Pillsbury - Lasker, Saint Petersburg 1896
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 White: Harry Nelson Pillsbury
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 Black: Emanuel Lasker.svg){kind=small}
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Pillsbury - Lasker, Saint Petersburg 1896 is a game of chess that was played between Harry Nelson Pillsbury and the then world chess champion Emanuel Lasker on January 4, 1896 in the tenth round of the Saint Petersburg tournament 1895/96. The game is often considered Lasker's most important combination game ; he himself described it as "the very best of his entire chess career".
Lasker, Wilhelm Steinitz , Pillsbury and Michail Tschigorin were invited to the Petersburg tournament . Siegbert Tarrasch canceled shortly beforehand for professional reasons. Thus the tournament later became known as the four-master tournament . Everyone played six times against each of the other participants. The tournament began on December 13, 1895 and lasted almost seven weeks.
Pillsbury had previously won the Hastings tournament in 1895 and was considered one of the world's best chess players. After three laps in the tournament, he was in the lead, followed by Lasker. Pillsbury had won two of his three games against Lasker and thus could equalize his personal score against Lasker to 2-2-1. Total Pillsbury won by fifteen with Lasker in their chess career games played six, lost five and four were draw .
After a win in this game, Pillsbury would have had an excellent chance of winning the tournament. In that case, a shadow would have fallen on Lasker's world title . Lasker might have been forced to fight a title fight against Pillsbury. According to a rumor, Pillsbury found out about his severe syphilis disease, from which he later died, on the evening before the game against Lasker . Perhaps this is an explanation for the many inaccuracies and arithmetic errors of Pillsbury.
In the course of the game Lasker surprisingly offers his two rooks as a sacrifice on a3, but Pillsbury is also up to date and finds excellent defensive moves. Lasker's creative attack and Pillsbury's prudent defense collide. Due to two-sided inaccuracies in time constraints, both players are meanwhile winning, but finally Pillsbury makes the decisive mistake and allows the second, decisive tower sacrifice - a few moves later he is mated . Former world champion Garry Kasparov spoke of a "combination that every top player today would be proud of".
Lot
1. d2-d4
All five previous games between the two opponents were opened with 1. e2 – e4 e7 – e5 2. Ng1 – f3. This time Pillsbury tries the lady's pawn elevator.
1.… d7 – d5 2. c2 – c4 e7 – e6 3. Nb1 – c3 Ng8 – f6 4. Ng1 – f3 c7 – c5
As the opening , Lasker chooses the improved Tarrasch Defense of the rejected Queen's Gambit . In one of the other games of these two players in this tournament, Lasker instead drew the conservative 4.… Bf8 – e7.
5. Bc1 – g5 ?! c5xd4!
That is the right reaction to the rarely played bishop move after g5.
5. c4xd5 is the main line. If then 5.… e6xd5, which leads to the Tarrasch Defense , White has an object to attack on d5. But if 5.… Nf6xd5, 6. e2 – e4 can follow with White space advantage.
6. Qd1xd4 Nb8-c6
With time gain ( speed ). The alternative to 6. Qd1xd4 is 6. Nf3xd4, with dynamic equalization after 6.… e6 – e5 7. Bg5xf6 g7xf6 8. Nd4 – b3 d5 – d4 9. Nc3 – d5.
7. Qd4-h4
Eight years later in Cambridge Springs, again against Lasker, Pillsbury played the move 7. Bg5xf6!?, Which the bishop pair gives up for a weakening of the black pawn structure. Pillsbury later won the game.
However, Black can avoid this possibility with the move change 6.… Bf8 – e7 and only then 7.… Nb8 – c6.
7.… Bf8 – e7
Position after 7.… Bf8 – e7 |
8. 0-0-0
Long castling is part of the system often played by Pillsbury. However, the White King position at Queen's side easily passes through the pawn c2-c4 weakened (c-line diagonal b1-h7). Black is also further in development and has simple moves like Qd8 – a5, Bc8 – d7, Ta (f) -c8 and Nc6 – b4 to improve his position.
8.… Qd8 – a5 9. e2 – e3 Bc8 – d7 10. Kc1 – b1 h7 – h6 11. c4xd5 e6xd5 12. Nf3 – d4 0–0 13. Bg5xf6 Be7xf6 14. Qh4 – h5 Nc6xd4 15. e3xd4 Bd7 – e6
As a result of the opening, Black has an advantage. He has the pair of bishops and pressure on d4. The open c-line also speaks for him.
16. f2-f4 Ta8-c8 17. f4-f5
Position after 17. f4 – f5 |
17.… Rc8xc3!
A brave move because 17.… Be6 – d7 was also possible and promised a solid positional advantage.
18. f5xe6!
An equally strong answer. Pillsbury has realized that he is not allowed to play 18. b2xc3. Kasparov then announced 18.… Qa5xc3 19. Qh5 – f3 Qc3xf3 20. g2xf3 Be6xf5 with a very advantageous endgame for Black , but 18.… Rf8 – c8 !! and Black has a winning attack.
18.… Rc3 – a3 !!
Position after 18.… Rc3 – a3 !! |
The completely unexpected brilliant move that made the game famous. The rook offers itself again, and this time it must be taken, otherwise Black will capture a2.
19. e6xf7 +?
This move is a mistake as it activates the black king's tower, which can later intervene in the game via the e-line. White had to play 19. b2xa3, after 19.… Qa5 – b6 + 20. Bf1 – b5 (forced, otherwise White is too passive) Qb6xb5 + 21. Kb1 – a1 f7xe6! Black has a pawn for quality and strong positional pressure against d4. Weiss is in a difficult position, but objectively the position is perhaps still tenable.
19.… Rf8xf7 20. b2xa3 Qa5 – b6 + 21. Bf1 – b5!
Again, the best defense.
21.… Qb6xb5 + 22. Kb1 – a1 Rf7 – c7?
Then the position is a draw again. 22.… Qb5 – c4! 23. Qh5 – g4 Rf7 – e7! would have won immediately. The tower intervenes via the e-line. White made this possible with his mistake 19. e6xf7 +.
Presumably, both players were short of time here , which explains this and the following mistakes.
23. Td1 – d2 Tc7 – c4 24. Rh1 – d1?
Pillsbury escapes 24. Rh1 – e1 !. Black should allow the draw: 24.… Qb5 – a5 (threatens Da5 – c3 +) 25. Re1 – e8 + Kg8 – h7 26. Qh5 – f5 + g7 – g6 27. Re8 – e7 +! Lf6xe7 28 Qf5-f7 + with perpetual check .
24.… Rc4 – c3 ??
Here again it was 24.… Qb5 – c6! much stronger, with the threat of 25.… Rc4 – c1 + and on 25. Ka1 – b1 follows 25.… Bf6 – g5! and black recovers quality with a profitable advantage. Now, however, white is consolidating.
25. Qh5 – f5! Qb5 – c4 26. Ka1 – b2 ??
A gross tactical overlook.
After 26. Ka1 – b1! it would not have been obvious how Black should go on, because on 26.… Bf6 – g5 White has the defense 27. Rd2 – c2! and on 26.… Rc3xa3 the defense 27. Rd1 – c1. Weiss would be profitable.
Position after 26. Ka1 – b2 ?? |
26.… Rc3xa3 !!
For the second time a black rook sacrificed itself on a3! The a3-pawn is not really covered. In contrast to 26. Ka1 – b1! the rook d2 no longer covers the pawn a2. Rd1 – c1 would now follow Qc4xa2 mate.
27. Qf5-e6 + Kg8-h7
Here 28. Qe6 – f5 + was incorrectly stated as a draw variant by many commentators, including Kasparov ("an immediate 28. Qe6 – f5 + would have saved half the point", so Kasparow in his game comments in the Fritz 7 database). The reason is that, for performance reasons, a chess computer evaluates a position as balanced after the first repetition of moves (and Kasparov escaped this), while this is actually the case only after the third repetition of moves. Lasker would certainly have won 28.… Kh7 – g8! 29. Qf5 – e6 + Kg8 – h8! found.
28. Kb2xa3
Here Black announced a mate in five moves:
28.… Qc4 – c3 + 29. Ka3 – a4 b7 – b5 +! 30. Ka4xb5 Qc3 – c4 + 31. Kb5 – a5 Bf6 – d8 + 32. Qe6 – b6 Bd8xb6 mate .
Pillsbury lost five of the next eight games and finished third behind Steinitz. Lasker won the tournament and the world championship duel against Wilhelm Steinitz in the same year. He held his world title for another quarter of a century.
Individual evidence
- ^ Jacques Hannak : Emanuel Lasker - biography of a world chess champion . 2nd edition 1965, p. 52.
- ↑ a b Source: Fritz 7 database
literature
- John C. Owen: The match tournament at St. Petersburg 1895-6. A turning point in chess history . Caissa Editions, Yorklyn 1989. ISBN 0-939433-10-9 . Pp. 56-59.
- Siegbert Tarrasch: The modern game of chess -Edition Olms, Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-283-00454-4 . P. 194.
Web links
- Kasparov revisits Pillsbury-Lasker , chessbase.com, 2004 (English)
- Game to replay on chessgames.com (English)