keypusher: Part 1 of 2
The last of a three-game exhibition match against young Abraham Speyer a couple of months after Lasker's successful title defense against Tarrasch. See http://www.chesscafe.com/text/skitt... for more details.
Lasker's description of the game gives interesting insight into his approach to chess. In his column in the New York Evening Post, he wrote:
<this third game of my match with the Hollandish champion at the Pavilloen
of Amsterdam ran an exciting course. I was in one of those moods where danger
is attractive. Hence I plunged from the start into a combination the outcome of
which was exceedingly doubtful. For the gain of a pawn I risked to retard the
development and to accelerate that of the opponent. Mr. Speijer wisely sacrificed
also the exchange, and opened a concentrated fire upon my King; but once he
missed the best continuation, and therefore lost quickly. Games of this character,
where every move counts for much, are best suited to entertain spectators, and
they are of great value for the ripening of the ‘position judgment.’ He who relies
solely upon tactics that he can wholly comprehend is liable, in course of time, to
weaken his imagination. And he is at a disadvantage against an opponent who
tries to win through bold venture, yet does not step beyond the finely drawn
boundary of what is sound.”>
When I hear that a chessplayer is in a mood where "danger is attractive," I imagine him sacrificing pawns or a piece to get a speculative attack. But Lasker meant almost exactly the opposite here: grabbing material at the cost of submitting his king to a very dangerous mating attack. Lasker used his exhibitions the same way Botvinnik used his training matches, as a sort of chess lab. Of course, this meant the doctor suffered some embarrassing public explosions...
Here are his annotations in plain text; Shredder's and my comments are in brackets:
1. e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Be7 5.Nc3 Nd4
The safe continuation here is 5...d6.
6.Nxd4 exd4 7.e5
The best move, of course. It opens the e-file, since 7...Ng8 would evidently
leave Black at a disadvantage.
7...dxc3 8.exf6 cxb2
After 8...Bxf6 9.Re1+ Be7 10.Qe2 Black is
greatly hampered in his movements.
Well played. If 9.Bxb2 Bxf6 10.Re1+ Kf8 11.Ba3+ Kg8 12.Qe2 g6 the position of Black is much better than in the variation of 8...Bxf6; and Black is an important pawn to the good.
Kibitzing
