Rudolf Spielmann vs Siegbert Tarrasch (1923)

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Rudolf Spielmann vs Siegbert Tarrasch
Maehrisch-Ostrau (1923), Ostrava CSR, rd 11, Jul-14
King's Gambit: Falkbeer Countergambit. Charousek Gambit Main Line (C32) · 0-1

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Given 59 times; par: 30 [what's this?]

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Sep-15-04		morphy234: 25. ... GxF6 great opening of a file, and wins!

Sep-15-04		meloncio: And before, 8. ... 0-0!! A classical sacrifice for development.

Sep-26-04		An Englishman: Good Evening: You know, after 12.Bxh1, it looked to me that both players were losing!

Feb-28-05		perfidious: The Handbuch of those days had it that 7....Bf5 was bad because of 8. g4. So much for another footnote !

Jan-03-06		Frankly: Courageous 8th move by Tarrasch seems to be the last word on the subject, according to Batsford's Modern Chess Openings.

Mar-23-07		Dr. Siggy: Tarrasch's 8... 0-0!!! is one of the most amazing sacrifices I've ever seen in my patzer's life! Was it the result of his previous homework or just made by him over the board? Who knows? At first sight, it seems it was the former; but, judging for what we can read in Tarrasch's everlasting classic "The Game of Chees" (for instance, about the Center Game), the latter is not impossible at all!... After this crushing game, no one else ventured to play 8. g4? ever again. It has been replaced by 8. Nc3 Qe7 9. Be3, which is a bit of a tough nut to crack. Masters of Kasparov's stature even go to the point of claiming that White always gets the better of it, a statement which I find very hard to agree with. Allow me to prove my point by showing you another very lengthy analysis I've made with "Fritz 5.32" help: - 9...Bxe3 10. Qxe3 Nxc3! 11. Qxe7+ Kxe7 12. bxc3, and now: (I) 12... Be4(?!) (as usually recommended by "Lady Theory") doesn't seem to be good enough for Black to achieve full equality: after 13. c4 Bxf3 (splitting White's pawns, but...) 14. gxf3 Nd7 15. Kd2 Kd6 16. Bd3 g6(?!) ("Fritz 5.32" choice!...) 17. f5! Rhe8 18. Rab1 b6 19. h4! Nf6 20. Rhe1 c6 21. dxc6 Kxc6 22. Kc3 Rad8 23. f4! Kd6 24. a4! Rxe1 25. Rxe1 Re8 26. Rxe8 Nxe8 27. fxg6 fxg6 28. f5! gxf5 29. Bxf5 h6 30. Kd4 Nf6 31. Bh3!, the truth is that White reaches a Bishop vs. Knight ending with a clear (albeit small) plus; (II) 12... Bxc2(!?) (recommended many years ago by Pachman) seems to be a much, much better option for Black: in fact, after 13. Kd2 Ba4! 14. Rb1 Nd7! 15. Bd3 Nc5 16. Rhe1+ Kf8! 17. Bb5 Bxb5 18. Rxb5 b6 19. Nd4 Re8 20. Rbb1 a6! 21. Nb3 Nxb3+! 22. axb3 a5! 23. Kd3 h5! 24. Kd4 Rh6! 25. Rbd1 Rg6 26. Rxe8+ Kxe8 27. g3 h4!, Black gets a Rook ending which is (at the very least) drawn.

Mar-23-07		paulalbert: < Dr. Siggy > I had not seen this game before. As you do, I have great admiration for Tarrasch: Praeceptor Germaniae et Praeceptor Mundi. Certainly an all time great chess player even if never world champion. Along with a modern "The Game of Chess" I have a magnificent edition of "Dreihundert Schach Partien" published in 1928, certainly one of the best pieces among my chess books. Paul Albert

Mar-27-07		perfidious: <Dr Siggy> 13....Ba4 may well be an improvement over the following game: http://chessgames.com/perl/chessgam...

May-30-08		sneaky pete: Spielmann in Kagans Neueste Schachnachrichten: 7... Lc8-f5! Das ist die hochbedeutsame Neuerung. Bis dahin berücksichtigte man nur 7... Lf2+ 8.Kd1 Dxd5+ (wiederum der vorzeitige Rückgewinn des Bauern) 9.Sfd2!, was freilich für Weiß günstig aussieht. Wie schwer übrigens die Idee von 7... Lf5 zu erkennen ist, geht daraus hervor, das Bilguers Handbuch diesen Zug als fehlerhaft wegen des figurengewinnes 8.g4 .. bezeichnet. Ich zog auch 8.g2-g4? .. nicht aus Habsucht, sondern weil ich fürchtete, sonst in Positionsnachteil zu kommen. Nach 8.Sc3 De7 9.Le3 Lxe3 (9... Sxc3 10.Lxc5 ..) 10.Dxe3 Sxc3 11.Dxe7+ Kxe7 12.bxc Le4! gewinnt Schwarz entweder den Bauern d5 oder zerreißt mittels .. Lxf3 gxf3 .. auch noch die Bauern des weißen Königsflügels und bringt seinen Springer später nach c5. In beiden Fällen behält Schwarz das bessere Endspiel, was freilich das kleinere Uebel gewesen wäre, denn nun bricht mein Spiel überraschend schnell zusammen. Dr. Tarrasch gewann in glänzendem Angriffsstil und erhielt mit Recht einen Schönheitspreis. Auch der Ausgang dieser Partie entmutigte mich. Vielleicht hätte ich mit 8.Sc3 .. statt 8.g4 .. mit Mühe und Not Remis erreichen können, aber man spielt doch nicht Königsgambit, um schließlich in ein schlecht stehendes Endspiel einzulenken. Das überhaupt ein so verstecktes Figurenopfer möglich gewesen ist, beweist, daß die Anlage der weißen Partie unmöglich gesund sein kann. "Ich lasse mit mir nicht Schindluder treiben", sagte Dr. Tarrasch nach Beendigung der Partie. Ein hartes Wort eines Artzes! Das Königsgambit ist krank, schwerkrank!

Oct-08-11		jessicafischerqueen: Though <Emanuel Lasker> won this tournament, <Tarrasch> garnered the brilliancy prize for this game. <Spielmann>, the "Last Knight of the King's Gambit," was so stunned by the result that he wrote a sardonic article entitled "At the Head of the King's Gambit, the Sickness Unto Death."

Jun-22-14		King.Arthur.Brazil: By this time Tarrasch is aged 61. It is rare to mantain such kind of beautiful chess, including tatics, by this age. Fantastic black game!

Mar-23-15		Alex Schindler: Wow, 8...0-0 has some characteristics of aggressive king's gambit play for white, but it still comes as a bolt from the blue. Reminds me of the Muzio Gambit and other positions that trade a minor piece for pressure down the F file -- here, though, the sacrifice doesn't actually open up the rook's file, or assemble a battery-- rather, it dares white to spend a tempo taking the the piece and allowing deadly pressure down the e-file instead. It's easy to regain most of the sacrificed material with a double attack on the queen and rook (Nf2, discovering a rook attack on the queen and making deadly use of the lovely c5 bishop), but the wonderful thing about this sac is that even after winning the exchange on h1 to partially equalize material, the attack continues with devasting force.

Jun-15-16		dernier loup de T: Rien que cette seule partie extraordinaire justifie que Tarrasch a continué à jouer après 1914... On a longtemps parlé à propos d'elle d'une réfutation décisive du gambit du roi, tellement la contre-attaque du docteur est fulgurante et percutante.

Jun-16-16		offramp: <dernier loup de T: Rien que cette seule partie extraordinaire justifie que Tarrasch a continué à jouer après 1914... On a longtemps parlé à propos d'elle d'une réfutation décisive du gambit du roi, tellement la contre-attaque du docteur est fulgurante et percutante.> Agreed. My own belief is that White only gets a good game in the King's Gambit if he gives up a piece very early, normally by ♗ or ♘xf7. If Black can castle he stands much better. Here Tarrasch plays with tremendous éclat and his opponent is poleaxed.

Jan-13-21		louispaulsen88888888: I thought it was just average éclat.

Jan-14-21		fredthebear: An interesting link about Rudolf Spielmann: https://pantheon.world/profile/pers...

Jan-14-21		louispaulsen88888888: Yes, thanks. Bear. Very interesting.

Aug-14-21		Bartleby: According to Soltis from his "Chess to Enjoy" collection, Tarrasch, always known for his caustic tongue and sharp rebuke of chess he felt "incorrect," after he had played 8. ...0-0! 9. PxB Re8, he then addressed Spielmann: "Ich lasse mit mir nicht Schindluder treiben" (or, "You can't palm off any old carrion on me.") Some very forceful pyrotechnics in this game by the former World Championship challenger. Truly a lion in winter. Also a nice game to endorse the Falkbeer as a King's Gambit antidote. The best way to refute a gambit is...to countergambit!

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