Johann Nepomuk Berger vs Amos Burn (1900)

Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players ·

Kibitzing

Johann Nepomuk Berger vs Amos Burn
12th DSB Congress, Munich (1900), Munich GER, rd 14, Aug-09
Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch Defense. Symmetrical Variation (D40) · 0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

explore this opening	find similar games	3 more J N Berger/Burn games
	PGN: download \| view \| print	Help: general \| java-troubleshooting

TIP: You can step through the moves by clicking the < and > buttons, but it's much easier to simply use the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.

For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.

PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

Jun-25-12		profK: 40.Ke2 and 41.Rc2 looks a lot better for white.

Apr-22-19		KEG: By the time of this 14th (next to last) round game, Burn was out of contention for one of the top three places, but lay only a half-point behind Marco for 4th. He was to have White against Marco in the last round, so two wins would give him 4th prize and a draw here followed by a win in the last round would guarantee him at least a tie for 4th place. Meanwhile, Berger was in sixth place, a point and a half behind Burn but only a half point ahead of Janowski, Cohn, and Wolf. Berger was a tough man to beat at Munich 1900. He was the only competitor to win a game against one of the top three finishers and had the best record against these top three (having beaten Maroczy and drawn against Schlechter earlier in the tournament and holding Pillsbury to a draw in their crucial final-round game). In this context, Berger seemed to be looking for a draw despite having White. By move thirty, with the players having Bishops of opposite colors, a draw appeared all but inevitable. But weak play by Berger thereafter allowed Burn to obtain a slightly superior ending, and then unbelievably awful endgame play by Berger allowed Burn to win what should have been a drawn ending. 1. d4 d5 2. e3 c5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bd3 Relinquishing any advantage from having the White pieces. 6... Bd6 Burn could have achieved easy equality with 6...dxc4 or 6...cxd4 7.0-0 Berger could have obtained a small edge with 7. dxc5 or 7. cxd5 7... 0-0 Trading pawns (either exchange) would again be a better road to equality for Burn here. 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. Qe2 dxc4 10. Bxc4 e5 Best. After the text, White (Berger) had at most a tiny edge. click for larger view 11. Rfd1 11. Ng5 followed by 12. Nge4 was the only way for Berger to keep any advantage. The text, like much of the rest of the first 30 moves in this game, shows Berger's lack of ambition in this encounter. He was obviously satisfied with a draw even though this would guarantee he couldn't finish higher than 6th place. 11... Qe7 12. e4 Bg4 13. Be3 Nd4 13...Rac8 was a good alternative, but Burn decided to try to make something of the pinned White Knight even though this allowed Berger to trade off two pairs of minor pieces. 14. BxN BxB 15. Nd5 NxN 16. BxN The game already has become sterile and a draw must have seemed likely: click for larger view 16... Rac8 17. Rac1 Looking for more exchanges. 17. Rd3 was slightly better. 17... Rc7 18. h3 BxN This sure makes the position look like a draw, since there were now Bishops of opposite colors. But I see nothing better for Burn. 19. QxB Rfc8 19...Bxb2 does not win a pawn (20. RxR QxR 21. Qb3). 20. RxR RxR click for larger view It sure looks like a draw here, but--as Berger was soon to demonstrate--even a Bishops of opposite colors ending with equal pawns and equal chances can be lost with sufficiently sloppy play.

Apr-22-19		KEG: Post II 21. Qe2 Qg5 Burn tried to make something of nothing, but for a while this got him nowhere. 22. Qd2 Qf6 Recognizing that a Queen trade was no way to win. 23. Rf1 g5 A desperate attempt to complicate. It led nowhere. 24. Qe2 Kg7 25. g3 Qb6 26. Rb1 h6 27. Kg2 Rc5 28. Bc4 Rc6 29. b3 Rf6 30. Rf1 Qc5 At this stage, neither side had made any significant progress: click for larger view 31. Qd2 "?"--(Tournament Book) Perhaps 31. a4 to be ready for 31...b5 was somewhat better, but I see nothing wrong with the text. The game still seems like a clear draw. 31... b5 This move paid unexpected dividends. click for larger view 32. Bd3 Although White should still be able to hold the game with ease after this move, 32. Bd5 was better and it is hard to see how Burn could have made progress after that. The precarious position of the White Bishop on d3 gave Burn a few tricks. The Tournament Book suggests that 32. Bd5 would run into trouble after 32...Qa3, but Berger would then have been just fine with 33. f4. 32... a6 33. Qe2 Qc3 34. Qc2 "?"--(Tournament Book) Once again, I don't understand the Tournament Book. White should certainly be able to hold the Bishops of opposite colors ending if Black trades Queens, and should also be fine if Black tries to avoid it with 34...Qa5. 34... QxQ 35. BxQ click for larger view The Tournament Book notwithstanding, this still looks like a draw to me. 35... Rc6 36. Bd3 Rc3 This looks a tad scary, but Berger should have been able to hold the position with ease. 37. Rd1 Kf6 38. Kf3 38. Rd2 was simpler. as was 38. Bb1, but White is still in no real trouble. 38... Ke7 39. Rd2 Kd6 40. Kg4 The text is better than profK's suggested 40. Ke2, which leaves White OK but under a bit more pressure after 40...Kc5. 40... Kc5 click for larger view The game was still a pretty clear draw at this point. But starting on his next move, Berger's play was unimaginably bad. It took a few blunders from the above-diagrammed position, but Berger managed to maneuver himself into a lost position very quickly.

Apr-23-19		KEG: Post III 41. Kh5? This sortie by the Black King was unnecessary and probably fatal. Quite apart from the loss of the f-pawn, the text is the first step towards the loss of the White e-pawn and Black's winning advance of his own e-pawn. profK's 41. Rc2 also loses the f-pawn, but after 41...RxR (41...Kb4 may be even better) 42. BxR Bxf2. White would retain decent chances to hold the Bishops of opposite colors ending. But best of all was 41...Bc2. Black here also wins a pawn in many variations, but White with Bishops of opposite colors seems to have the draw in hand, e.g., 41. Bc2 Kb4 42. a4 bxa4 43. bxa4 Ra3 44. Rd3 Ra2 45. Bd1 (or 45. Bb3) Rxf2 46. Kh5 Rf6 47. Rb3+ Ka5 48. Rb7. After the text (41. Kh5?), the position was: click for larger view 41... Bxf2 click for larger view 42. RxB? From bad to worse. Berger was in trouble after his bad 41st move, but now he goes from the fire pan into the fire. He had to play 42. Rc2! The Bishops of opposite colors ending would then be at best very difficult to win (e.g., 42. Rc2 RxR 43. BxR Bxg3 44. Kxh6 Bf4 45. Kg7 Kb4 46. a4 bxa4 47. bxa4 Kc3 48. Bd1 Kd3 49. Kxf7 Kxe4 50. Be2 a5 51. Ke6 leaving: click for larger view Maybe there's a way for Black to win this position, and maybe there is a better line for Black than the one I give above, but I have not been able to find a clear win for Black. After Berger's actual move (42. RxB?), the Bishops of opposite colors go off the board and Black has good chances of winning the Rook and pawn ending. Back to the actual game: 42... RxB click for larger view 43. Rg2?? Incredible. Berger's one and only chance was to swallow his pride and retreat with 43. Kg4. White could then make Burn's task very difficult and just might be able to hang on after that (e.g., 43. Kg4 Kd4 44. Rxf7 h5+ (Black's only chance to play for a win) 45. Kxg5 Rxg3+ 46. Kh4 (not 46. Kxh5 Rxh3+ followed by 47...Rh2) Rd3 47. Ra7 Kxe4 48. Rxa7 Ke3. This is probably still a win for Black. But after the text Black simply picks up the White e-pawn and marches his e-pawn down the board: 43... Kd4 44. Kxh6 44. Rf2 is arguably better, but the outcome would still not be in doubt. 44... Kxe4 click for larger view The rest was easy.

Apr-24-19		KEG: Post IV 45. Kxg5? This only made Burn's task easier, but the "better" 45. Re2+ or 45. Rg1 did not hold out any real hope. 45... Kf3 The rest was a massacre. 46. Rc2 46. Rg1 might have prolonged the game, but it would not have saved it for White. 46... e4 The Black e-pawn advanced, and there was nothing Berger could do to stop it. click for larger view 47. g4 e3 48. Rc7 Hopeless, but so was everything else. 48... f6+! Cute. 49. Kxf6 Berger was not a pawn ahead, but it did him no good: click for larger view 49... e2 50. Re7 Re3 click for larger view 0-1

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
Nothing in violation of United States law.
No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
No trolling.
The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.

NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: CLASSICAL. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.

Featured in the Following Game Collections[what is this?]

A00 D40 QGD: Semi-Tarrasch [Black]
by chess.master

Round 14 (Thursday, August 9)
from Munich 1900 by Phony Benoni