This was the third of four international tournaments in a row between 1889 and 1894 that Tarrasch won. In the first three tournaments that he won he only lost only one game, to Adolf Albin (in Dresden) out of a total number of fifty-two. The two previous tournaments in which he gained first place were Breslau, 1889 and Manchester, 1890. His fourth straight win was at Leipzig, 1894.
Tarrasch's play in the Dresden Congress wasn't quite so good as in
Breslau and Manchester tournaments, but nevertheless it was of a high order. In those days his style was mostly tactical and he was well able to brush aside the weaker competitors probably better than any other leading master of the day. In that respect he was reminiscent of the future great Argentinian player Miguel Najdorf. Against those players Tarrasch often preferred drawing with
them rather than risking a loss by attempting to force a win out of an even ending. For all that Tarrasch was not a dull player and many of his games were brilliant tactical displays. 
At that time Tarrasch had not been tested against world class players. In 1891 the Havana Chess Club had invited him there to play a match against Steinitz, but Tarrasch had declined saying that he could not spare the time that a journey to Havana and the contesting of a long match would require. Later on an attempt was made by the Berlin Chess Club to arrange a match with Tchigorin, but that also came to nothing.
Adolf Albin (1848-1920) was a Romanian player best known for the Albin Counter Gambit and authoring the first chess book written in Romanian. He was born in Bucharest to a wealthy family. After completing his studies in Vienna, he went back to Romania, where he ran the Frothier Printing House in Bucharest.
Soon he became associated with Dr. Bethel Henry Baron von Stroussberg, working as a translator for the influential railroad tycoon who was nicknamed "The King of Railways". Stroussberg's financial bankruptcy in 1875 led to Albin's exile in Vienna once again, together with his wife and three children. He died at age 72 in a Vienna sanatorium.
According to The Oxford Companion to Chess he didn't learn to play chess until in his 20s and did not play in international events until his 40s. His tournament results were spotty, though he won individual games against several notable players.
Speaking of Tarrasch, one of my earliest game collections was Tarrasch’s Best Games of Chess by Fred Reinfeld and I loved it! Reinfeld was a great writer when he wanted to be and was filled with instructive positional masterpieces.
Unfortunately the Hardinge Simpole Chess Classics reprint sells for for the rather high price of $30. One reviewer disliked the descriptive notation, gave it a single star and returned the book unread. How silly...he missed out on some really entertaining and instructive games.
I don't understand why anyone would even bother offering the original hard cover edition of this book on Amazon for $768.57 and $920.99. Who would be foolish enough to pay that?!
Apparently the answer is, nobody. Some Amazon booksellers explained that it has something to do with their inventory control and Amazon's pricing algorithm. And, a couple conspiracy theorist believed that those super-high prices were part of a money laundering scheme.
Several years ago a local mall had a chess store where they held small tournaments, sold chess equipment and the owner had a very nice collection of older chess books for sale. I doubt he ever sold any because of the absurdly high prices on them. Maybe you have to be a collector to understand.
I seem to meandered off the subject, so getting back on track, take a gander at Albin's win over Tarrasch. Even though he was an
opening expert Albin caught him in a variation of the Giuoco
Piano in which Tarrasch had to rely on OTB analysis which turned out to
be faulty. The finish is as pleasing as it is clever.
Adolf Albin - Siegbert Tarrasch
Result: 1-0
Site: Dresden
Date: 1892
Giuoco Piano
[...] 1.e4 e5 2.♘f3 ♘c6 3.♗c4 ♗c5 The Hungarian Defense is 3... Be7. It has been played on occasion by some plyers with defensive positional styles like Reshevsky, Hort, Petrosian and Smyslov. It was also recommended by CJS Purdy for amateur players because it avoids the complexities of the Giuoco Piano, the Evans Gambit and the Two Knights Defense. The disadvantage is that black has to defend a cramped position. 4.c3 ♘f6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 ♗b4+ 7.♗d2 ♘xe4 This enters complications that while not unfavorable to black must be handled with caution. Safe is 7...Bxd2+ 8.♗xb4 ♘xb4 9.♗xf7+ ♔xf7 10.♕b3+ d5
10...♔f8 is somewhat safer. After 11.♕xb4+ ♕e7 the chances are equal.
11.♘e5+ ♔f6 It may seem counterintuitive to place the K on the open e-file, but it is actually safer there.
11...♔e6 12.♕xb4 c5 13.♕a3 cxd4 14.♘f3 ♕b6 15.O-O ♔f7 16.♘bd2 ♖e8 with a completely equal position. Lee,G (2361) -Flear,G (2538)/Torquay 2002
12.♕xb4 c5 An excellent movement that keeps Black in the game.
12...♕d6 turned out to be in white's favor after 13.♕b3 ♗f5 14.O-O ♖hf8 15.f3 ♘g5 16.♘c3 White eventually won in Barglowski,F (2310)-Puczylowski,M (2090)/Zabrze POL 2015
13.♕a4 ♕e8 Tarrasch is too anxious to trade Qs and this move allows white to gain the upper hand.
13...♕b6 Counterplay! Black attacks both b2 and d4. 14.f3 Here black has an interesting piece sacrifice. 14...♕xb2 15.fxe4 ♕c1+ 16.♕d1 ♕xd1+ 17.♔xd1 cxd4 18.♘d3 dxe4 with an interesting position where both sides have their chances.
14.♕d1 ♘g5 After this white's initiative gains momentum.
14...♕e7 15.♘c3 ♘xc3 16.bxc3 cxd4 17.f4 ♕c5 18.cxd4 ♕c3+ 19.♔f2 ♕b2+ 20.♔g3 ♕a3+ 21.♔h4 Another unusual position where white can only lay claim to a slight advantage in spite of the seemingly precarious position of his K.
15.f4 ♘e6 16.♘c3 The attack on the d-Pawn has no satisfactory reply. 16...g6
16...♕d8 17.dxc5 ♘xf4 18.♕d4 ♘xg2+ 19.♔d2 and the coming discovered check is catastrophic for black.
17.♘xd5+ ♔g7 18.O-O cxd4 18...Rf8 hindering the advance of the f-Pawn would have held out a bit longer. 19.f5 White has a won position and for the remaining moves he has many choices, all of which lead to victory. 19...♘f4 20.f6+ ♔f8 21.♘e7 (21.♖xf4 ♕xe5 22.♕d2 is also winning.) 21...♕b5
21...♘e6 saves the N but after 22.♕d2 ♕b5 23.♕h6+ ♔e8 24.♘7xg6 white wins easily.
22.♖xf4 ♕xe5 23.♕xd4 ♕xd4+ 24.♖xd4 With white having complete freedom while black's pieces are so restricted the win is a matter of routine. White need not be in any hurry and can slowly improve his position. 24...♗e6 25.♖d6 ♔f7 26.♖e1 ♗xa2 27.♘d5 ♖hd8 28.♖e7+ ♔f8 29.♖xd8+ ♖xd8 30.♘c3 ♗f7 31.♖xb7 a6
31...♖d6 An attack on the f-Pawn would prove unsuccessful. 32.♘e4 ♖e6 33.♘g5
32.♖a7 ♖d2 33.♘e4 (33.♖xa6 also wins. 33...♗d5 34.♘xd5 ♖xd5) 33...♖xb2 Black it appears has managed to equalize. 34.♖a8+ Surprise! A beautiful finish by Albin who now has a mate.
34.♖xa6 ♗d5 35.♖a4 (35.♘d6 ♖xg2+ would only draw.) 35...♗xe4 36.♖xe4 draws
34...♗e8 35.♘d6 Facing a mate in 9 Tarrasch resigned.
35.♘d6 ♖e2 36.f7 ♖e1+ 37.♔f2 ♔e7 38.fxe8=♕+ ♔xd6 39.♖xa6+ ♔c5 40.♖c6+ ♔d4 41.♕xe1 g5 42.♕e6 g4 43.♖c4+ ♔d3 44.♕d5#
Powered by Aquarium
No comments:
Post a Comment