Chess lessons › Famous chess games
Steinitz’s technical win
Steinitz wins two loose pawns, gives a bishop back, then finds the only king move that wins.
The idea
Steinitz takes loose pawns and finds the one king move that wins.
- The knight has taken White’s bishop with check.
- White’s king has four moves, and only one of them wins.
- Kxf5 takes the pawn the knight no longer guards.
In a game: In an ending, look for pawns that have lost their defender, and take them.
How the lesson begins
Wilhelm Steinitz has White against Mikhail Chigorin, at Vienna in 1898. Watch the first moves.
- 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6
This is the Chigorin Defence: Black answers the Queen’s Gambit with the knight on c6 instead of guarding d5 with a pawn. On move six Black trades queens with check, and White’s king takes back on d1, so White can no longer castle.
- 3. cxd5 Qxd5 4. Nf3 e5 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. dxe5 Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1
A long fight without queens. Black castles long with check and wins back the e5 pawn. Later White’s knight takes the bishop on b4, and all four rooks are traded on d8. Black’s knight had to leave e6 to take back on d8, and from e6 it was guarding the c5 pawn.
- 7... Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. exf3 O-O-O+ 10. Kc2 Nxe5 11. Be3 a6 12. f4 Nc6 13. Bc4 Nd4+ 14. Kc1 Nh6 15. g4 b5 16. Rd1 c5 17. Bf1 Rhe8 18. Bg2 f5 19. g5 Ng8 20. Nd5 Ne6 21. a4 bxa4 22. Rxa4 a5 23. Nxb4 axb4 24. Ra8+ Kc7 25. Raxd8 Rxd8 26. Rxd8 Nxd8
A question
White to move. White has two bishops, Black two knights. How does the position stand?
Show the answer
Better for White, by a solid amount..
Right. The engine rates White clearly better, and the c5 pawn has no defender.