As regards the progress of the game, we notice a feature in the play of the two parties, which is also strongly marked in several previous games of this contest. So long as the placement of the heavy pieces is masked by the movements of pawns, it requires great delicacy of judgment to place especially the rooks, on posts whence they may ultimately be brought into proper action. Though we have never observed it before, we find, from the present and other games of the match, that Blackburne’s play seems to suffer from a peculiar weakness in handling the rooks, and he often shifts then about on different files and rows in a helpless manner. On the other hand, Zukertort posts his rooks generally on squares on which they become soon useful, and rarely changes their position, even for purposes of manœuvring.

Blackburne’s fatal recapture of the R with the Q on the 21st move seems to have been the result of a miscalculation, in which his opponent had reckoned deeper. Most probably Blackburne had left himself open to the advance of P to Kt 5, and on the misapprehension that he could capture it, and if the opponent took the B he would regain the piece by Q to B 2, after exchanging rooks. If we are right in this assumption, it is quite clear that he overlooked the force of the answer Q to Q sq, which kept the piece.

Black’s game was lost after that, though he tried to retrieve his fortunes by some clever schemes, which were, however, frustrated by the adverse deep manœuvres. Notably there was a great deal of meaning in the advance of P to K R 3 on both sides on the 24th move, as will be shown below [*] ; and White’s 32nd move comprised a very ingenious trap, which Blackburne saw through and avoided.