Dubois - Steinitz, London 1862

In the Dubois - Steinitz chess game , London, 1862 , Black successfully counterattacked White's castling position . The game was played in the tournament in London in 1862 between the then leading Italian master Serafino Dubois and the later first world chess champion Wilhelm Steinitz . A hypothetical variant of the game contains an opening trap , with the help of which Black was able to checkmate with queen sacrifice in several later games .

course

The course of the game has been published in different versions. The following sequence of moves and the comments quoted come from the German edition of the tournament book from 1864:

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Position after 17. b2 – b4

1. e2 – e4 e7 – e5 2. Ng1 – f3 Nb8 – c6 3. Bf1 – c4 Bf8 – c5 4. 0–0 The pianissimo version of the Italian game ( ECO code C50).

4.… Ng8 – f6 5. d2 – d3 With 5. d2 – d4 White can lead the game into the sharp Italian Gambit or the Max Lange attack .

5.… d7 – d6 6. Bc1 – g5 Combining this structure of White's 6. Bc1 – g5 with short castling is now considered harmless. In contrast, this bishop move is a sustainable method in the Canal variant 4. d2 – d3 Ng8 – f6 5. Nb1 – c3 d7 – d6 6. Bc1 – g5.

6.… h7 – h6 7. Bg5 – h4 The exchange is safer 7. Bg5xf6.

7.… g7 – g5 The direct pawn roll introduced with the moves 7.… g7 – g5 and 8.… h6 – h5 represented a new game concept back then. In the London tournament in 1861, Louis Paulsen had 7 with Black against Ignaz von Kolisch instead. … Bc8 – g4 preferred. Von Kolisch won this game in 34 moves.

8. Bh4 – g3 h6 – h5 9. h2 – h4 "On Nf3 n. G5 Black answers h5 – h4."

9.… Bc8 – g4 10. c2 – c3 "H4 n. G5 would have been followed by h5 – h4."

10.… Qd8 – d7 11. d3 – d4 e5xd4 12. e4 – e5 d6xe5 13. Bg3xe5 Nc6xe5 14. Nf3xe5 Qd7 – f5 15. Ne5xg4 h5xg4 16. Bc4 – d3 Qf5 – d5 17. b2 – b4 (diagram)

17.… 0–0–0 "Black here reveals a figure with advantage."

18. c3 – c4 Qd5 – c6 19. b4xc5 Rh8xh4 20. f2 – f3 Rd8 – h8 21. f3xg4 Qc6 – e8 (diagram)

22. Qd1 – e2 De8 – e3 + 23. De2xe3 d4xe3 24. g2 – g3 Rh4 – h1 + 25. Kg1 – g2 Rh8 – h2 + 26. Kg2 – f3 Rh1xf1 + 27. Bd3xf1 Rh2 – f2 + 28. Kf3xe3 Rf2xf1 [The tournament book writes 28. … Rf2 – f1.] 29. a2 – a4 Kc8 – d7 30. Ke3 – d3 Nf6xg4 31. Kd3 – c3 Ng4 – e3 32. Ra1 – a2 Rf1xb1 33. Ra2 – d2 + Kd7 – c6 34. Rd2 – e2 Rb1 – c1 + 35. Kc3 – d2 Rc1 – c2 + [The tournament book incorrectly states 35.… Kc1 – c2 +.] 36. Kd2xe3 Rc2xe2 + 37. Ke3xe2 f7 – f5 "White gives up the game."

The 22nd move

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Position after 21.… Qc6 – e8

White could have got a good position with 22. Bd3 – f5 + Kc8 – b8 23. Rf1 – e1, while Black wins immediately after 22. Qd1 – e1 with 22.… Rh4 – h1 + 23. Kg1 – f2 Rh1xf1 + 24. Bd3xf1 Nf6xg4 +. The amateur player WF Streeter referred to this variant in the American Chess Bulletin (February 1933, p. 33). 22. Bd3 – f5 + Siegbert Tarrasch had already mentioned in 1897 in the Deutsche Schachzeitung .

According to István Bilek , White's 22nd move in the game Dubois - Steinitz is misrepresented in almost all books as Qd1 – e1. He refers to chess books by Savielly Tartakower , Richard Réti : Meister des Schachbretts , Max Euwe : Steinitz bis Fischer , Albéric O'Kelly de Galway : Assess and improve your chess , Ludwig Bachmann , an article by Eero Böök and Russian authors. The correct move is only given in a book by Wildhagen, which can also be found in the tournament book London 1862. Bilek suspects a misprint in Réti's book as the original cause. In fact, the wrong move can already be found in the chess newspaper from 1862 on page 282. Even Bent Larsen did not notice the error in his game analysis in the magazine Inside Chess (March 1989, pp. 28-30.).

Due to the exchange of queens on the following 23rd move, the notation goes back to the correct game.

Follow the game

Of his played games, Dubois only lost the two to Steinitz and Adolf Anderssen in the tournament , while he was able to win against Louis Paulsen . Due to health problems, however, he had to surrender the points against George Alcock MacDonnell and John Owen without a fight and came in fourth to fifth behind Anderssen, Paulsen and Owen and tied with MacDonnell. Since MacDonnell had fewer points won without a fight, he was awarded fourth prize, and Dubois was thus awarded fifth prize. Steinitz took sixth place.

Following the tournament, Dubois was challenged by Steinitz in 1862 to a match in London, which Steinitz was able to win with +5 = 1 −3.

Game of Knorre - Tschigorin

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Position after 12.… Nc6 – d4

The game between the astronomer and chess expert Viktor Knorre and the future world-class player Michail Iwanowitsch Tschigorin , Saint Petersburg 1874, took place in the first eight moves like Dubois - Steinitz. Then it followed:

9. Nf3xg5 White captures the offered g5-pawn and allows the h5-pawn to continue his advance.

9.… h5 – h4 Black allows the fork on f7.

10.Ng5xf7 h4xg3 Black sacrifices the queen. 10.… Qd8-e7 11. Nf7xh8 h4xg3 12. h2xg3 Qe7-h7 threatens Nf6-g4

11. Nf7xd8 Bc8 – g4 12. Qd1 – d2 Nc6 – d4 (diagram)

13. Nb1 – c3 The only possibility was 13. h2 – h3 Nd4 – e2 + 14. Qd2xe2 (not 14. Kg1 – h1 ?? Rh8xh3 + 15. g2xh3 Bg4 – f3 #) Bg4xe2 15. Nd8 – e6 with counterplay for White.

13.… Nd4 – f3 + 14. g2xf3 Bg4xf3 0: 1. Checkmate by the pawn g3 or the rook h8 is inevitable.

This game was first published in 1877.

According to István Bilek, it is not an independent “creation” of Tschigorin insofar as Steinitz had already published the variant in his comments.

In the following years, black players have been able to achieve quick victories in a number of tournament games with the help of this sequence of moves up to the present day.

Individual evidence

1. ^ J. Löwenthal, J. Dufresne (1864): The London Chess Tournament of 1862 , pp. 6-8, spelling of the comments not adjusted.
2. ↑ I. Bilek, Deutsche Schachzeitung 6, 1987, pp. 205-206.
3. ↑ It appeared in Shakmatni Listock 1877 Number 2–3, pages 59-60, according to David Alister (2000), The last chess game of the 19th century
4. ^ I. Bilek, Deutsche Schachzeitung 6, 1987, p. 205.
5. ↑ See Edward Winter (1996): Chess explorations , pp. 200–203 and (1998) Chess Note 2181.

swell

• Johann Löwenthal, J. Dufresne: The London Chess Tournament of 1862 : A collection of the games played on this occasion by Anderssen, Paulsen, Steinitz, Owen, Barness, Dubois and others. a. ... , based on the English edition, S. Mode Berlin 1864.
• W. Steinitz: The Modern Chess Instructor. Part II - Section I. , W. Steinitz, Chess Syndicate New York 1895, pp. 40-43.
• Siegbert Tarrasch: Dubois-Steinitz (game with annotations), Deutsche Schachzeitung , March 1897, pp. 71–72.
• Eero E. Böök: Revised Analyzes , Deutsche Schachzeitung , April 1971, pp. 127–128.
• István Bilek: The Danger of Copying , Deutsche Schachzeitung , June 1987, pp. 205–206.
• Edward Winter: Chess explorations , 1996.
• Edward Winter, Chess Note 2181, published in Kaissiber No. 6, 1998.
• David McAlister: The last chess game of the 19th century ( Memento July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Ulster Chess Chronicle (December 31, 2000).
• Edward Winter: Index to Winters Books.
• Jeremy P. Spinrad: Serafino Dubois, Part Two ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), New Stories about Old Chess Players July 2007, chesscafe.com , (ten pages, pdf, English).
• Serafino Dubois vs Wilhelm Steinitz on chessgames.com (English)
• Victor Knorre vs Mikhail Chigorin on chessgames.com (English)
• Edward Winter: Confusion , on chesshistory.com (English)

See also

• List of famous chess games