Harry Pillsbury vs Mikhail Chigorin (1902)

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

Kibitzing

Harry Pillsbury vs Mikhail Chigorin
Monte Carlo (1902), Monte Carlo MNC, rd 18, Mar-04
Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order (D31) · 1/2-1/2

White to move.

ANALYSIS [x]

1/2-1/2

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

FEN COPIED

explore this opening	find similar games	20 more Pillsbury/Chigorin games
	PGN: download \| view \| print	Help: general \| java-troubleshooting

TIP: Premium members can see a list of all games that they have seen recently at their Game History Page.

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

PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

Oct-27-20		Straclonoor: It seems that Pillsbury had chance to win the game. Analysis by Stockfish 051020: 1. +- (4.54): 30.Nc4 Ne4 31.f3 Ng3 32.Rd3 Qc1 33.Kf2 Qxd1 34.Rxd1 Nh5 35.Re1 Bd7 36.Be5 Bc6 37.b4 Bxa4 38.Nd6 b6 39.Ra1 Bc6 40.b5 Bxb5 41.Nxb5 bxc5 42.Rxa7 Rd2+ 43.Kg1 Re2 44.Ra8+ Kh7 45.f4 Re4 46.Nd6 Rxf4 47.Bxf4 Nxf4 48.Kf2 g5 49.Nc4 Kg6 50.Ne5+ Kg7 51.Kf3 c4 52.Nxc4 Ng6 53.Kf2 g4 54.hxg4 fxg4 55.Kg3 Kf6 56.Kxg4 2. +- (3.86): 30.Kh2 Qb2 31.f3 Qf2 32.Nc4 Bc6 33.Rd2 Qh4 34.Qe2 Re8 35.Be5 Nd5 36.b4 Nf4 37.Qf1 Ng6 38.Bg3 Qe7 39.Qe1 Bd5 40.Ne5 Nxe5 41.Bxe5 Qg5 42.b5 Rc8 43.Bd6 Kh7 44.a5 Qf6 45.Rd3 Qg5 46.Rd4 Rd8 47.Ra4 Kg8 48.a6 b6 49.h4 Qg6 50.cxb6 Rxd6 51.bxa7

Apr-11-24		KEG: In some ways, this draw was the key moment in this tournament, and perhaps even a key (and unfortunate) moment in Pillsbury's career. In round 17, Pillsbury--who had been chasing Maroczy in this tournament ever since losing their opening round game--finally managed to overtake Maroczy and entered Round 18 with a half-point lead over Maroczy and a full point lead over 3rd-place Janowski. His opponents in the final three rounds were less than overwhelming--Marco in Round 19, last-place Mortimer in Round 20, and Marshall in Round 21. Thus, had Pillsbury managed to win this game, he would have had excellent chances to get his most important tournament win since Hastings 1895. Having tied for first with Tarrasch at Vienna 1898 (losing a close playoff match), having finished tied for second behind Lasker at London 1899, and having tied for first with Maroczy and Schlechter at Munich 1900 (drawing his first-place play-off match with Schlechter after Maroczy withdrew because of illness); a first-place finish here might have given him grounds for seeking a match with Lasker. And indeed, at his best, Pillsbury in my opinion was the only player before the rise of Capablanca (and later Alekhine) to have a chance in a match with Lasker. But then everything fell apart here. Pillsbury outplayed Tchigorin (his toughest remaining opponent) and exploited a blunder by Tchigorin and won a pawn on move 16, there was every reason to expect Pillsbury would prevail here. But on move 30 (the last move before the time control), Pillsbury missed a win (demonstrated on this site by <Straclonoor>) by overlooking a tactical resource that Tchigorin nicely seized. I have to presume this was a function of time pressure. In any case, this error by Pillsbury allowed Tchigorin to hold the draw. Under the rules in effect at Monte Carlo, both players received 1/4th of a point for this draw. The game was then replayed to allocate the remaining half point, this time with colors reversed (i.e., Tchigorin had White in the replay). When Tchigorin won this replay, Pillsbury ended up with just 1/4th of a point for the 18th round. He ultimately finished 2nd in the tournament, 1/4th of a point behind Maroczy. Having missed out on 1st place in large part because he failed to win this game, Pillsbury followed with two more disappointments: he finished 2nd to Janowski at Hanover 1902 (which he could have won rather than losing there to Janowski; and then finished a close 3rd behind Tarrasch and Maroczy at Monte Carlo 1903. Thus, Pillsbury never got a title shot. He was sick by the time of Cambridge Springs 1904 (where he had a disappointing result but defeated Lasker in their individual game) and soon thereafter was lost. But I can't help wondering about how Pillsbury would have fared against Lasker when he was at the top of his game. Oh well. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 Nd7 A doubtful choice by Tchigorin. The usual 4...Nf6 is surely best. 5. e4 5. e3 is more usual, but I prefer the text. 5... dxe4 6. Nxe4 Ngf6 7. Bd3 c5 8. NxN+ NxN click for larger view So Pillsbury had emerged with a slight advantage. But before long, Tchigorin seemed to lose the thread of the game and soon thereafter Pillsbury obtained what should have been a winning position.

Apr-12-24		KEG: Post II 9. dxc5 Pillsbury had great confidence that he would be able to outplay Tchigorin in the ensuing position, and indeed he did. But the text was still far from best. Instead of relieving the tension in the center, White would enjoy at least a small edge with 9. Bc2 or 9. 0-0 or 9. Qc2. Now, Tchigorin could have equalized: 9... Bxc5 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Qc2 click for larger view 11... Be7 A surprisingly placid effort by Tchgorin, who had many ways to hold his own here, e.g., 11...h6; 11...Qe7; etc. After the text, Pillsbury began to go to town, and was very much in his element: 12. Bf4 Bd7 Another weak effort by Tchigorin. 12...Bd6; 12...Qb6; and 12...h6 were all much better. 13. Rfd1 13. Rad1, or perhaps 13. Ne5 immediately, are also worthy of consideration. 13... Qc8! The sort of subtle move that made Tchigorin such a dangerous opponent. Among other things, it opened d8 to the Black Rook. 14. Ne5 It was sometimes said that if Pillsbury played the Queen's Gambit, he would have the game wrapped up as soon as he got to play Ne5. Not quite the case here, but the text was very much a key component of Pillsbury's arsenal in this sort of opening. 14... Rd8 All according to plan. 15. Bg5 15. NxB looks much simpler, but maybe he reckoned that Tchigorin would miss the tactical resources White has here, the position now being: click for larger view 15... Be8? A shocking error by so fine a tactician as Tchigorin. He would not have been in such bad shape after 15...h6. Well, Monte Carlo 1902 was a long tournament, and perhaps here in Round 18 Tchigorin was tired. (This may explain Pillsbury's blunder on move 30). Or perhaps Tchigorin was discouraged from his tough 99-move loss to Teichmann in the previous round that pretty much put him out of contention for a top prize. In any case, Pillsbury immediately pounced: 16. Bxh7+! click for larger view Not the hardest combo to detect, and Pillsbury of course spotted it. Now he wins a pawn: 16... NxB Tchigorin did not perform like Tchigorin here. 16...Kf8 is somewhat better, but in any case Black ends up a pawn down. 17. BxB RxR+ 18. RxR click for larger view There were Bishops of opposite colors, and Black has potential counterplay, so perhaps the game is not a clear win for White. But a clearly discouraged Tchigorin continued his weak play, over the next several move, leaving no doubt about the correct theoretical outcome of this game. But won games don't usually win themselves, and--as we will see--it would soon be Pillsbury's turn to falter.

Apr-13-24		KEG: Post III 18... Qc7 19. Bd6 Qa5 20. b3 click for larger view 20... Rd8 20...f6 followed by 21...Qh5 was the best try. 21. c5! click for larger view 21... Nf6 22. Nc4! Qa6 23. h3 click for larger view 23... Bb5 23...b6 was better. 24. Ne5! Yet again, Pillsbury posted his Knight on e5. And yet again, this looks crushing. 24... Nd5 25. Rd4 Ready to pounce on the King's side. At this point, it must have appeared that the end was near. 25... Qa5 26. Rh4 click for larger view 26... f5? This move should have been preceded by 26...Qe1+. The text gave Pillsbury the chance to unleash a deadly push: click for larger view 27. Qd1! This didn't blow the win for Pillsbury by any means, but the crusher here was 27. b4 (if now 27...Nxb4 [27...Qa3 would be better though hopeless] 28. Qb3!). But now the winning line became a bit more onerous for Pillsbury. 27... Be8 28. a4 Another second-best move, but again not blowing the win. 28. Qe2 was probably strongest. The text left: click for larger view

Apr-13-24		KEG: Post IV 28... Nf6 To have much of a legitimate chance, Tchigorin had to play 28...Qc3 immediately. After the text, Pillsbury's task might appear simple. But perhaps Tchigorin was in time trouble as the move-30 time control approached. And, as will be seen, Pillsbury may have been in time trouble as well. 29. Rd4! Well-played, but--as will be seen--perhaps played with a mistaken evaluation of the position. 29... Qc3 click for larger view White to play and win. 30. Rd3? This ain't the way, and allows a pretty--but not very difficult to find--saving combo for Black. There were several winning lines for White here, but the strongest and most crushing move was 30. Nc4! (see the analysis on this site by <straclonoor>). By contrast, the text completely blew the win and probably spelled the end of Pillsbury's chances to win the tournament (and perhaps earn a match with Lasker for the World Championship). The position after the text was: click for larger view Black to play and draw. 30... RxB! I can't believe Pillsbury would have missed this unless he was facing serious time pressure. Now everything fell apart for him and he had to settle for a draw. 31. cxR QxN click for larger view 32. d7 Pillsbury may have felt shell-shocked. If he was still keen on winning, he might as well have played 32. Re3. After the text, the game quickly reduces to an even Queen and pawn ending: 32... Bxd7 33. RxB NxR 34. QxN click for larger view Now all roads lead to a draw. Quite a lost opportunity for Pillsbury! 34... Qe1+ 35. Kh2 Qe5+ 35...Qxf2 36. Qxe6+ is no better, and likewise leads to a clear draw. 36. g3 Qe4 37. h4 Kh7 38. Qd1 Kg6 39. Qd2 Qf3 40. Qc2 Kh5 41. Qd2 click for larger view A clearly drawn position, but there are yet a few wrinkles in this game which I will cover in my final post on this game.

Apr-13-24		KEG: Post V 41... f4 Trying to create complications, but this was just not in the cards. 41...Kg6 looks completely safe. 42. Qa5+ Qd5 43. Qxa7 fxg3+ 43...Qxb3 immediately looks even simpler. 44. fxg3 Qxb3 click for larger view 45. Qd4 One of the sources for this game records a different move and continuation. While I question the line given by this source here, but let's take a moment to recount these alternate moves: 45. Qc5+ Kh6 If this was really played, it gave Pillsbury some tiny chances. Simplest for Black here would have been 45...Kg4. 46. a5 The best chance to try to make something out of nothing here was 46. Qg5+ Kh7 47. Qh5+ Kg8 48. Qe5. But even then a draw seems nearly inevitable. 46... Qf3 47. Qg5+ Kh7 Drawn Now, back to the moves given in the Tournament Book: 45. Qd4 Qf3 46. Qe5+ Qf5 Practically forced 47. Qe2+ Qg4 48. Qb5+ Qf5 click for larger view 49. Qe2+ If instead 49. Qxb7 Black has a perpetual after 49...Qc2+ After the text, the game quickly petered out: 49... Qg4 50. Qb5+ Kh6 51. a5 Qe4 52. Qg5+ Kh7 click for larger view Drawn

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.