Mikhail Chigorin vs. Wilhelm Steinitz, 1892
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The final position after 32... Rxh2+
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| White | Mikhail Chigorin |
|---|---|
| Black | Wilhelm Steinitz |
| Result | 0–1 |
| Date | 28 February 1892 |
| Event | World Championship |
| Round | 23 |
| Site | Havana CUB |
| Moves | 32 |
| Analysis | Stockfish 19, depth 22 |
| Critical moments | 1, 2, 3 |
Mikhail Chigorin vs. Wilhelm Steinitz is a chess game played on 28 February 1892 at Havana CUB, in round 23 of “World Championship”. Wilhelm Steinitz, with the black pieces, won in 32 moves. The engine found three critical moments, where a single move cost at least 20 points of winning chances or changed the expected result; each is a “what would you play?” question below.
The game
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e5 Nh5 5. Be2 g6 6. d4 Bg7 7. O-O d6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Ne1 dxe5 10. Bxh5 gxh5 11. dxe5 Qxd1 12. Nxd1 Nc6 13. Bxf4 Bf5 14. Ne3 Be4 15. Nf3 Rfe8 16. Ng5 Bg6 17. Nd5 Bxe5 18. Nxc7 Bxc7 19. Bxc7 Rac8 20. Bg3 Nd4 21. c3 Ne2+ 22. Kf2
Show the answer
Best was 22... Nxg3, the engine's line being 22... Nxg3 23. hxg3 Re5 24. Nf3 Rb5 25. b3 Rxc3 26. Kg1 ∓. With it, Black's winning chances stay at 65%.
In the game Black played 22... h4?!, an inaccuracy that turned a winning game into a level one. Black's winning chances fell from 65% to 50%. The refutation: 23. Bxh4 h6 24. Nf3 Nf4 25. Ne1 Re2+ 26. Kg1 Nd5 =.
22... h4?! (An inaccuracy that turned a winning game into a level one: Black's winning chances fall from 65% to 50%.) 23. Bd6
Show the answer
Best was 23... Bh5, the engine's line being 23... Bh5 24. Nf3 h3 25. Rad1 hxg2 26. Kxg2 Rcd8 27. Bc7 =. With it, Black's winning chances stay at 50%.
In the game Black played 23... Nd4??, a blunder that turned a level game into a losing one. Black's winning chances fell from 50% to 18%. The refutation: 24. cxd4 Rc6 25. Bf4 Rc2+ 26. Kg1 Ree2 27. Rae1 Rxg2+ +−.
23... Nd4?? (A blunder that turned a level game into a losing one: Black's winning chances fall from 50% to 18%.) 24. cxd4 Rc2+ 25. Kg1 Ree2 26. Rae1 Rxg2+ 27. Kh1 Kg7 28. Re8 f5 29. Ne6+?! (An inaccuracy: White's winning chances fall from 91% to 81%.) 29... Kf6 30. Re7 Rge2 31. d5 Rcd2
Show the answer
Best was 32. Rxb7, the engine's line being 32. Rxb7 Rxe6 33. dxe6 Rxd6 34. Re1 Be8 35. e7 h3 +−. With it, White's winning chances stay at 90%.
In the game White played 32. Bb4??, a blunder that turned a winning game into a losing one: it allows mate in 2. White's winning chances fell from 90% to 0%. The refutation: 32... Rxh2+ 33. Kg1 Rdg2# −+.
32. Bb4?? (A blunder that turned a winning game into a losing one: it allows mate in 2; White's winning chances fall from 90% to 0%.) 32... Rxh2+ 0–1
Conclusion
The game ended 0–1 after 32... Rxh2+. Wilhelm Steinitz was clearly ahead: the engine gives 100% winning chances. In the engine's grading, White made one inaccuracy and one blunder, and Black made one inaccuracy and one blunder.
PGN
[Event "World Championship"] [Site "Havana CUB"] [Date "1892.02.28"] [Round "23"] [White "Mikhail Chigorin"] [Black "Wilhelm Steinitz"] [Result "0-1"] [PostmortemId "9b0f13d4d6"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e5 Nh5 5. Be2 g6 6. d4 Bg7 7. O-O d6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Ne1 dxe5 10. Bxh5 gxh5 11. dxe5 Qxd1 12. Nxd1 Nc6 13. Bxf4 Bf5 14. Ne3 Be4 15. Nf3 Rfe8 16. Ng5 Bg6 17. Nd5 Bxe5 18. Nxc7 Bxc7 19. Bxc7 Rac8 20. Bg3 Nd4 21. c3 Ne2+ 22. Kf2 h4 23. Bd6 Nd4 24. cxd4 Rc2+ 25. Kg1 Ree2 26. Rae1 Rxg2+ 27. Kh1 Kg7 28. Re8 f5 29. Ne6+ Kf6 30. Re7 Rge2 31. d5 Rcd2 32. Bb4 Rxh2+ 0-1