets a passed Pawn and a decided advantage.)
>
> 32. b3 Qc6
>
> (Both sides now have clear cut plans. Black will advance his Queen
> Rook Pawn to a4, exchange pawns and bring a Rook to a3 winning
> White's Queen Knight Pawn. White will counter by advancing his King
> Knight Pawn to g5 and opening up his King Knight file.)
>
> 33. h3?
>
> (Making room for the Knight at h2. However, the maneuver seems too
> slow given that black is also attacking. Comparatively better would
> have been 33. Ne2 Ra8 34. Nf4 a5 35. Ne6 Qd6 36. Nf4 a4 37. Qg3 Qc6
> 38. Rb1 axb3 39. Nxd5 Qxd5 40. Rxb3 Ra4 41. h3 h5, with a probable
> win for white.)
>
> 33. ... a5
> 34. Nh2
>
> (White's attack looks slower than Blacks, but White has a stroke of
> genius prepared.)
>
> 34. ... a4
> 35. g4 axb3
>
> (35. ... h6 might be the shorter path, for after 36. Qg3 black has
> a decisive advantage.)
>
> 36. axb3 Ra8
>
> (36. ... h6!? seems even better. After 37. Ra2 black has a decisive
> advantage.)
>
> 37. g5 Ra3
>
> (37. ... fxg5 38. Qxg5 Nf6 (38. ... Qf6 39. Qg3 and 40. Ng4) 39.
> Ng4 taking advantage of black's pinned Knight, Followed by 40. Ne5
> when the Knight will be devastatingly powerful.)
>
> 38. Ng4 Bxb3??
>
> (This move loses the initiative for black. At this moment neither
> Tarasch nor the onlookers had any doubt that white was finished. In
> the February 1971 issue of Chess Review, Frank Rhoden relates that
> Mr. E.G. Taylor, a Hastings chess club member who actually
> witnessed the game, told him that after Tarasch made his 38th move,
> "The spectators began to drift away, thinking there was nothing
> more to see." But now comes one of the most dramatic surprises ever
> seen on a chessboard. With hindsight, several annotators have
> advocated that black play 38. ... Rxb3 which sacrifices the
> exchange for a pawn. Black would then have his Bishop available for
> the defense and obtain two dangerous connected passed pawns. But
> 38. ... Rxb3 is no better than the move played. 38. ... Rxb3 39.
> Nxb3 Bxb3 40. Rg2 Kh8 41. gxf6 gxf6 42. Ne5! Nxe5 43. dxe5 c2 (43.
> ... Rxe5 44. Qh6 threatening mate at both g7 and f8 wins.) 44. e6
> (and black is finished. If then 44. ... Qc3 45. Qh7 These
> variations were given by Horowitz and Reinfeld in their revision of
> R.N. Cole's book, Battles Royal of the Chessboard. Fritz 12
> suggests that black would gain the upper hand with 38. ... Qd6.)
>
> 39. Rg2
>
> (Threatening to win a piece with 40. gxf6 Nxf6 41. Nxf6+)
>
> 39. ... Kh8
> 40. gxf6 gxf6?
>
> (40. ... Nxf6 would have been much better. For example, 41. Ne5 )
>
> 41. Nxb3
>
> (White now has a decisive advantage.)
>
> 41. ... Rxb3??
>
> (The pressure is too much and Black's position crumbles. Also
> possible was 41... Rg7 42. Nc5! (Deflection: c5) Nxc5 43. dxc5 Raa7
> 44. Nxf6 Rxg2+ 45. Kxg2 Qxc5 46. Nxh7 Rxh7 47. Qd8+ Kg7 48. f6+ Kh6
> with a decisive advantage for white.)
>
> 42. Nh6 Rg7
>
> (White threatened 43. Rg8#, and if 42. ... Re8 43. Nf7#)
>
> 43. Rxg7 Kxg7
> 44. Qg3+!!
>
> (The move that turns the tables. If 44. ..K. f8 45. Qg8+ 46. Qxb3)
>
> 44. ... Kxh6
> 45. Kh1!
>
> (Threatening 46. Rg1 and 47. Qh4#. The only way for Black to
> prevent this is to play as he does.)
>
> 45. ... Qd5
> 46. Rg1 Qxf5
> 47. Qh4+ Qh5
> 48. Qf4+ Qg5
> 49. Rxg5 fxg5
> 50. Qd6+ Kh5
> 51. Qxd7 c2
>
> (A blunder, but Black was lost. 51. ... Rb1+ was the only chance to
> get some counterplay, but after 51. ... Rb1+ (51. ... Kg6 52. Qe6+)
> 52. Kg2 Rb2+ 53. Kg3 Kg6 54. Qc6+ Kf5 55. d5 white wins easily.)
>
> 52. Qxh7#
> 1-0
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