CHESS

A brilliancy prize winning game played one hundred years ago.

One man who succeeded in holding back the development of chess in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was Dr Siegbert Tarrasch, the praeceptor Germaniae as our Teutonic brothers called him.

A crushing pedant in both his writings and play, Tarrasch had just the style to appeal to the German desire for efficiency. But he did play the occasional fine game, as today's example shows.

White: Siegbert Tarrasch

Black: Carl A Walbrodt

Hastings, 9 August 1895

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.d4 Bd7 7.Bxc6 Bxc6 8.Qe2 exd4 9.Nxd4 Bd7 10.0-0 Be7

Playing according to his system, White has achieved little from the opening. 8.Qd3 followed by Q-side castling would have been a better plan.

11.b3 0-0 12.Bb2 b5 13.a4 b4 14.Nd1 c5

Even here if the queen were on d3 one of the knights could have slipped to e2 then led a useful life on g3.

15.Nf3 Bc6 16.Nd2 d5 17.e5 Ne8 18.Ne3 Qd7 19.Rad1 d4 20.Nec4 Qe6 21.f4 f5

Black is clearly better and can calmly prepare to attack with Kh8, Rg8 and g5.

22.Na5 Bd5 23.Qd3 Kh8 24.Qg3 Ra7 25.Nac4 Rg8 26.Rde1 g5 27.Re2 Bd8 28.Qd3 Rag7 29.g3 gxf4?

Pure impatience! The bishop should have been placed at c7 before opening the game, as we shall soon see.

30.Rxf4 Rg5 31.Ref2 Ng7 32.Nd6

With a bishop on c7, this would have been impossible. Now 32...Bc7 is still the correct move, but Black falls into a trap.

32...Qxe5 33.Nxf5 Nh5 (see diagram)

Initiating a combination that meets with a brilliant refutation. 33...Ne6! was the correct move.

34.Rxd4!

Now 34...cxd4 25.Bxd4 wins the queen, but that is the easy part.

34...Nxg3(!) 35.Nxg3 Rxg3+ 36.hxg3 Rxg3+ 37.Kf1! Rxd3 38.Rg4!! resigns.

After Qxb2 or Rd4 or Rc3, White plays 39.Rf8+ and mate next move.