Chess is a scientific game and its literature ought to be placed on the basis of the strictest truthfulness, which is the foundation of all scientific research. W._Steinitz

The Gunsberg-Steinitz Match,
World Championship 1890-91
Researched by Nick Pope

MR. STEINITZ WINS AGAIN.
THE CHESS MATCH MADE A TIE.
REFUSING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TIME LIMIT - THE GAME.
:
    The sixth game in the match between Steinitz and Gunsberg, which was played yesterday, proved more interesting to the spectators in some respects than any of its predecessors.  There was a better attendance than  usual in the Manhattan Chess Club’s rooms.  When play began and for some time before the adjournment of the afternoon session there was an excited crowd gathered round the show-board in the big club-room, discussing in an unusually animated manner each move as it was made and the position of the game generally.
    Steinitz was undoubtedly ill after spending one of his bad nights, while Gunsberg began the fight under the auspicious and encouraging circumstances of being a game ahead of his antagonist.  The younger player brought a surprised look to the face of the veteran when he opened the game by P-Q 4, this time putting Steinitz in the position of defending a Q P opening, instead of carrying on the attack.
    When about fifteen moves had been made Steinitz was considered to have achieved the advantage of position, and his game was declared to be in a great measure superior to that of his rival.  Gunsberg, however, fought gallantly and managed to rid himself of many of the difficulties which beset his forces, and then Steinitz lost a pawn, which somewhat changed the aspect of what had hitherto been looked upon as a fine game for the “theorist.”  A few more moves, however, and matters began to look much more promising for Steinitz.
    It is a peculiar coincidence and one deserving mention, that Gunsberg again was the one of [sic] seal his move at the adjournment, which has been the case on every previous occasion.  On all hands it was considered that the position as the contestants left it for the intermission was a very difficult one, and nobody ventured to declare that either one or the other of the players had the advantage.  Playing under heavy pressure of time and in an extremely difficult and almost hopeless position, Gunsberg managed by a clever effort to bring into play his two Bishops, which had previously been lying in a useless and blocked position.  Finally, however, after Steinitz had declined to claim a win because of his opponent’s having exceeded the time limit, he announced on his forty-first move “Mate in three,” and brought the game to an admirable and beautiful conclusion accordingly.
    Taking the game from the beginning and dealing more particularly with the play, it will bee seen that Black was the first to advance Q B P, which is out of the usual groove.  After White had castled, Black seemed in no hurry to place his King in security, but proceeded first to develop the Queen’s side.  White’s eigth move, sometimes favored by Bird and Gunsberg, is one of which Steinitz disapproves.  Black made his eigth and ninth moves with the intention of opening a centre and King’s side attack, which is scarecly in accordance with Steinitz’s style.  On his thirteenth move Steinitz began to press his pawns on the Queen’s side, and was thereby successful in blocking both the adverse Bishops.  Complications here seemed to arise and sacrificing tactics were expected by the onlookers. Steinitz, however, says that such a proceeding was not justified by analysis.  Black lost a pawn on his twenty-second move, and as a matter of fact Steinitz himself admits that this was the result of an oversight, but fortunately for him, as the result proved, it led to a strong attack which caused White ultimately to spend thirty-four minutes in deliberation upon his twenty-seventh move, which was the one he sealed.
    After the adjournment Black’s attention was directed to the concentration of his pieces against the King, and also to the prevention as far as possible of the exchanges which his adversary was evidently contemplating.  His Rooks also became harassing to the adverse Queen, and White was finally obliged to give up the extra pawn, which had yielded him some hope of fighting effectually for a draw.  Furthermore, Gunsberg’s King’s side was altogether compromised, but he made a sturdy defence.  For a long time he warded off the disaster which loomed inevitably before him, but finally was obliged to succumb after the thirty-ninth move of his opponent which brought inevitably in its train a mate in a few more moves.
New-York Daily Tribune, 1890.12.21

KNIGHTS AT THE BOARD.
HONORS DIVIDED SO FAR IN A SPLENDID FIGHT.
The Veteran Gave a Magnificent Display of Playing 
Chess - True, He Blundered Once, but this Gave Him an Attack 
Which Gunsberg Could Not Defend.
:
    The sixth game in the Steinitz-Gunsberg chess match began yesterday morning, at the Manhattan Chess Club, under the most favorable conditions for the player from England, and he seemed perfectly at ease with himself and on good terms with the rest of the world.  There must have been a great deal of satisfaction to him in the reflection that he was already leading, with two wins to his opponent’s one.  Then, again, another thing greatly in his favor was the fact that undeniably Steinitz was unwell.  In fact, in answer to a question on this point, Steinitz said he had scarcely had a wink of sleep all through the preceeding night and, furthermore, he had been obliged to leave home without his breakfast.  It could be easily seen from his appearance that he was far from well, but if anything was required to make assurance on his head doubly sure, it is only necessary to add that the ever-constant Steinitzian cigar was absent during yesterday’s play.  He had no heart for it, and those who know him will understand from this that his indisposition was not a trifling one.
    The opening of the game was perhaps its most amusing feature.  Gunsberg had the start, and he played P Q 4!  Steinitz looked and looked at the board, and at last he smiled a faint smile.
    “What, is it Q P you play?”
    “Yes, I am going to try your game,” replied the Hungarian.
    His next move, however, proclaimed it to be his intention to introduce a fresh variety of the Q P opening.  During the early part of play Gunsberg rather handicapped himself by attending to the keeping of a double score of the game.  After making his twelfth move his attention was so far distracted from the board that he got up from the table and left his clock still going.  After the lapse of about a minute his attention was drawn to the fact, and for the moment he seemed to be under the impression that his opponent had replied.  A glance at the board, however, showed him what was the matter, and he pressed down his clock and started that of his adversary, explaining, as he quickly looked up, “It was my own fault.”  When Steinitz realized the position of things, of which he had hitherto remained oblivious, he said he thought the mistake should be rectified by Gunsberg putting back his clock; but the latter decided not to take advantage of the permission which had been given him to retrieve the lost time.
    As the play progressed from the twelfth to the nineteenth move the opinion of the majority of the spectators quickly developed in favor of Steinitz, and it was declared that with equally careful play to that which he had already shown, he would be certain to win.  It was a noticeable fact here, too, that he had the majority of pawns on the Q side, and with a superior game it might be said that his theory thus received a further proof of its soundness.
    Almost from the beginning of play there was a large attendance of members and visitors in the club room, and they were soon rewarded by something interesting.  Indeed, by the time white had made his twentieth move there was more than the usual excitement, and black’s reply was awaited with a considerable degree of interest and anxiety.  Steinitz deliberated twenty-five minutes on this move.
    The clever and astute defence of Gunsberg, however, was such as to minimize the evils which surrounded his positionand the tables were somewhat by what was pronounced to be a blunder on the part of Steinitz in the twenty-second move, which resulted in his losing a pawn.  Some rather weak play by Gunsberg, however, neutralized the advantage of the pawn ahead [...]
    For the fifth time  Gunsberg was the player to seal his move at the adjournment, and so grave did he evidently consider his position at this point that he consumed thirty-four minutes in considering the move.  Just before 5 o’clock Steinitz accidentally touched Gunsberg’s foot beneath the table.  In his abstraction, instead of uttering the customary form of apology, he exclaimed, “J’doube,” which is the prescribed formula when a player touches a piece for the purpose of adjusting it simply, and without the intention of playing it.  When play was resumed none of the spectators were sufficiently venturesome to say that either player had the best of the game.  Later, Gunsberg’s position grew worse, and, as he was laboring under great time pressure on account of the thirty-four minutes he had consumed on his twenty-seventh turn, his position was declared to be almost without hope.  He had at this stage only six minutes in which to make eight moves, while Steinitz, having plenty of time in accumulation, played with great deliberation, evidently forgetting that by so doing he was allowing his opponent to utilize the time so spent in studying a way of escape.  Ultimately Gunsberg exceeded the time limit, and although Steinitz could have claimed the game as a win on this account, he refused to do so.  A move or two later Steinitz, on his forty-first turn, announced mate in three, which he accomplished in a brilliant and ingenious manner.  All through the day the veteran had eschewed the friendly cigar, but when he had finished play in this satisfactory manner he lighted one with evident enjoyment.
    Steinitz supplies the following description of the game:  “Black was the first to advance the Q B P which is a proceeding out of the usual groove.  After white had castled, black proceeded to develop the Q side first, and did not hurry to get his K into security.  White’s eigth move was one which is sometimes favored by Bird and Gunsberg, but the modern school disapproves of it.  Black’s eighth and ninth moves were made with a view of opening a centre and king’s side attack, which is very rarely in my style.  On the thirteenth move black began to press his pawns on the Q side and thereby succeeded in blocking the two adverse bishops.  Complications seemed to arise and sacrificing tactics were probably expected, but they were hardly justifiable in analysis.  At his twenty-second move black lost a pawn.  To tell the truth, this was nothing but an oversight at the time, but nevertheless it led to a very strong attack, which it was so difficult for white to repel that he took thirty-four minutes to consider his twenty-seventh move, which he sealed for the adjournment.
    On the resumption of play black directed his attention to the concentration of his pieces against the king and at the same time to preventing, as much as possible, the exchanges which his opponent was aiming at.  His rooks became very harassing to the adverse Q, and white had ultimately to give the extra pawn, which, under the circumstances - his position being altogether inferior - had yielded him some hope of fighting effectually for a draw.  His king’s side was altogether compromised, but he made a sturdy defence, and staved off for a long time the inevitable disaster.  He was also very much pressed for time, and had to make nine moves in eight minutes.  Black’s thirty-ninth move was a coup which virtually settled the matter by forcing mate in a few moves.”
The Sun, New York, 1890.12.21

NOW IT’S MR. STEINITZ.
He Is Tied with Mr. Gunsberg in the Chess Match.
:
    A numerous and illustrious crowd packed the handsome rooms of the Manhattan Chess Club to witness the sixth game of the great chess match.  The President, Prof. Isaac Rice, and the Vice-President, Col. Betts, of the Club, were early on hand in the players’ room, while the masters of the New York chess community, E. Delmar, S. Lipschutz, J. Hanham, A. Hodges and numerous others watched the progress of yesterday’s contest.
    The opening moves were wuite a disappointment to the spectators, as they hoped for an “Evans Gambit,” or at least a repetition of Gunsberg’s aggressive tactics in the Giuoco Piano.
    The English player, however, started with P-Q4, and proceeded thereafter to develop his forces without offering the gambit usually connected with that opening.  The line of play adopted by the English champion, though leading to a dull game, is theoretically perfectly safe, but the first player was not always at his best and was soon compelled to move his Q B P, which gave him an inferiority of the position, besides condemning his Q B to inactivity.  Black instituted an attack with his pawns on the queen’s wing and a difficult and complicated position arose.  The second player made a few feeble queen moves and gave his opponent, unnecessarily, an opportunity to win a pawn on his twenty-third move.
    The game was now in white’s favor, but the latter, too eager to fortify the position of his pawns on the queen side, lost two valuable moves by advancing his Q R P, and, moreover, allowed black a wide range for his two bishops.  At the time of the adjournment Mr. Gunsberg, realizing the dangerous state of his game, was so excited that he twice left the playing-room before sealing his move, for which to decide he consumed fully thirty-five minutes.  After the adjournment, at 7 o’clock, white had but half an hour in which to make fourteen moves.  A well-directed sacrifice of a pawn gave him considerable relief, but in spite of intense concentration, time slipped by and amid great excitement it was noticed that Gunsberg’s clock stood at five minutes to the hour and he had yet six moves to make.  Those present in the room could not but admire the coolness with which up to that point white resisted the attack, but the last five minutes proved too much for him, and his opponent, taking forcible advantage of the position, managed by a clever sacrifice of his B to bring about a mating position on the forty-third move.  Score - Gunsberg, 2; Steinitz, 2; drawn, 2.
The World, New York, 1890.12.21

Gunsberg,IA — Steinitz,W
(6)
D05/05
Queen’s Pawn: Closed (Rubinstein)
1890.12.20
USA New York, NY (Manhattan Chess Club)
Annotations by Gunsberg & Steinitz
1.d4 d5 2.e3 e6 3.Bd3 c5
** Steinitz: It is a curious feature of this game that, while White retains the c-pawn, Black, although second player, is the first to advance that pawn.  As will be seen, White intends to turn the game into an ordinary Fianchetto di Donna.
4.b3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nf6 [0:02:30-0:04:00] 6.0-0 Bd7 7.Bb2 Rc8
** Gunsberg: A good move played with the object of continuing with ...Nb4.
Steinitz: This threatens, after exchanging pawns, ...Nb4, with a good game.
8.c3
** Gunsberg: A very disagreeable alternative.
Steinitz: Hardly advisable in this and similar situations.
8...Bd6
** Steinitz: Usually the defense plays ...Be7 in this opening, but, as White has blocked his own dark-square bishop, Black is justified in altering his tactics.
9.Nbd2 e5
** Gunsberg: Always a forcible move in similar positions.
Steinitz: As in a similar position in the match between Steinitz and Chigorin at Havana.
10.dxe5 Nxe5 [0:16-0:15] 11.Nxe5 Bxe5 12.Nf3 Bb8 13.h3
** Steinitz: There was hardly any necessity for this move, which is generally disadvantageous.
13...c4 14.Bc2 0-0 15.Qd4 Re8 [0:33-0:24] 16.Rad1 b5 17.b4
** Gunsberg: White already has a serious disadvantage by having his dark-sqaure bishop blocked in.
17...Qc7 18.Rfe1
** Gunsberg: An unnecessary move.  White ought to have proceeded at once with 18.Qh4.
18...Re7 19.Kf1
** Gunsberg: If 19.e4 Black plays 19...dxe4 20.Bxe4 Rd8 which makes it uncomfortable for White.  The text move was played to gain time if necessary to be able to play his knight.
Steinitz: He might have better utilized his time by playing first 19.Rd2, with a view of bringing the bishop back to d1.
19...Rce8 20.Qh4 Qd6 [0:53-1:09]
** Steinitz: If 20...Re4 21.Bxe4 Rxe4 22.g4 h5 23.Ng5 and Black gets nothing for the loss of the exchange.  But anyhow the text move was a waste of time, and Black should have played 20...Qc6 at once.
21.Rd4 Qc6
** Gunsberg: These are aimless moves which lose time.
22.Red1 Be5
** Gunsberg: A curious oversight by which he loses a valuable pawn.
Steinitz: An oversight which loses a pawn.  Black as it happens obtains a strong attack by the loss of the pawn, as he liberates his light-square bishop.
23.Rxd5 Bb8
** Gunsberg: He would be mated if he took the rook with his knight.
24.a4
** Gunsberg: The best play for White would have been to retire the rook at once to d2.
24...a6
** Steinitz: Black could not take the pawn without getting the disadvantage by the reply 25.b5, followed by 26.Ba3.
25.a5
** Gunsberg: This move gives Black a wide range for his pieces.
25...h6 [1:37-1:25]
** Steinitz: A little too late.
26.R5d4 Qb7 (Adjourned) [1:40-1:26] 27.Ne1 (Sealed)
** Gunsberg: This move was sealed.  White was afraid of Black playing ...Bc6, followed by ...Qc7 etc.
27...Be5 [2:15-1:26] 28.R4d2 Bc7
** Steinitz: Black has gained an important move by this maneuver, whereby he prevents the exchanging of rooks at later stages.
29.Re2 Re5
** Gunsberg: A strong move.  He threatens ...Rh5, followed by ...Bxh3 or ...Rxh3.
Steinitz: Threatening ...Rh5.
30.f3
** Gunsberg: The only move to counteract Blacks powerful stroke.  Although he gives up a pawn White gains considerable relief for a time.
Steinitz: About the only move.
30...Rxe3 [2:28-1:53] 31.Rxe3
** Gunsberg: 31.Be4 would not have been good on account of 31...Nxe4 32.Rxe3 Ng3+ 33.Kf2 Rxe3 34.Rxd7 Re2+ and mates in two more moves.
Steinitz: If 31.Be4, which White probably speculated upon, then 31...R8xe4 32.fxe4 Bg3 and wins.
31...Rxe3 32.Bc1
** Gunsberg: A very useful move if Black now plays 32...Rxc3, White gets pull by 33.Bb2.
32...Re5
** Gunsberg: If White now plays 33.Bf4 and Black replies with 33...Rh5 34.Qg3 Rxh3 35.gxh3 Nh5 36.Qh4, White gets the best of it.  But an interesting variation arises if, after White playing 33.Bf4, Black should continue with 33...Rh5 34.Qg3 Rg5 35.Qh2 Bxf4 36.Qxf4 Nd5 37.Rxd5 Rxd5 (he cannot take with the queen because of 38.Qb8+.) 38.Be4, etc.
Steinitz: White threatened Bxh6, which is now prevented, as Black would answer ...Rh5.  The text move was also better than 32...Rxc3, as White would answer 33.Bb2, with an excellent attack.
33.Qf2 Qc6 34.Be3
** Gunsberg: 34.g4 might perhaps have been played here.
34...Re8 35.Qd2 Qe6 [2:42-2:11] 36.Bd4
** Gunsberg: If 36.Bf4, Black plays 36...Bxf4 37.Qxf4 Qe2+ 38.Kg1 Qe3+ 39.Qxe3 Rxe3 40.Kf2 Rxc3 41.Rd6, with a good game.
36...Nh5 37.Bf2
** Steinitz: If 37.Bxg7 Ng3+ 38.Kg1 Kxg7, and obviously White dare not take the bishop as mate would follow in a few moves, beginning with 39...Qe3+.
37...Bc6 38.Bb1 Qe5 39.Nc2 Bxf3
** Gunsberg: All these moves were made under great time pressure.  Black now seizes a chance for a pretty mating combination.
Steinitz: This is decisive.
40.gxf3
** Gunsberg: If 40.Re1 Bxg2+ 41.Kxg2 Qh2+ 42.Kf1 Qh1+ 43.Bg1 etc., the same as in the text.
40...Qh2 41.Qd7 Qh1+ 42.Bg1 Qxf3+ 43.Bf2 Ng3+ [2:47-2:29] 0-1.
** Gunsberg: Mate follows next move.
The Sun, New York, 1890.12.21
The World, New York, 1890.12.21
New-York Daily Tribune, 1890.12.21

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