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Wilhelm Steinitz vs Johannes Zukertort
BCA Grand International, London (1872), London ENG, rd 5, Jul-06
Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit. Steinitz Gambit Zukertort Defense (C25)  ·  1-0

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a
1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
Notes by Stockfish 9 v010218 (minimum 6s/ply)better is 5...Qh5+ 6.Nf3 g5 7.Nd5 Kd8 8.h4 Nce7 9.Ke1 Nxd5 ⩱ -0.68 (35 ply)= 0.00 (27 ply)6...Qe7+ was played in Steinitz vs Chigorin, 1883 (0-1) 7...Nb4 8.Bxf4 O-O-O 9.Kd2 Qh5 10.Bd3 Nf6 11.h3 Nxd3 ⩱ -0.53 (19 ply)8.Bxf4 was played in Lipschutz vs O Michaelis, 1886 (1-0)8...Re8+ was played in Lasker vs E Feifer, 1908 (0-1) ⩲ +1.39 (19 ply) 9...Kxb7 10.Qe1 Qh5 11.Kd1 Rxd4+ 12.Bd3 Nf6 13.Bd2 ⩲ +1.13 (20 ply) ± +1.90 (20 ply)10...a6 was played in W Wayte vs Zukertort, 1881 (0-1) 12.c3 c6 13.Na3 Bxa3 14.bxa3 Qf5+ 15.Kd2 Ne4+ 16.Ke1 ± +1.82 (19 ply) 12...Ne4+ 13.Kb3 a6 14.Qe1 Qd5+ 15.c4 Qxb7 16.dxc5 Nxc5+ = 0.00 (19 ply) ± +2.42 (26 ply)better is 21.Bxf4 Rb6+ 22.Ka3 Nxf4 23.Qxf4 Qc5+ 24.b4 Qxc3+ 25.Bb3 +- +3.55 (25 ply) ± +2.44 (26 ply)+- mate-in-17 after 49.Kb4 Rg4+ 50.Be4 c6 51.Kc5 Rg5+ 52.Kxc6 Rh5 53.a651...Rb1+ 52.Bxb1 Kb7 53.a6+ Kc7 54.a7 Kd7 55.a8=Q Kc7 +- mate-in-51-0

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1
FEN COPIED

Annotations by Stockfish (Computer).      [35437 more games annotated by Stockfish]

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Kibitzer's Corner
Mar-11-04  ughaibu: This belongs in the king-walk collection.
Mar-11-04  capanegra: Thanks, ughaibu!
Jun-16-04  Jesuitic Calvinist: Classic king walk by Steinitz. I would have expected Zukertort to play on.
Jul-14-04  arifattar: Me too
Oct-23-04  refutor: has anyone here played the steinitz gambit? i think a lot of things have to go right for white to win ;)
Oct-23-04  Knezh: I am pretty sure 7. ..0-0-0 is unsounds. ALso why not 8. ..Re8?
Oct-23-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  Chessical: Chigorin seems to have put this line out of business: Chigorin vs J Mortimer, 1900
Sep-23-06  Achilles87: I feel as if black has made a real has of things
Apr-17-07  InspiredByMorphy: What was wrong with 10. ...a6 ?
May-08-10  wordfunph: <InspiredByMorphy: What was wrong with 10. ...a6 ?>

a matter of taste, developing his knight and rooks meeting eye to eye..

May-08-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  beatgiant: <Inspired>
Your suggestion was tried in H Neustadtl vs O Valenta, 1889, which Black soon won after 10...a6 11. c3 axb5 12. Kd3 Bf5+. But how about 10...a6 11. b4!?
Nov-27-14  Knight13: I like 12... a6. If 13. Na3, 13... a5. 13. Nxc7 Kxc7 14. Bxf4+ Kxb7, or 14. Bxa6 Bxd4+.
Jan-09-15  Whitehat1963: What would Houdini's next 10 or so moves be?
Jun-30-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  fredthebear: It doesn't make sense to resign with active heavy pieces still on the board. Target the light squared bishop and double the rooks on the open file. It's no gimme.
Jul-01-15  thomastonk: <fredthebear> The game score given here is that of Devide, "A Memorial to William Steinitz", 1901 , pages 34-35.

Bachmann in "Schachmeister Steinitz", vol. I, page 297 gave a game score with 51 moves, which differs already at Black's 19th move: 19.. a6 20. ♗a4 etc.

Some time ago I tried in vain to solve this little mistery.

Zukertort had published a series of articles on the Steinitz Gambit in his "Neue Berliner Schachzeitung", and Devide mentions that he failed to consider 11.♔d3. Although I have checked this, I cannot remember the outcome.

Jul-02-15  thomastonk: Almost 20 years later Steinitz wrote:

"11. ♔d3, as played by the editor against Zukertort in the London Tournament of 1872 is, as we believe, the strongest continuation. The game alluded to proceeded ... [all moves until 19. ♕c4], and White maintained his piece ahead, for Black could not play for recovering it by ... [here he analysed 19.. Rb6]."

Source: International Chess Magazine 1891, page 283.

Feb-23-16  zanzibar: <365chess.com> has the 51-move version of the game instead of this one.

http://www.365chess.com/view_game.p...

Apr-11-18  Big Pawn: <fredthebear: It doesn't make sense to resign with active heavy pieces still on the board. Target the light squared bishop and double the rooks on the open file. It's no gimme.>

How does black avoid the impending mate?

White is mating here.

Apr-11-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  Telemus: <Big Pawn> From the posting following <fredthebear>'s you can see that the gamescore was different back then, and that it was the one presented in Devide's book on pages 34-35. I've just checked that the game ends there already after White's 20th move! And the final moves there are 19.. c5 20.Kc2.
Apr-11-18  andrewjsacks: The King is a fighting piece.
Apr-11-18  SChesshevsky: Are open central files strategically important?

Here, at 6. exd5, both kings are on an open e-file. Interesting that there wasn't any other piece on that file until most of the action was over at 46...Re7.

Apr-11-18  Boomie: <SChesshevsky: Are open central files strategically important?>

As this is a purely tactical game, strategies have to take the back seat.

Oct-17-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: <<365chess.com> has the 51-move version of the game instead of this one.>

But there's also a 52-move version, favoured by Harding, claiming the Bachmann ending <makes little sense>. This version which was published in <Land & Water> (Loewenthal) on June 14th 1873, varies with <45.Bxf5 Re7 46.Bd3 Rg7 47.Kb4 Re7 48.Rd5 Rg7 49.Re5 Rg4+ 50.Be4 Rg1 51.Re8 c5+ 52.Kb5 1-0>.

Feb-06-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  jnpope: I have changed this game to follow Harding/<Land and Water>.

For the record, this game has "evolved" over time through the following versions:

(19...g5 20.Kc2 1-0)
Source: <A Memorial to William Steinitz>, Devide, 1901, pp34-35.

(41.Rxg5 Rf3+ 42.Bd3 Rxh3 43.Rf5 Rh7 44.Rc5 f5 45.Rxf5 Re7 46.Rg5 Rd7 47.Re5 Rg7 48.Re8 Rg1 49.Be4 Rc1+ 50.Kb4 and wins.)
Source: London <Field>, 1872.08.31, p212.

(45.Rxf5 Re7 46.Rg5 Rd7 47.Re5 Rg7 48.Re8 Rg1 49.Be4 Rc1+ 50.Kb4 c5+ 51.Kb5 1-0.) Source: <Schachmeister Steinitz>, Bachmann, 1910, pp303-304.

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