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. However, the black ¢ is caught in the center. The white £ makes an important “pit stop” on d6 – setting the stage for the back rank mate £ sacrifice! Steinitz – Maas, England Simul 1873 (P57 Exercise 23)

Steinitz is a ¤ ahead, with kingside attacking prospects, but his ¥ on b1 is trapped and Black threatens to promote the c-pawn. Steinitz ignores Black’s queenside action and opens the g-file. Black scores a new £ on b1, but the white ¦ and ¤s are unleashed on the black ¢.

Steinitz – Amateur, England Simul 1873 (P58 Exercise 24)

From the opening, Steinitz has a lead in development and control in the center. He moves in for the kill with the ¤ sacrifice – 12.¤xg5! which clears a path to h5 for his £. The brilliant “Deflection” £ sacrifice - 13.£h5!! sets up a nice ¦+¤+¥ mate.

Steinitz – Gelbfuhs, Vienna 1873 (P59 Exercise 25)

Steinitz is is a pawn ahead and owns the ¥ pair. However, his kingside is weakened on the light squares and the black ¢ appears pretty safe on h6. Withn the “Deflection” £ sacrifice - 34.£xf6!! Steinitz sets up a 2 ¥ mate - 35.¥f8 mate!

Steinitz - Bird, Vienna 1873 (P59)

Black has three pawns for a piece and threatens the white £ on f1 and ¥ on b5. Steinitz could maintain the balance with the simple and safe 29.£h3+ etc. Instead, he offered the “Passive” £ sacrifice – 29.cxd4?! Black should have exploited White’s risky play with 30…£b4! When Black rushed to offer the exchange of ¦s - 30…¦f8? Steinitz developed a strong initiative. The nice touch 32.a3! restricts the black £, and the powerful strokes 33. ¦f1! and 35.¥f1! finished Black off.

Steinitz - Paulsen, Vienna 1873 (P62 Exercise 26)

Steinits is 2 pawns ahead, but his £ is under attack. He employs the “Sham” £ sacrifice - 34.£xc8!! to force favorable liquidation. In the resulting 2¥ endgame he easily wipes out the black queenside pawns on b7 and a6 for a technical win.

Blackburne - Steinitz, England M1 1876 (P63)

Steinitz has 6 pawns and a ¤ for a ¦. However, there are several open files and both ¢s are exposed. The correct winning method involved returning material with 46...£e8! Instead, Steinitz played the flashy 46...¦a3?! which allowed White the “Desperado” £ sacrifice - 34.£xe5!! Fortunately the black queenside connected passed pawns carried the day in spite of White’s extra ¦!

Steinitz - Paulsen, Vienna 1882 (P65, Exercise 27)

Steinitz has 3 extra pawns in a middlegame featuring opposite color ¥s. His attack on the enemy ¢ featured the £ sacrifice - 41.£xg8+!! with a quick mate.

Martinez - Steinitz, USA M1 G6 (P66, Exercise 28)

Steinitz has a massive material advantage. With his £ on f2 threatened, Steinitz lunges forward - 18…¤e4!! and threatens a classic smothered mate. White captures the black £ – 19.¦xf2, but after 19…¦d1+ is forced to part with his own £.

Steinitz - Zukertort, World Championship 1886 (P68 Exercise 29)

Steinitz a promising position and should have continued 37.¥c2! Instead, Steinitz uncorks one of the most famous blunders in World Championship history with - 37.¤xc4?? thinking the black d-pawn was pinned to the black £ on b7. Black exploited the weakness of the white back rank with the £ sacrifice -37…dxc4 simply pocketing an extra piece.

Gunsberg – Steinitz, World Championship 1890 (P69 Exercise 30)

White has a tremendous space advantage and the black ¢ was stuck in the center. With 32.a5! the black £ on b6 was squeezed.Steinitz’s attempt to save himself with the counter-attack 32…¤xb5 was crushed by the “Desperado” £ sacrifice - 34.£xe7+!! which netted White a ¤ and a 57 move victory.

Steinitz - Gunsberg, World Championship 1890 (P71 Exercise 31)

In return for the exchange, Steinitz has a powerful passed pawn on d7 which he now forces through with the “Sham” £ sacrifice - 25.£xa8 and 26.¦c8.

Steinitz – Chigorin, World Championship 1890 (P72) In a hopeless position, Black tries the “Swindle” £ sacrifice - 32….£xf2+!! Steinitz – Chigorin, World Championship 1890 (P73 Exercise 32)

With 2 ¥s and 3 pawns for a ¦, Steinitz has an overwhelming material advantage. He finished the game in style with the “Deflection” £ sacrifice - 39….£xg7+!! which sets up a discovered check forcing his e-pawn thru to promotion.

Baird - Steinitz, New York, 1894 (P74)

Steinitz has the ¥ pair, control of the open e-file, and a passed c-pawn. Steinitz ignores the attack on his £, and crashes through on the e-file with 35...¦xe2+! He finishes White off with the powerful strokes 38…c1=£+! and 39…£d4+!!

Hanham - Steinitz, New York 1894 (P76 Exercise 33)

Steinitz has an extra ¥, but his ¥ on e6, ¤ on h3 and £ on f2 are all under attack. The “Attraction” £ sacrifice– 31...£g1+!! sets up the smothered mate–32…¤f2+.

Steinitz – Jasnogrodsky, New York 1894 (P77 Exercise 34)

Steinitz has built a kingside attack and with 28.f6! creates serious threats. Black attempts a £ trade, but Steinitz offers the “Passive” £ sacrifice – 29.¤g5!! setting the stage for a one ¤ mate!

Chigorin - Steinitz, Hastings 1895 (P78)

Steinitz has an extra pawn and the ¥ pair, but his £ on d5 is under attack and appears trapped. The counter-attack 17…¤xc5 rescues the black £. In the ensuing complications, White nets an exchange but the endgame with a ¥ and queenside passed pawns is in Black’s favor.

Steinitz – Van Forest, Netherlands Simul 1896 (P79 Exercise 34)

In a simultaneous exhibition, Steinitz has a positional advantage thanks to his blockading ¤ and queenside pawn majority. He was well on the way to victory with 31.¤c5! and should have simply captured a pawn with 38.£xa6! Instead, the careless penetration 38.£xd5?? ran smack into the “Attraction” £ sacrifice – 38.£xf1+!! Faced with mate in one or loss of a ¦, Steinitz resigned.

Steinitz – Enderle, Netherlands Simul (P81) Steinitz is a pawn ahead and the black ¢ is unpleasantly situated on the open f-file. When Black gets clever with 7…£d4? Steinitz simply accepts the offered £ with 8.¤xd4. The follow up ¤ fork - 9.¤e6+! brings Black’s resignation.

Steinitz – De Goeie, Netherlands Simul (P82) Steinitz is a pawn ahead and launches a kingside initiative with 18.¤g5! attacking pawns on f7 and h7. When Black cleverly offers a “Sham” £ sacrifice–18…£f5!?, Steinitz astutely declines. White is forced into a lost endgame. The final dagger is 23.¥g4 which pins the black ¦ on e6 and nets the exchange.

Steinitz – Papot, Netherlands Simul (P83, Exercise 36) Steinitz begins liquidating the center with 8.fxe4 and 9.¤xe5. Black’s ill timed 9…¥xe2 captures a piece and attacks the white £ on d1. However, the desperado ¤ capture – 10.¤xc6!! nets White a piece.

Steinitz - Martin, New York Simul 1896 (P85 Exercise 37) When Black tries to diffuse the White attack by offering a £ trade, the “Passive” £ sacrifices – 14.fxg7! and 15.¤xg5!! open the floodgates to the black ¢ and £!

Steinitz - Martin, New York Simul 1896 (P86 Exercise 38) Steinitz’s “Passive” £ sacrifice – 21.hxg6! is followed by the ¦ sacrifice - 22. ¦xh7!! which forces mate along the h-file.

Povlov/Levitsky - Steinitz, Moscow 1896 (P88) Facing a £+¤ attack, Steinitz steps up with his ¢ – 43…¢f7!! And allows White to “win” his £. In the ensuing play, a pawn promotion/¤ fork theme forces a winning for Black - £+¤ versus £+¤ endgame.

Steinitz–Lasker, World Championship G13 1890 (P90 Exercise 39) Steinitz exploits Black’s weak back rank with the £ sacrifice – 38.£f4!!

Blackburne - Steinitz, London 1899 (P91) In a battle of passed pawns, Steinitz allows White to promote his passed a-pawn, but overwhelms the white ¢.

K C. Hamppe 20.¥h3+ ¢b8! 21.£b5 £d2+ 22.¢b1 £d1+!! k Wilhelm Steinitz XHGFEDCBAY Vienna 1859 1R+-+q+K+! XHGFEDCBAY 2zP-+-+PtRP" 1R+L+K+R+! 3L+-+-+-vl# 2zP-+QvLP+P" 4+-+-+-+-$ 3-+q+-+-+# 5-+-zP-+Q+% 4+-+-+-+-$ 6+-+-+-+-& 5-+-zP-vl-+% 7pzpp+-zppzp' 6+-+-+-+-& 8+-+-tr-mk-( 7pzpp+-zppzp' xhgfedcbay 8tr-+-trk+-( £ SACRIFICE xhgfedcbay 23.¦xd1 ¦xd1 mate. 16...¦xd2+! XHGFEDCBAY 1-+-+r+K+! XHGFEDCBAY 2zP-+-+PtRP" 1R+L+K+R+! 3L+-+-+-vl# 2zP-+QtrP+P" 4+-+-+-+-$ 3-+q+-+-+# 5-+-zP-+Q+% 4+-+-+-+-$ 6+-+-+-+-& 5-+-zP-vl-+% 7pzpp+-zppzp' 6+-+-+-+-& 8+-+-+-mk-( 7pzpp+-zppzp' xhgfedcbay 8tr-+-+k+-( BACK RANK MATE xhgfedcbay EXCHANGE SACRIFICE

17.¢xd2 ¦d8+ 18.¢c1

Alternative also lose: a) 18.¢e1 £c3+ 19.£d2 £xd2 mate.; b) 18.£d3 ¦xd3+ 19.¥xd3 ¥b4+!

18...¥a3+ 19.¦b2 £c3!

K Reiner 17.¦g2 £xh2+! k Wilhelm Steinitz XHGFEDCBAY Vienna 1860, M4 1K+-+-vLNtR! XHGFEDCBAY 2wqRzP-+-zPP" 1K+-+-vLNtR! 3-+n+-zP-+# 2zP-zP-+-zPP" 4+-zPPzp-+-$ 3-+n+-zP-+# 5-+Q+-vl-+% 4+RzPPzp-+-$ 6+-+-zp-+-& 5-+Q+-vl-+% 7p+-+-zppzp' 6+-+-zp-+-& 8mkr+-+-+r( 7p+-+-zppzp' xhgfedcbay 8mkr+-wq-+r( DEFLECTION xhgfedcbay Steinitz repeats the theme of “deflecting” the white ¦ White is one pawn ahead, but a quick glance at his from the g-file. queenside shows he is seriously behind in development. 18.¦xh2 ¦g1 mate.

16...£h4!! XHGFEDCBAY XHGFEDCBAY 1Ktr-+-vLNtR! 1K+-+-vLNtR! 2tR-zP-+-zPP" 2zP-zP-+-zPP" 3-+n+-zP-+# 3-+n+-zP-+# 4+-zPPzp-+-$ 4wqRzPPzp-+-$ 5-+Q+-vl-+% 5-+Q+-vl-+% 6+-+-zp-+-& 6+-+-zp-+-& 7p+-+-zppzp' 7p+-+-zppzp' 8mk-+-+-+r( 8mkr+-+-+r( xhgfedcbay xhgfedcbay ARABIAN MATE DEFLECTION Black threatens 17…£xh2 mate. If now 17.¦xh4 then 17…¦g1 mate.