My Favorite #Chess Games: The Second Battle of Hastings

The second Battle of Hastings occurred August 17, 1895, in the tenth round of the Hastings tournament nearly 829 years after William the Duke of Normandy decisively defeated the Anglo-Saxons seven miles northwest of Hastings. In the Second Battle of Hastings, Wilhelm Steinitz conducted a beautifully planned attack which concludes with one of the greatest chess masterminds ever offering a poisonous rook for several successive moves until his opponent left the board in utter disgrace. Considered by the first world champion to be the finest victory of his career, Wilhelm Steinitz brutal defeat of Curt Von Bardeleben continues to inspire every generation of chess players since it was played.

(It may be helpful for the reader to copy and then paste the text below into your favorite chess program.)

[Event “Hastings Chess Tournament”]
[Site “Hastings (England)”]
[Date “1895”]
[Round “10”]
[White “Steinitz Wilhelm (CZE)”]
[Black “Von Bardeleben Kurt (GER)”]
[Result “1-0”]
[Eco “C54”]
[Annotator “Chris Torres”]

{[ ITALIAN GAME & HUNGARIAN def.,C54] Steinitz Wilhelm (CZE) +5 =1 -2 Von
Bardeleben Kurt (GER) +0 =0 -1 Steinitz Wilhelm (CZE)-Von Bardeleben Kurt (GER)
+1 =0 -0[ ITALIAN GAME & HUNGARIAN def.,C54] Steinitz Wilhelm (CZE) +5 =1 -2
Von Bardeleben Kurt (GER) +0 =0 -1 Steinitz Wilhelm (CZE)-Von Bardeleben Kurt (GER) +1 =0 -0}
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 {
This is the main line of the Giuoco Piano which in Italian translates into the
“quiet game.” In this line, white plays c3 to prepare pawn to d4. In the
meantime, black is allowed to be the first to have three pieces on the board by
playing 4… Nf6. Today, this opening would not be considered very “quiet” as
it creates early imbalances while opening the center. However, historically
speaking, it was considered “quiet” in the 18th and 19th centuries when
compared to other popular openings such as the King’s Gambit.}
Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 {
Greco’s Attack. White is planning to sacrifice the pawn on e4 to the f6 knight
in order to get castled faster and attack. If white does not wish to gambit the
e4 pawn he/she can play 7. Bd2. Both variations were played by Gioachino Greco in the early 17’th century.}
( 7.Bd2 {The Krause Variation also deserves attention.} Bxd2+
8.Nbxd2 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.O-O O-O 11.Re1 Bf5 ( 11…Nb6 12.Ne5
{!} Nxd4 ( 12…Qxd4 13.Bxf7+ Rxf7 14.Nxf7 Kxf7 15.Qh5+ g6 16.Qxh7+
Qg7 17.Qh4 Bf5 18.Nf3 $14 ) 13.Nxf7 Rxf7 14.Bxf7+ Kxf7 15.Qh5+ )
( 11…Nce7 12.Ne5 c6 13.Ne4 Bf5 14.Nc5 Qc7 15.Qb3 $14 ) 12.Ne4
Bxe4 13.Rxe4 Qd6 14.Qd2 Rad8 15.Rae1 Nf6 16.Re6 {!} Qb4 {!}
( 16…Qd7 17.Qg5 {!} ( 17.Rxf6 gxf6 18.Qf4 ( 18.Qh6 Qf5 ) Qd6 )
h6 18.Qg3 {!} ( 18.Qh4 Nxd4 19.Rxf6 gxf6 20.Qxf6 Qd6 {!} ) Kh8
( 18…Nh5 19.Qh4 Nxd4 ( 19…Kh8 20.Rxh6+ gxh6 21.Qxh5 ) 20.Nxd4
Qxd4 21.R6e4 Qc5 22.Re5 Rd4 23.Rxc5 ( 23.Bxf7+ Rxf7 24.Qxh5 )
Rxh4 24.Rxc7 $16 ) 19.Rxf6 gxf6 20.Qf4 Kg7 21.Nh4 Nxd4 22.Re4
$16 ) 17.Qxb4 Nxb4 18.Re7 Nbd5 19.R7e2 {1/2-1/2, Tartakower Savielly (FRA) – Gruenfeld Ernst F (AUT), Baden-Baden 1925 It}
) d5 {Von Bardeleben declines Steinitz’s offer of a “free” pawn and instead strikes back at the center.}
( 7…Nxe4 {It is however recommended to understand the ideas after 7… Nxe4. Below is a short collection of games also worthy of study.} {%08DA}
8.O-O Bxc3 9.bxc3 {?} ( 9.d5 Bf6 10.Re1 Ne7 11.Rxe4 d6 12.Bg5
O-O 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Qd2 Ng6 15.Nd4 f5 16.Ree1 Bd7 17.Rac1 a6
18.Bb3 f4 19.Ne6 fxe6 20.dxe6 Bxe6 21.Rxe6 Kh8 22.Rc3 Rg8 23.Qd4+
Ne5 24.Qxf4 Rg7 25.Qe4 c6 26.Re3 Qf8 27.h3 Rd8 28.Qh4 Ra8 {…1/2-1/2, Computer “Fritz 6” – Anand Viswanathan (IND) 2771 , Frankfurt 1999 Match}
) d5 $15 10.Ba3 ( 10.Bd3 O-O 11.Bxe4 dxe4 12.Ng5 Bf5 13.Re1 Re8
14.d5 Ne7 15.c4 h6 16.Nxe4 Nxd5 17.Ng3 Ne7 18.Qf3 Nc6 19.Rxe8+
Qxe8 20.Bxh6 Qe5 21.Rf1 Bg6 22.Bf4 Qb2 23.h4 Qxa2 24.h5 Bh7 25.h6
Qxc4 26.Nh5 Qe4 27.Qg3 Bg6 28.Rd1 Nd4 29.Kh1 Qe2 {…0-1, Voiteanu Gabriel (ROM) 2236 – Miron Lucian-Costin (ROM) 2500 , Krakow 12/30/2010 It (open) “Cracovia”}
) dxc4 11.Re1 Be6 ( 11…f5 12.Nd2 Kf7 13.Nxe4 fxe4 14.Rxe4 Qf6
15.Qe2 Bf5 16.Qxc4+ Kg6 17.Re3 Rae8 18.Rae1 Rxe3 19.Rxe3 h5 20.h3
h4 21.d5 Ne5 22.Qxc7 Nd3 23.Qxb7 Bc8 24.Qc6 Qxc6 25.dxc6 Nf4
26.Re7 a6 27.c4 Kf6 28.Ra7 Nd3 29.Be7+ Ke6 30.Rc7 Ne5 31.Bb4
{…0-1, Steinitz Wilhelm (CZE) – Lasker Emanuel (GER), Moscow 1896 Ch World (match)}
) 12.Rxe4 Qd5 13.Qe2 O-O-O 14.Ne5 Rhe8 15.Nxc6 ( 15.Re1 Bf5 16.Nxc6
Qxe4 17.Qxe4 Bxe4 18.Nxd8 Kxd8 19.f3 Bc6 ) Qxc6 16.Re1 Rg8 17.Re5
b6 18.Bc1 g5 {!} 19.Rxg5 Rxg5 20.Bxg5 Rg8 21.f4 Bd5 22.g3 Kb7
23.h3 Qb5 24.Kh2 Rg6 25.Qc2 f6 26.Bh4 Bc6 27.g4 Qd5 {?}
( 27…h5 28.f5 Rg8 ) 28.Qf2 {?} ( 28.f5 Rg8 29.Bxf6 Qf3 30.Be5
Bd5 31.Bg3 h5 32.Qf2 Qxc3 33.gxh5 Rxg3 34.Qxg3 Qb2+ 35.Kg1 c3
36.Re7 Qb1+ 37.Re1 Qb2 {=} ) h5 {?} ( 28…Rh6 {!} 29.Bg3 f5
30.g5 Re6 ) 29.g5 {?} ( 29.f5 Rg8 30.Kg3 hxg4 31.hxg4 Qd6+ 32.Qf4
Qd8 33.Re6 Qd5 34.Bxf6 Qg2+ 35.Kh4 Bf3 36.g5 Qh1+ 37.Kg3 Qg2+
38.Kh4 {=} ) fxg5 {!} 30.Bxg5 ( 30.fxg5 Rg7 31.Qg1 Rf7 32.Re5
Qf3 33.Re3 Qf5 34.Re2 Qd3 35.Qe3 Qb1 36.Re1 Qf5 37.Qe5 Qf3 38.d5
Bxd5 39.Qg3 Qd3 40.Qxd3 cxd3 41.g6 Rd7 42.Rg1 d2 43.Bg5 Bxa2
44.Rd1 Rg7 45.Kg3 Rxg6 46.Kh4 Bf7 47.Rxd2 Rc6 48.Rf2 Be8 49.Bd2
a5 $19 ) h4 31.Rf1 Rg8 32.Qd2 a5 33.a4 Re8 34.f5 Rg8 35.Re1 Qxf5
36.Re5 Qf3 37.d5 Qg3+ 38.Kh1 Qxe5 39.dxc6+ Kxc6 {0-1, Steinitz Wilhelm (CZE) – Lasker Emanuel (GER), Moscow 1896 Ch World (match)}
) ( 7…O-O {%08DA} 8.O-O Bxc3 9.bxc3 Nxe4 10.d5 Na5 11.Bd3 Nf6
12.Qa4 ( 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bh4 b6 14.Qa4 c5 15.Rfe1 Bb7 16.c4 Rc8
17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Qc2 Re8 19.Qd2 Rxe1+ 20.Rxe1 Qf8 21.Qf4 Qg7 22.Re4
b5 23.Qf5 Kf8 24.Qxd7 bxc4 25.Rg4 Qxg4 26.Qxg4 cxd3 27.Qa4 Rb8
28.h3 Bxd5 29.Qxa5 Rb1+ 30.Kh2 Bxf3 31.Qd8+ Kg7 {…1-0, Kraemer Martin (GER) 2492 – Graudons Karsten (GER) 2000 , Wilhelmshafen 1998 Ch Germany (juniors) (under 13) (team)}
) b6 13.Qh4 ( 13.d6 c6 14.Bg5 Nb7 15.Qh4 h6 16.Bxh6 Nxd6 17.Bg5
Nde8 18.Ne5 d5 19.Rfe1 Be6 20.Re3 Qc8 21.Rg3 Bf5 22.Nxc6 Qxc6
23.Bxf5 g6 24.Qh6 Nh5 25.Be7 Nxg3 26.Qxf8+ Kh7 27.Qxf7+ Ng7 28.Qxg6+
Qxg6 29.Bxg6+ Kxg6 30.hxg3 Nf5 31.Ba3 Rc8 32.Rc1 d4 {…1-0, Pijpers Arthur (NED) 2313 – Beukema Stefan (NED) 2259 , Hengelo 8/12/2005 It (open) (juniors) (under 12)}
) d6 ( 13…Nb7 14.Re1 {+0.00 CAP} ) 14.Bg5 h6 15.Bxh6 Ng4 16.Bg5
f6 17.Qh7+ {+300.00 CAP} {1-0, Keres Paul (EST) 2580 – Karring G, Rakvere 1934 Ch Estonia}
) {%09DB} 8.exd5 {%09DB} Nxd5 9.O-O Be6 ( 9…Bxc3 10.bxc3 O-O
11.Qc2 ( 11.Ba3 Re8 12.Qc2 Bg4 13.Nd2 Nf4 14.f3 Bh5 15.Ne4 Na5
16.Bd3 Nxd3 17.Qxd3 Qd5 18.Rab1 Nc4 19.Bc1 Bg6 20.Rb4 b5 21.a4
a6 22.Bf4 c6 23.Ra1 a5 24.Rbb1 Bxe4 25.fxe4 Rxe4 26.Qf3 Rae8
27.axb5 cxb5 28.h4 b4 29.g3 {…0-1, Jolly Jean-Francois (FRA) 2385 – Andre Jean Philippe, Bretagne 1999 It (open)}
) h6 12.Re1 Be6 13.Bxh6 Qd7 14.Bd2 Bf5 15.Bd3 Bxd3 16.Qxd3 Rfe8
17.c4 Nf6 18.d5 Rxe1+ 19.Rxe1 Re8 20.Rxe8+ Nxe8 21.Qe3 Ne7 22.Qxa7
b5 23.cxb5 Qxb5 24.a4 Qb1+ 25.Be1 g5 26.Qe3 Kf8 27.Qxg5 Qb3 28.a5
Nxd5 29.h4 Nef6 30.h5 Qd3 31.h6 Ke7 32.a6 Qxa6 33.h7 Qa8 34.Qg7
Nxh7 35.Qxh7 Qa1 36.Qe4+ Kd6 37.g3 c5 38.Kg2 Qb2 39.Bd2 Qf6 40.Ng5
Qg6 41.Qe8 {1-0, Steinitz Wilhelm (CZE) – Schiffers Emanuel S (RUS), Rostov on Don (Russia) 1896}
) 10.Bg5 {Steinitz develops with a threat while creating a situation that will make it
impossible for black to castle in a meaningful way.}
( 10.Qd3 Qd7 11.Bb5 f6 12.Bd2 Bd6 13.Rfe1 O-O-O 14.Rxe6 Qxe6
15.Re1 Qf7 16.Qf5+ Kb8 17.Nxd5 Bxh2+ 18.Kxh2 Rxd5 19.Bc4 Rxf5
20.Bxf7 Rd8 21.Bc3 a5 22.a4 b5 23.axb5 Rxb5 24.d5 Rbxd5 25.Bxd5
Rxd5 26.Re8+ Kb7 27.Rg8 Rd7 28.Rh8 h6 29.Rh7 {1-0, Bjornsson Tomas (ISL) 2300 – Weeks M (USA) 2205 , Paris 1990 Ch Paris (open)}
) Be7 ( 10…Qd7 11.Bxd5 Bxd5 12.Re1+ $16 Be7 ( 12…Kf8 13.Qd3
{+0.48 CAP} ) 13.Bxe7 Nxe7 14.Nxd5 Qxd5 15.Qa4+ Qd7 16.Qb4 Qd6
17.Qb5+ Qc6 18.Qe2 Qd6 19.Rad1 f6 20.d5 Rd8 21.Nd4 Kf7 22.Nb5
Qe5 23.Qc4 {1-0, Angeli David (FRA) 2028 – Rispoli Rodolphe (FRA) 2010, Paris (France) 2001}
) 11.Bxd5 {After a series of trades, black’s king will be stuck defending a knight in the middle of the board.}
( 11.Nxd5 Bxd5 12.Bxe7 ( 12.Bxd5 Qxd5 13.Bxe7 Nxe7 14.Re1 f6 )
Nxe7 13.Bxd5 Qxd5 14.Re1 f6 ) Bxd5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 ( 12…Bxg5 13.Re1+
Be7 14.Nxe7 Nxe7 15.Qa4+ c6 16.Qb4 {Is even worse for black.} )
13.Bxe7 Nxe7 14.Re1 {And Von Bardeleben can not castle without losing a knight.}
f6 ( 14…Kf8 {!?} {Will leave black down a pawn and white with great piece placement.}
15.Re5 Qd7 16.Qb3 f6 17.Rb5 g6 ( 17…b6 {?} 18.Ng5 {!} fxg5
19.Qf3+ {and black is in serious trouble here.} ) 18.Rxb7 )
( 14…c6 {Appears to be the best move as as it only leaves black down by one pawn.}
15.Qe2 Qe6 16.Qxe6 fxe6 17.Ng5 Nd5 18.Nxe6 Kf7 19.Nc5 ) 15.Qe2
{Threatening mate while placing more pressure on the pinned knight.}
( 15.Qa4+ Kf7 16.Rac1 c6 17.Rxe7+ Kxe7 18.Qb4+ Kf7 19.Qxb7+ Kg6
20.Nh4+ Kh6 21.Rc5 Rab8 22.Qc7 Rxb2 23.Qf4+ Qg5 24.Nf5+ Kg6 25.Qe4
Rhb8 26.Ng3+ f5 27.Rxc6+ Kf7 28.Rc7+ Kf8 29.Qe6 Rb1+ 30.Nf1 Rxf1+
31.Kxf1 Rb1+ 32.Ke2 Qg4+ 33.f3 Qxg2+ 34.Kd3 Qxf3+ {…0-1, Fernandez Romero Ernesto (ESP) 2479 – Marquez Molina Jose Manuel, Malaga 1996 Ch Malaga}
) Qd7 16.Rac1 {Steinitz is now using all of his pieces. Von Bardeleben only has real piece in play.}
( 16.Rad1 {
Most masters would prefer placing the rook in the same file as the black queen.
But then again, most masters aren’t world champions.} Kf8 17.Nd2
Nd5 18.Qf3 c6 19.Re2 h5 20.Ne4 Qg4 21.Qa3+ Kg8 )
{At first this appears to stop Steinitz from playing d4-d5. In fact, it
emboldens him to play d4-d5 as a powerful pawn sacrifice. 16… Kf7 would have
been far superior as it unpins the knight on e7 while still affording the knight protection from the king.}
c6 {?} {At first this appears to stop Steinitz from playing d4-d5. In fact, it
emboldens him to play d4-d5 as a powerful pawn sacrifice. 16… Kf7 would have
been far superior as it unpins the knight on e7 while still affording the knight protection from the king.}
( 16…Kf7 17.Ne5+ fxe5 18.dxe5 Qe6 19.Qf3+ Ke8 ( 19…Kg8 20.Rxc7
Rb8 21.Rxb7 Rxb7 22.Qxb7 Kf7 23.Qxa7 Rc8 24.h3 Rc2 25.Qb7 Ke8 )
20.Rxc7 Qb6 21.Rxb7 Rf8 ) 17.d5 {!!} {
A beautiful pawn sacrifice by Stenitz. Now a black pawn will be interefering
with black’s pieces while the d4 square becomes available for white’s knight.}
cxd5 ( 17…Kf7 18.dxc6 Nxc6 19.Rcd1 $16 ) 18.Nd4 {Steinitz pieces are all beautifully placed while Von Bardeleben’s rooks sit quietly in the corners and knight remains pinned.}
Kf7 {The correct plan on move sixteen doesn’t quite cut the mustard two moves later.}
19.Ne6 {The knight has reached the sixth and Stenitz is threatening to use it’s influence to place a rook on the seventh.}
Rhc8 {?} {Placing the knight on c6 was the better way of stopping Steinitz’s rook invasion.}
( 19…Nc6 20.Nc5 Qc8 21.Qb5 Rb8 ( 21…Nd8 22.Nd7 $18 ) 22.Na6
Ra8 23.Qxd5+ Kg6 24.Nc5 Rd8 25.Qe4+ f5 26.Qh4 $18 ) 20.Qg4 {!}
{Threatening mate in 2 (1. Qxg7+ Ke8 2. Qf8#). Against Steinitz, no crime goes unpunished.}
g6 ( 20…Nf5 {!?} 21.Qxf5 Rxc1 22.Rxc1 Kg8 23.Nd4 Rd8 {and black is a piece down for the endgame.}
) 21.Ng5+ {!} {A check with the threat of winning a queen will force Von Bardeleben’s king to return to the dangerous e8 square.}
Ke8 22.Rxe7+ {!!} {
and Steinitz is playing the spiciest chess known to man. This rook sacrifice
must register approximately 500,000 Scoville units.} Kf8 {!}
{Black’s options here demand extra analysis but all roads lead to ruin.}
( 22…Kxe7 23.Re1+ Kd8 ( 23…Kd6 24.Qb4+ Kc7 25.Ne6+ Kb8 26.Qf4+
$18 Rc7 27.Nxc7 ) 24.Ne6+ Ke7 25.Nc5+ $18 Kd6 26.Qxd7+ Kxc5 27.Rc1+
Kb6 28.Rxc8 Rxc8 29.Qxc8 ) ( 22…Qxe7 23.Rxc8+ Rxc8 24.Qxc8+
Qd8 25.Qe6+ Qe7 26.Qg8+ Qf8 27.Qxf8+ Kxf8 28.Nf3 )
( 22…Kd8 23.Qxd7# ) 23.Rf7+ {!} {Even in such winning positions, white must not get greedy.}
( 23.Rxd7 {??} Rxc1+ 24.Qd1 Rxd1# ) ( 23.Qxd7 {??} Rxc1+ 24.Re1
Rxe1# ) Kg8 24.Rg7+ {!} {Again, capturing black’s queen is still the ultimate blunder for white.}
Kh8 ( 24…Kf8 {??} 25.Nxh7+ $18 Kxg7 26.Qxd7+ Kh6 27.Rxc8 Rxc8
28.Qxc8 ) 25.Rxh7+ {
and tale is that Von Bardeleben left the board never to return. In his absense,
Steinitz demonstrated that his opponent would either lose in ten more moves or
suffer a “runious loss of material.” For instance, if 25…Kg8 then 26. Rg7+
Kh8 27. Qh4+! Kxg7 28. Qh7+ Kf8 29. Qh8+ Ke7 30. Qg7+ Ke8 31. Qg8+ Ke7 32. Qf7+
Kd8 33. Qf8+ Qe8 34. Nf7+ Kd7 35. Qd6# is a very aesthetically pleasing conclusion.}
Z0 1-0

Steinitz presented this continuation in Von Bardeleben’s absence.