The ninth game of the match, which was due to be
played on Thursday last, was postponed till to-day, when the meeting
will
take place at Simpsons. The adjournment was this time made
at the
instance [sic] of Mr Zukertort, and Mr Blackburne in his turn
agreed
that it should not count as one of the exception days to which each
combatant
is entitled. We are glad to note the good feeling which exists
between
the two players, as shown by such mutual consideration. |
The score stands nowZuffertort [sic]
4,
Blackburne 1, drawn 3. |
The Field, London,
1881.07.16
|
THE ninth game played at
Simpsons
on Saturday, the 1th inst., was opened by Zukertort with his favourite
irregular Kt to K B 3. We have already commented on this move,
when
it occurred in some of the games of last years match between
Zukertort
and Rosenthal. It is an ordinary introduction to the Q P opening,
unless Black should be induced to answer Kt to Q B 3, in which case
White
would gain the advantage by replying P to Q 4. As was to be
expected,
the game resolved itself into a close one, Blackburne adopting K P 1,
followed
by the Q fianchetto for the defence, without advancing the Q P until he
had castled. We believe that this might have been turned to his
disadvantage
if Zukertort, on the seventh move, had pushed the P to Q 5. But
White
adopted the usual developments, and proceeded also with the Q fianchetto
after castling. The preliminary manuvring left no
perceptible difference
of the respective positions in favour of either side, excepting that
Whites
K R was better posted than Blacks. The first attack of a
real character
was instituted by Blackburne, who brought Q and B to bear on the adverse
only once defended Q R P. But, instead of preserving his K B, he
injudiciously allowed its exchange for a Kt on the fourteenth move, and
his game seemed then to become badly cramped by the entrance of the
adverse
Kt at K 5. However, only two moves later on, he was not alone
released,
owing to a feeble exchange of knights adopted by Zukertort, but he would
have even obtained the better game if he had retaken in the more
advantageous
way with the Q, instead of with the Kt. Zukertort then pressed for
an exchange of queens, though we believe he might have made more of his
game by bringing his R up for the attack on the K side,
viá
K R 3. The exchange of queens having been effected, Blackburne
simplified
the game still more by a manuvre with his Q Kt P, whereby he god
[sic]
rid of both adverse centre pawns, and forced the exchange of rooks, his
opponent, however, retaining, in conjunction with two bishops, a passed
Q R P, which threatened to become formidable after the exchange of all
the pieces. Blackburne directed his efforts to freeing his K P for
attacking purposes, and he certainly misjudged his position strongly if
he tried to reserve for himself the option of playing to win, as appears
to have been the case, for he seemed to be reluctant to allow his Kt to
be exchanged and to remain with bishops of opposite colours, with a
clear
draw. Especially his retreat of the Kt on the 36th move lost him
most valuable time, and he had afterwards a narrow escape from a forced
lost game, which Zukertort could have obtained on the 47th move by
attacking
the Kt at Kt 6 with the B, making room for the entrance of his K at B 5,
which would have soon enabled him to oppose his White B at Q B 6, with
an easy won game. Zukertort, having instead retreated his K to Q
4, gave Blackburne breathing time, and again he could have made his
defence
good on the 50th move by opposing the K at K 4, so as to threaten to
drive
the adverse K right back with the ch at Q 4. Again, a little later
on, he had an excellent prospect of relieving himself by advancing his
R P when attacked, instead of the Kt P. His having fixed the pawns
on the K side on white squares, gave Zukertort an opportunity of
executing
one of his fine manuvres with the B, whereby he ultimately forced
the
gain of the K R P. But, even after this, Blacks game was
still defensible,
if he had pursued the plan of endeavouring to sacrifice his Kt and a P
on the K side for the two adverse pawns on the same wing. But at
this critical stage Blackburne, apparently under pressure of time limit,
committed a gross error of judgment which proved fatal. Instead of
allowing the P to be taken by the B, and trying to effect an entrance
with
his Kt at B 6, viá Kt 4, he advanced the R P, thus
allowing
his opponent an additional passed P on the other wing. The sally
of his Kt at B 5, which he had prepared at the cost of a valuable P,
proved
utterly useless for defensive purposes, and, with a few powerful and
well-directed
manuvres of his two bishops, Zukertort secured the advance and
ultimate
queening of the K R P, whereupon Blackburne resigned. Duration,
seven
hours. |
The Field, London,
1881.07.23
|
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Zukertort,JH Blackburne,JH
|
(9)
|
A46/04 |
Indian: Knights (Rubinstein)
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1881.07.16 |
GBR London (Simpsons
Divan)
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Annotations by Wilhelm
Steinitz
1.Nf3 e6 2.e3 Nf6 3.d4 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.c4 Be7 6.Nc3
0-0
Too soon. We believe ...d5 to be necessary as soon as the adverse
b-knight
was brought out. |
7.Bd3
We prefer 7.d5, thus blocking the adverse light-square bishop, and
also making it extremely difficult for the opponent to find a convenient
development for his b-knight. |
7...d5 8.0-0 Nbd7
This knight is generally better posted in this opening at c6 after
advancing ...c5. |
9.b3 c5 10.Bb2 cxd4 11.exd4 Rc8 12.Rc1 Bd6 13.Re1 Qe7
14.Nb5 a6
He could not well retreat 14...Bb8, on account of the reply 15.a4
threatening
16.Ba3; but there was really no reason against 14...Bf4, followed by
15...a6. |
15.Nxd6 Qxd6 16.Ne5 dxc4 [?:??-1:00]
17.Nxd7
An injudicious exchange, which not alone throws away a fine
position,
but might have given the superiority to the opponent. 17.bxc4 at once
was
the right play. Apparently he was afraid of the reply, 17...Nxe5, under
the assumption that he was bound to retake with the pawn, whereupon the
queen would first threaten mate at c6, and then remove the knight to d7,
having weakened Whites center; but as White could in that case
retake
18.Rxe5, thus keeping the position of his pawns on the queenside intact,
there was no real objection to recapturing the pawn at once. |
17...Nxd7
17...Qxd7 was superior, for it would have enabled him afterwards to
break the adverse center by ...b5. White was then bound to keep on the
defensive, for any attempt on his part to press the attack by 18.d5,
must
have failed, and might have led to the following continuation: 17...Qxd7
18.bxc4 b5 19.d5 (We suggest this line of play, as it appears tempting
for attacking purposes, and looks dangerous for Black, who, however,
will
obtain the advantage by best play. 19.c5 would give White decidedly the
worst of the game; 19.cxb5 is best, but even then we slightly prefer
Blacks
game) 19...bxc4 20.Bxf6 cxd3 (The only move. Should he take the other
bishop,
then follows 21.Bxh7+, and if 21...Kxh7 the queen checks twice, followed
by Re3, winning) 21.Qg4 g6 22.Qg5 Qxd5, threatening mate should
Whites
queen enter at h6, with two pawns ahead. |
18.bxc4 Qf4 19.Qe2
With the view of offering the exchange of queens, in reliance on the
strength of his two bishops for the ending. But we believe he would have
made more of his superior position by keeping his full forces and
entering
on an attack against the adverse kingside with his rook via e3. |
19...Nf6 20.Qe3 Qxe3 21.Rxe3
Better than retaking with the pawn, in which case Black might have
fixed his knight in at e4, protecting it afterwards by ...f5, producing
a drawn position, as the knight could not be got rid of without leaving
bishops of opposite colors. |
21...Rfd8 22.f4
With the intention of advancing this pawn to the 5th, which could
not
be stopped by 22...g6, on account of the immediate reply 23.d5. |
22...b5
This was best now. He was bound to get rid of the adverse center, in
view of the dangerous advance pointed out in our last note. |
23.cxb5 Rxc1+ 24.Bxc1 axb5 25.Bxb5 Rxd4 26.Rd3 Rxd3
27.Bxd3
[1:00-?:??] 27...Bc6 28.g3 Nd5 29.Kf2 f6 30.Ke2 Kf7
31.Kd2
He could not take the h-pawn, for obviously his bishop would have
been
shut out by 31...g6. But we see no object in this move, which blocks out
the dark-square bishop. 31.Bc2 at once, in order to enter at d3 with his
king, seems preferable. |
31...h6 [?:??-2:00] 32.Bc2 e5 33.Kd3
Waste of time. He ought to have exchanged pawns at once. |
33...Bb5+ 34.Kd2 Bc6
As a draw was the only possible result by best play on both sides,
and he could only compromise himself by playing to win, it was his best
plan to capture the pawn, whereupon the game might have continued thus:
34...exf4 35.Bb3 (Best; for if 35.a4, Black would take 35...fxg3,
threatening
36...g2) 35...Bc6 36.gxf4 g5 37.fxg5 (If 37.f5, Blacks king would
retreat,
and then attack the pawn by ...Ne7, unless the knight be exchanged,
which
leads to a clear draw) 37...fxg5, with an even game. |
35.fxe5 fxe5 36.Kd3 Nb6
A bad move. 36...Ke6 at once would have actually given him the same
position as he obtains for his side on the 40th move, with the enormous
difference that the adverse a-pawn could not advance on account of
37...Nb4+,
and Whites dark-square bishop was not in such good play. |
37.Be3 Bb5+ 38.Kc3 Nd5+
He could not allow the king to enter at b4. |
39.Kd2 Ke6 40.a4 Bc6
Compare note to Blacks 36th move. |
41.Bc5 Nf6 42.Kc3 g5 43.a5 Nd5+
43...Ne4+, was, we believe, preferable on the whole, though he would
lose it if he afterwards exchanged for the bishop, e.g.: 43...Ne4+
44.Kb4
Nxc5 45.Kxc5 Kd7 46.Bb3 (Threatening 47.Bd5) 46...e4 47.Kd4, followed by
48.Bc2, and wins; for Whites king will be earlier in crossing over
to
the kingside and gaining the pawns. |
44.Kc4 h5 45.a6 Nc7 46.a7 e4 [?:??-3:00]
47.Kd4
Zukertort rightly considers that he could have forced the game here
by 47.Bb6. Wherever the knight went to, the white king could come up to
c5; and then the other bishop could soon be brought to oppose at c6, via
a4, which settled matters. |
47...Nb5+ 48.Ke3 Kf5 49.Bd4 Nc7 50.Bc5 [2:00-?:??]
50...Nb5
It was obviously much stronger to oppose the king at e5, with the
view
of driving the king still further back by ...Nd5+. We believe he had
then
a sure drawn game. |
51.Bd1 g4
Also provoking useless trouble. The h-pawn becomes now weak, and it
was obviously better to advance the other pawn. |
52.Bb3 Nc7 53.Bf7 Nd5+ 54.Kd4 Nc7
55.Bb6
Which leaves the opponent some more chance, while 55.Bxh5 would have
won immediately; for the resource of 55...Nb5, which he had at
subsequent
stage, would have been unavailable, on account of the rejoinder 56.Be8,
followed by 57.Bd7+. On the other hand, if 55...Ne6+, followed by
56...Nxc5,
the king would retake, attacking the bishop; and White would then either
queen first, with a clear piece ahead, or return with the king to d4,
stopping
the pawn. |
55...Ne6+ 56.Ke3 h4
A gross blunder. It was easy to foresee that the extra passed pawn
on the other wing would win. On the other hand, if he allowed the pawn
to be taken by the bishop, he had still some prospect of a draw, for he
could gain the adverse h-pawn, e.g.: 56...Ng5 57.Bxh5 Nf3 58.Be8 Ba8
59.Bd7+
Ke5 60.Bxg4 Nxh2 and though, by proper play, White should win, Black
retained
still a chance of sacrificing his knight for the only adverse pawn on
the
kingside, and then to draw by bringing his king over to the queenside;
for if he only succeeded in exchanging the hostile light-square bishop
for his own, and to reach b7 with his king, White could not win with the
passed pawn at a7 in conjunction with the dark-square bishop. This is a
well-known book position. Blacks king moves alternately to a8 and
b7,
and Whites king can only come near enough to effect
stalemate. |
57.gxh4 Nf4 58.Be8 Nd5+ 59.Kf2 Bb7 60.Be3 Nf6
[?:??-4:00]
61.Bf7 Nd7 62.h5 Ne5 63.Bg8
After this it is all over. Zukertort has played the greatest part of
this game in masterly style. |
63...Nf3 64.h6 Kg6 65.h7 Kg7 66.Bc1
1-0.
The Field, London,
1881.07.23
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