Manuel Marquez Sterling vs Harry Nelson Pillsbury (1900)

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Manuel Marquez Sterling vs Harry Nelson Pillsbury
Paris (1900), Paris FRA, rd 14, Jun-14
Sicilian Defense: Classical Variation. General (B56) · 0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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Jul-05-15		RookFile: Unusual to see a Sicilian from Pillsbury. White needed to refrain from exchanges.

Mar-17-18		KEG: Chess Master versus Chess amateur. Pillsbury makes short work of Sterling. 1. e4 c5 As RookFile aptly notes, the Sicilian was hardly Pillsbury's bread and butter. But he used it to good effect here--thanks in large measure to weak play throughout by Sterling. 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 Spurning 5...e4, the so-called "Pelikan Variation." 6. Bb5 Unusual but not bad. 6. Bg5 can lead to the Richter-Rauzer Attack, and 6. Bc4 to the Velimirovic Attack. 6... Bd7 7. 0-0 g6 8. Be3 Bg7 9. NxN Obviously awed by his celebrated opponent. 9. f3 was the best way to try for an advantage. 9... bxN 10. Bd3 0-0 11. Qd2 Though Sterling's play to this point had been unambitious, he could have retained equal chances with 11. Qd2. From here, however, Sterling quickly got into major difficulties. 11... Ng4 The position was now: click for larger view 12. f3? Allowing Black to trade off White's dark-square Bishop left Sterling in something approaching a strategically lost game--at move 12!! He should have played 12. Bf4 (or even 12. Bg5). 12... NxB Now Pillsbury's g7 Bishop rules the board. 13. QxN Qa5 13...Qb6 was even stronger. 14. Nd1 That this sort of move was necessary confirms the bankruptcy of White's opening play. 14... Rab8 15. c3 Rb7 16. a3 Rfb8 17. Rb1 17. Rf2 would have been better, but Sterlong would stil have suffered from his prior bad play. 17... Be6 18. Qe2 Ba2 18...Bb3 was better and would save time. 19. Ra1 Bb3 The position was now: click for larger view Sterling's pieces and gnarled and awkwardly placed. He now proceeds to ruin his already bad position until it is beyond repair. 20. Rb1? He had to try either 20. Ne3 (as suggested by Rosenthal in the Tournament Book) or 20. Bc2. With the text, Sterling's position downgrades from bad to dead lost. Pillsbury never gives him a chance to recover. 20... Qa4! 21. Kf2? Rosenthal says this move was forced because of the threat of 21. BxN, but the remedy here was even worse than the disease. 22... c5 Contrary to what Rosenthal claims, 22...BxN was not as good as the text: 22...BxN 23. Rf1xB Rxb2 23. RxR RxR 24. QxR QxR leaves White with excellent winning chances, but the text was far better. The position after 22...c5 was: click for larger view White's game is in the last throes. How Pillsbury went about finishing off Sterling from here will be discussed in my next post on this game.

Mar-17-18		KEG: Post II Pardon the typo at the end of my last post. The last move, of course, was 21...c5 and not 22...c5 (and the noted on that move likewise has incorrect move numbers). Sorry about that! In any case, with 21...c5 Pillsbury's advantage was overwhelming. He quickly disposed of the faltering Sterling from this point. 22. Qd2 c4! White is crushed. 23. Be2 Qa5 24. Kg1 24. Qe3 was better, but Sterling's position was already beyond repair. 24... BxN 25. R(f)xB The position was now: click for larger view 25... Bxc3! 26. Qd5 He obviously cannot play 26. QxB (because of 26...QxQ) or 26. bxB (because of 26...RxR). Sterling could safely have resigned at this point. What follows is a massacre. 26... QxQ 27. exQ 27. RxQ was slightly better, but by this point it hardly mattered. 27... Bxb2 The position was now: click for larger view 28. Kh1 "Of course, if 28. Bxc4 Bd4+ followed by RxR and wins" (Rosenthal in the Tournament Book). If Sterling wanted to play on, he might as well have played 28. Kf1 (a better way to get his King off the fatal diagonal. If Sterling imagined he might have some chance because of the Bishops of opposite colors, once Pillsbury wins a third pawn, it was time to lower his flag. 28... c3 29. Bd3 Bxa3 Little additional commentary is required. Pillsbury is now up three pawns in an endgame in which even a patzer could probably beat the strongest computer. In what remains, Sterling somehow manages to make his position worse with nearly every move, while the Pillsbury steamroller reduces Sterling's position to rubble. 30. h3 Bb2 31. Bc2 Rb4 32. Rd3 a5 This slaughter is almost painful to watch. 33. Re1 Kf8 Pillsbury could have shortened resistance with 33...a4, but he does not even allow Sterling the chance to win back one of his three lost pawns. 34. Re2 a4 35. Bb1 Bc1 Ouch! 36. Ba2 Bd2 click for larger view If this were a fight, they would have stopped it. 37. RexB cxR 38. Rxd2 Rb2 click for larger view 0-1 Sterling at long last threw in the towel here.

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