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World Champion F Sacrifices

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World Champion F Sacrifices World Champion £ Sacrifices Wilhelm Steinitz First Official World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz (May 1836 – August, 1900) was an Austrian/American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. During his reign he won World Championship matches against Zukertort, Gunsberg and Chigorin. At age 58, Steinitz lost the title to Emanuel Lasker in 1894 and also lost a rematch in 1897. He won the title with an attacking style, but his major contribution to chess was founding the new “Positional” style of play and demonstrating that it was superior to the previous “Romantic” style. In August, 1883 Steinitz immigrated to the United States, changed his first name to William, and eventually took American citizenship. He spent his later years in New York City. Steinitz £ Sacrifices In this section we look at £ sacrifices from the brilliant attacking play of the First Official World Chess Champion Wilhelm Steinitz. Hamppe – Steinitz, Vienna 1859 (P19, Exercise 1) A piece down, Steinitz sacrifices the exchange to create mate threats against the white ¢. In defending against the threatened with mate in one on b2, White allows a £ sacrifice that exploits the white back rank. Reiner – Steinitz, Vienna Match 1860 (P20, Exercise1 2) Steinitz is a pawn down, but the white queenside is completely undeveloped. He exploits the open g-file with the stunning 16…£h4!! offering his £ for an “Arabian Mate”! WhenWhite declines with 17. ¦g2, Steinitz forces White to accept with 17… £xh2!! Followed by the ¦+¤ mate on the white ¢. Steinitz – Max Lange, Vienna Match 1860 (P21, Exercise 3) Steinitz ignores that his £ is attacked by a ¦, and pounces on the black ¢ with 19. ¤c3+. With the brilliant 20.d5!! he offers a “Passive £ sacrifice” in order to seal in the black ¢. He then uses his 2 ¦s to drive the enemy ¢ from d5 to c2. Steinitz – Max Lange, Vienna Match 1860 (P22, Exercise 4) Steinitz has a lead in development and prospects on the kingside. But rather than win in routine manner, his £ sacrifice - 18.£xf5!!? wipes out the black kingside forces and opens the g-file. Facing an army and a powerful e5/f5 pawn duo, the black ¢ has no chance and is mated eleven moves later on e6. Steinitz - Hamppe, Vienna 1860 (P23) Steinitz is a ¦ ahead for only 3 pawns and in his later years would have played the mundane ¥ sacrifice - 24.¥xg6 with an easy win. His flamboyant 24.¦xf7!? left his £,¦ and ¥ all en=prise to the black forces. The complications restored the material balance, but led to a position where White had all of the positional trumps and the black ¢ was exposed. Steinitz - Pihal, Vienna 1862 (P24 Exercise 5) On the white side of an Evans Gambit, Steinitz has sacrificed 3 pawns and has the black ¢ stuck on e8. He builds the pressure with 12.¥b5! and 13.£d5. The attack climaxes with the Passive £ Sacrifice 15.¤xd7!! setting up a deadly double check leading to mate. Deacon - Steinitz, London Match G4 1863 (P26 Exercise 6) White built up a fantastic position with a powerful pawn duo on e6 and f6. With the £ offer 31.¦xg5!! the black ¢ was cut off on the h-file. When Black declined, White renewed the offer with 33.¦gh5!! which forced mate. Steinitz - Rock, Vienna 1863 (P27 Exercise 7) In an Evans Gambit, Black’s 10…¤a5 was designed to fork the white £ and ¥. Steinitz ignores the attack on his £ and with 11.¦e1+ and 12.dxe6!! to blast open the black ¢s position. When Black accepts the offered £, we are treated to an old fashioned ¢ Hunt where the black ¢ is driven from e8 to a4! Steinitz – Amateur, London Simul 1863 (P29, Exercise 8) In a Petroff’s Defense, the black ¢ and £ get horribly boxed in the center. With the “Attraction” £ sacrifice 13.£xe7!! Steinitz lures the black ¢ out where the white ¥ pair deliver the mate. Green – Steinitz, London Match G1 (P30, Exercise 9) With his £ and ¤ occupying dominant dark square outposts, Steinitz begins coverting his advantage by surrendering his ¤ with 25…¤xd3! The follow up pin on White’s ¦ - 26…£c4! allowed Steinitz to tie down the white forces. He then broke through with 29…e4! and the crushing “zwischenschach” 31…¦d2+!! Steinitz – Duffy, London 1865 (P32 Exercise10) For the price of 1 pawn, Steinitz has gained central control. He begins his kingside assault with the slam dunk ¤ sacrifice – 15.¤f6+, planning to follow with £d1-d2- h7 –g7 mate. When Black blocks the plan by plopping a ¤ on f4, Steinitz sacrifices his £ – 18.£xf4 to eliminate the defender. The follow up 19.¤g5 threatens mate and obliges Black to return the £ and enter a losing endgame. The pin 26.¥b4! wins the exchange and seals the deal. Steinitz – Bolt, London 1865 (P34 Exercise 11) Steinitz has control of the open g-file and a beautiful ¥ pair. Rather than move his attacked £ from the open d-file, Steinitz executed the “Deflection” £ sacrifice - 35.£xd8!! This opened the way for a deadly kingside ¦ + ¥ attack. Steinitz – Anderssen, London 1866 M1 (P35 Exercise 12) Steinitz is a ¥ ahead, but his ¢ is a bit exposed. The deflection ¦ sacrifice – 34. ¦h1!! killed the black counterplay. Steintz converted his initiative into material gain with the £ sacrifice - 38.£xg4!! which set up a “Royal fork” - 39.¤f6+! Anderssen – Steinitz, London 1866 M1 (P36, Exercise 13) Steinitz is a pawn ahead, with a dangerous passed pawn on a2. However, the white ¤ on d6 is quite dominant and supported by the white ¥ on a3. Steinitz executes a double exchange sacrifice and then follows with “Deflection” £ sacrifice - 37…£xd6!! to capitalize on his passed a-pawn. Anderssen – Steinitz, London 1866 M1 (P37) In the Evans Gambit, Steinitz had come under heavy attack and had to part with his £ by move 20. When White mishandled the advantage, the counter-attack set in with 36…¦e4! and gathered momentum with 37…d3!! The combined black units soon overpowered the white ¢ and £. A royal fork - 42…¤e5+ led to a winning ¤ endgame Steinitz – Bird, London 1866 M1 (P40 Exercise 14) With considerable strategic advantages, Steinitz closes in with 17.a4! and 18.b4! When Black sets a clever defense to save his trapped ¥, Steinitz ignores the attack on his own £ with the decisive zwischenzug 20.a5!! Bird – Steinitz, London 1866 (P41) White is a piece ahead, but his ¢ is stuck in the middle of the chess board! With the £s vis a vis, Steinitz pursues the mating attack by sacrificing the exchange - 13…¦e8+! With a few powerful strokes – 15…£e3+, 16…¥xf3 and 17…¦g8+, it was lights out for the white ¢. Steinitz - Czarnowski, Paris 1867 (P42 Exercise 15) With equal material, Black seems to be doing OK as the white ¥ on a4 is under attack and the white ¤ on d4 is pinned to white £ on d2. Steinitz ignores the threat to his ¥, and moves his pinned ¤ from d4 to check the black ¢! The white ¤ on c6 totally disrupts the black defenses and leads to the win of material for White. Zupide - Steinitz, Paris 1867 (P44 Exercise 16) Out of the opening, White a lead in development and the black ¢ was stuck in the center. The greedy pawn grab - 10.¥d3xh7?? was met by the spectacular 10…£g8!! In the ensuing complications Steinitz sacrificed his ¦ in the a8 corner and soon attacked the white ¢ and trapped the white £! Steinitz - Winawer, Paris 1867 (P45 Exercise 17) With the black ¢ stuck in the center, Steinitz had well posted attacking units – ¤e5, ¥a3 and a pawn on f6 supported by a ¦ on f1. With the £ sacrifice – 17.£xg6!! he unleashed the full power of his forces on the black ¢. Black declined the offered £ and evacuated his ¢ to the queenside, but lost material to the ¤ fork – 19.¤xf7! Steinitz - Hamel, England 1867 M1 (P46) Black’s ¢ is stuck in the center, but he threatens 27…¦g8 zapping the white £ on g7 to a mate threat on g2. Steinitz uncorks the stunning ¦ sacrifice – 27. ¦e5!! and then meets the attack on his own £ with the deadly zwischenshach - 28.¤f5+! Steinitz – Blackburne, England 1867 (P48) Black threatens 24…¦h8 trapping the white £ on h7. Rather than retreat his £, Steinitz cleverly meets the threat with the delicate touch 24.g4!! White threatens 25.g5+ to deflect the black ¢ from the defense of his ¥, while also making the g3 square available for the white ¤. Black had no adequate defense. Wisker – Steinitz, London 1869 (P48 Exercise 18) Steinitz emerged from a Ponziani Opening with excellent development. Rather than move his attacked £, from d5 Steinitz unleashes a discovered attack from his d7 ¥ onto the white £ with 10…¤d4!! The zwischenzug 11…c5!! led to a winning endgame for Black where he had an extra pawn and the ¥ pair. Steinitz – Amateur, England 1870 Simul (P50 Exercise 19) Emergin from a King’s Gambit with an extra pawn, Steinitz maintains the initiative by surrendering his £ for three minor pieces – 12.¤xf5 & 13.£xf2. Within 10 moves, Steinitz had mobilized his forces and taken control of the position.The mating attack on the black ¢ started with 27.¤g5+!! to open the h-file. Steinitz - Eschwege, England 1871 Simul (P52 Exercise20) With his ¢ on e1 under check, Steinitz stepped up to f2 and offered a whole ¦ on d1. He then followed with the “Deflection” £ sacrifice – 29.£xf7!! and ¥ sacrifice to mate the black ¢ on the queenside. Fisher - Steinitz, England 1872 Simul (P54, Exercise 21) Steinitz sacrifices two pawns with Black to gain control of the center. He then builds the kingside attack with 11…£h4 and the crushing 14…¤f3+! Steinitz then eschews the routine 15…£g4 and sacrifices £ - 15…£xh3+!? to execute a ¢ hunt leading to a forced mate in 9! Grimshaw – Steinitz, Vienna 1872 (P56, Exercise 22) Steinitz is a ¤ ahead, but threatens 14…£a1 mate.
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