Purdy once used the position after black's 20th move in an article titled How To Reduce Oversights To A Minimum. Basically the reason reason for Steiner's mistaken reply was his failure to search for forceful replies to his intended 21.Nxa5. Instead he made the assumption that his opponent would try to trap the N and then spent a lot of time making sure that the N could successfully escape. Purdy asserted that had Steiner combed the board for forceful replies to 21.Nxa5 he would have seen the refutation 21...c3!
Another unusual feature of the game was Purdy having two Queens on the board in the middlegame...something usually seen only in the ending. The fact that Steiner managed to hold on against the two Qs for another 15 moves also makes the game unusual.
IM Lajos Steiner (June 14, 1903 - April 22, 1975) was born in Hungary and emigrated to Australia in 1939. He was one of four children. His father was a mathematics teacher, and his older brother was Endre Steiner (June 27, 1901 – December 29, 1944) who died in a Nazi concentration camp near Budapest.
Lajos earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 1926 from the Technikum Mittweida, Germany. He has modest success in a lot of European tournaments before the war and played a few matches. In 1930, he lost (+3 –5 =2) to Isaac Kashdan. In 1934, he won (+7 –3) against Pal Rethy and in 1935, he defeated Henri Grob (+3 –1). He played for Hungary in four Olympiads and won the Australian Championship four times (1945, 1946/47, 1952/53, and 1958/59). He also won nine of his ten attempts at the New South Wales championship.
Steiner played in the 1937 Australian Championship and scored a perfect 11-0, but he was playing as a guest and was ineligible for the title. There was a four way tie for second between Goldstein, Hastings, Koshnitsky and Purdy who scored 7.5-3.5. In a rather unusual tie breaking arrangement Goldstein played Hastings at Perth and Purdy and Koshnitsky played in Sydney. The winners of the two matches then played each other by telegraph. It was Purdy who ultimately won.
After the championship Steiner proffered his opinion of the Australian players. Koshnitsky and Purdy were "chess players through and through," Goldstein was a good player and Crowl was "a real chess thinker." He stated that while they had a true understanding of the game, they needed international experience by playing against the leading European or American players. Steiner credited Purdy and his excellent magazine Australasian Chess Review for helping Australian players advance. He expressed curiosity as to how Purdy and Koshnitsky or Goldstein might fare in the British Championship.
Cecil Purdy (March 27, 1906 - November 16, 1979) was awarded the IM title in 1979 and Correspondence GM title in 1959 after winning the first world correspondence title. He was also an chess magazine writer, editor and publisher of renown. His son John, won the Australian Championship twice. His daughter Diana also played and she married New Zealand's leading player, Frank Hutchings, in 1960.
In the Sydney Invitational Tournament Steiner was taken by surprise and defeated in good style by both Koshnitsky and Purdy. Due to the fact that it was a double round tournament he was able to even the score in the second game, but he also dropped a half-point to young Cornforth, but was unable to overtake the leaders. After this tournament Steiner gave two simultaneous exhibitions before sailing for New Zealand where he stayed for two months.
Lajos Steiner - Cecil Purdy
Result: 0-1
Site: Sydney Invitational
Date: 1937
Sicilian Dragon
[...] 1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.♘xd4 ♘f6 5.♘c3 g6 6.♗e2 ♗g7 7.♗e3 ♘c6 8.f3 O-O 9.♕d2 Purdy had expected 9.g4. Instead Steiner takes a more positional path. 9...d5 This move is properly timed. Delaying it would deprive black of sufficient counterplay in the center. 10.♘xc6 bxc6 A favorite of Steiner in this position. 11.e5 ♘d7 12.f4 e6
12...f6 Purdy found this tempting, but decided against it because he analyzed a line in which white's dark squared B was freed plus the thought he could seize the initiative with ...c5. 13.♘xd5 Not considered by Purdy. 13...fxe5 (13...cxd5 14.♕xd5+) 14.O-O And black can play either 14...Nb6 or 14...Bb7 with equal chances.
13.O-O
13.♘a4 heading for the outpost on c5 is tactically faulty. 13...♘xe5 14.♗d4 ♘d7 15.♗xg7 ♔xg7 Black is better, but white played very poorly and was soon lost after 16.♕c3+ ♕f6 17.♕xc6 ♕xf4 18.♖f1 (18.♕xa8 ♕xa4 is also winning for black.) 18...♕xh2 19.O-O-O ♖b8 Tomic,D (2360)-Romanishin,O (2560)/Dortmund 1976
13...♕e7 Played only after long thought. He finally rejected ...c5 after all.
13...c5 was not thought to be good by either Steiner or Purdy because the after 14.Na4 black's Ps would have been forced to advance4 which would have left them somewhat weakened. However, at the same time they would have a cramping effect on white's pieces. 14.♘a4 d4 15.♗f2 ♗b7 16.b4 cxb4 17.♕xb4 and black seems to have qual play.
14.♘a4 a5 15.♕c3 This leads to tricky play that requires careful calculation by black.
15.c4 This was the move Purdy was most concerned about. There is no threat with the move, but he thought is gives white the initiative. He appears to have been correct. 15...♕b4 16.♕c2 f6 17.exf6 ♗xf6 18.♗g4
15...♗a6 A good move ridding himself of his bad B. 16.♗xa6 ♖xa6 17.♘c5 ♖aa8 18.a4
18.♘b3 c5 19.♗xc5 ♘xc5 20.♕xc5 ♕xc5+ 21.♘xc5 ♖ac8 22.♘d3 ♖xc2 is only very slightly in black's favor.
18...♖fc8 19.♘b3 This was correctly criticized by Purdy as being too ambitious. He recommended maintaining the blockade by 19.Nxd7 (19.♘xd7 ♕xd7 20.♗c5 with equal chances.) 19...c5 20.♕e1 c4 Objectively not the best, but Purdy has set a subtle trap into which Steine falls. Additionally, Steiner spent 90 minutes calculating the consequences of taking the a-Pawn just to make sure his N could escape. However, Purdy had no intentions of persuing the N.
20...f6 Is preferred by the engines and after 21.exf6 ♗xf6 and black stands slightly better.
21.♘xa5 (21.♘d4 is correct after which black;s advantage is nominal.) 21...c3 This surprise move is crushing! 22.♘b3 cxb2 23.♖a2 Steiner tries to keep the a-Pawn and maintain material equality, but in doing so he goes from the frying pan into the fire.
23.♖b1 is met by 23...♕a3 and white loses either the a-Pawn of the c-Pawn and eventually the game.
23...♖xc2 An amazing position. All of white's pieces are available for defense, but there isn't any and he is dead lost. Black's P on b2 and R on the second rank trump all of white's pieces. 24.♖f2 ♖c1 There is no way to meet this move. 25.♘xc1 b1=♕ With two Qs the win is routine, but what's the last time you saw two Qs on the board in what is essentially still the middlegame? 26.♖fb2 ♕e4 27.a5 f6 28.exf6 ♗xf6 29.♖e2 ♗d4 30.♘b3 ♗xe3+ 31.♖xe3 ♕4b4 32.♖d2 ♘c5 33.♘d4 ♕d6 34.♘f3 ♕dxf4 35.g3 ♕f6 36.♕e2 ♘e4 37.♖c2 ♕xa5 38.♔g2 ♕a6 39.♕d1 ♖c8 40.♖b3 ♘g5 With the time control having been reached white resigned. Powered by Aquarium
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