[Event "London mt"] [Site "London"] [Round "0"] [White "Dubois, Serafino"] [Black "Steinitz, William"] [Result "0-1"] [EventRounds "24"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [ECO "C50"] [Opening "Giuoco Piano: 4.O-O"] {We all know W. Stenitiz was the first official World Champion! But do we know the turning point of his career? The tournament that led to his greatness? Stenitiz announced himself to the world with a resounding win over Adolf Anderessen. This win touted him as the next big thing in the chess world. But his win over Blackburne (7-0) stamped his authority over his world champion credentials which he eventually won in 1886 by beating Zukentort. Previously Stenitiz used to crush his opponents with his tactical which will be demonstrated by Game 1. But in the later stages of the career he evovled (Shows there is a room for improvement even after becoming a world champion!) by playing positional chess and outplaying them slowly making him a more complete player. The same can be demonstrated in game 2. I have given a brief analysis over his tactical and positional prowess!} 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O d6 5.d3 Nf6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4? (7.Bxf6 Qxf6 $11 {And white has not achieved anything significant from the opening.}) 7...g5 8.Bg3 h5!! {I have seen thousands and thousands of games in Guico Piano but I have never really come across with this unbelievable idea. Steinitz is showing his incredible sense of timing and tactical prowess! The continuation of the game is pretty mundane but what Steinitiz had in his mind was one astonishing idea!} 9.Nxg5 (9.h4 {was played in the game} Bg4 10.c3 Qd7 11.d4 exd4 12.e5 dxe5 13.Bxe5 Nxe5 14.Nxe5 Qf5 15.Nxg4 hxg4 16.Bd3 Qd5 17.b4 O-O-O 18.c4! Qc6 19.bxc5 Rxh4 20.f3 Rdh8 21.fxg4 Qe8?! 22.Qe1? Qe3+! 23.Qxe3 dxe3 24.g3 Rh1+ 25.Kg2 R8h2+ 26.Kf3 Rxf1+ 27.Bxf1 Rf2+ 28.Kxe3 Rxf1 29.a4 Kd7 30.Kd3 Nxg4 31.Kc3 Ne3 32.Ra2 Rxb1 33.Rd2+ Kc6 34.Re2 Rc1+ 35.Kd2 Rc2+ 36.Kxe3 Rxe2+ 37.Kxe2 f5 38.Ke3 Kxc5 39.Kd3 f4 {Dubois, Serafino - Stenitz William London mt 1862 0-1}) 9...h4!! 10.Nxf7 hxg3!! {Black chooses to ignore all the hanging pieces and continues to attack on the king.} 11.Nxd8 (11.Nxh8 {Here white is just prolonging his demise but this is definitely a better option.} Bxf2+ 12.Kh1 (12.Rxf2 gxf2+ 13.Kxf2 Ng4+ 14.Kg1 Qh4 $17 { Even though Black does not hold a overwhelming advantage here he is still clearly ahead.}) 12...Qe7 13.Bf7+ Kd8 14.hxg3 Qf8 $19) 11...Bg4!! 12.Qd2 (12.Nf7 Rh5 13.Qxg4 Nxg4 14.hxg3 Nd4 15.Nc3 c6 16.a3 d5 $19) (12.Nxc6 gxf2+ 13.Kh1 Bxd1 14.Rxd1 Ng4 15.h3 Ne3 $19) 12...Nd4!! {It is really difficult to find this move when you play 8..h5!} 13.Nc3 (13.Qe3 Ne2+ 14.Qxe2 Bxe2 $19) (13.h3 {It is the only line in which white can survive but black still has an upper hand} Ne2+ 14.Qxe2 (14.Kh1 Rxh3+ 15.gxh3 Bf3#) 14...Bxe2 15.Ne6 Bb6 16.Nc3 Bxf1 17.Kxf1 gxf2 $15) 13...Nf3+ 14.gxf3 Bxf3 $19 {Quite a picteresque position!} 15.hxg3 Rh1# 0-1

[Event "Vienna"] [Site "Vienna"] [Date "1873.08.04"] [Round "1"] [White "Rosenthal, Samuel"] [Black "Steinitz, William"] [Result "0-1"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "AUT"] [ECO "C25"] [Opening "Vienna: 2...Nc6"] {The powers of the double bishops can be demonstrated with the help of this game! The beauty of this game is to the naked eye if you watch the game at a glance you wont feel the impact of the bishops but it has a major involvement in the game and they show their presence.} 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 g6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nge7 7.Bc4 d6 8.O-O O-O 9.f4 Na5! {An important move. Normally when white starts with the f4 thrust on the kingside he tries to exchange the dark Coloured bishop to weaken the kingside considerably. Stenitiz avoids this and has something deadly in his mind!} 10.Bd3 (10.Be2 $14 {The bishop on e2 is better here as black's threat of d5 break can be met with :} d5 11.f5 $16 c5 12.f6 Bxf6 13.Rxf6 cxd4 14.Bxd4) 10...d5 $10 {equalises immediately} 11.exd5 (11.e5 c5 $19 {And Black wins a piece.}) (11.f5 {doesn't work here because} dxe4! {_MARK:d3?_} 12.f6 (12.Bxe4 Nc4 13.Bf2 Nxb2 14.Qc1 Bxd4) 12...Bxf6 13.Rxf6 exd3 14.Qxd3 Nac6 $15 {And even though White has a good lead in development there are doubts over whether he has enough compensation for the pawn.}) 11...Nxd5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 13.c3 Rd8 14.Qc2 Nc4 15.Bxc4 Qxc4 {The immediate threat is to win the piece on d4 but Black has got double bishops. From here on the game is a masterpiece with precise conversion!} 16.Qf2 c5 17.Nf3 b6 {I think the c5 and the b6 idea was very crucial. This pawn structure undermines the authority of the white dark square coloured bishop! _MARK:b6?,c5?_} 18.Ne5 Qe6 19.Qf3 Ba6 20.Rfe1 f6! {How many of you can actually play f6! In our younger days we have been thought to keep the bishops on open diagonals but this goes against all the rules. The bishop remains a vital cog in black's plans but now he takes the defending role and makes the white knight miserable.} 21.Ng4 h5 22.Nf2 Qf7 {Precise. Stenitiz keeps it simple. 2nd crucial juncture of the game. The other bishop should come in to the game now! Important to note how Stenitiz is following the basics. First the c5 and b6 idea and now "bringing all the pieces into the play" Every coach has said this sentence to his pupil in their younger days! _MARK:a6->b7,b7->g2_} 23.f5 g5 24.Rad1 Bb7 25.Qg3 Rd5 26.Rxd5 Qxd5 {_MARK:f5?_} 27.Rd1 Qxf5 {Finally White succumbs.} 28.Qc7 Bd5 29.b3 Re8 30.c4 Bf7 31.Bc1 Re2! {Always take the rook to the 7th rank. Thumb rule demonstrated perfectly!} 32.Rf1 Qc2 33.Qg3 Qxa2 34.Qb8+ Kh7 35.Qg3 Bg6 36.h4 g4 37.Nd3 Qxb3 38.Qc7 Qxd3 {Lehner, Schwede: Der erste Wiener internationale Schachkongress 1873, p. 144} {#R} 0-1