The Ponziani Opening is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
77-441: It is one of the oldest chess openings, having been discussed in literature by 1497. It was advocated by Howard Staunton , generally considered the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, in his 1847 book The Chess-Player's Handbook . For some decades, it was often called "Staunton's Opening" or the "English Knight's Game" as a result. Today, it is usually known by the name of Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani , whose main contribution to
154-731: A "Chess Parliament" to complete the standardisation of various rules and procedures for competitive chess and for writing about chess. Staunton also proposed the production of a compendium showing what was known about chess openings , preferably as a table. Before the tournament started Captain Kennedy and the Liberty Weekly Tribune in Missouri wrote that the winner should be regarded as "the World's Chess Champion". The organisers obtained financial contributions from Europe,
231-495: A "London Provincial Tournament" for other British players, and "promoted" some of the entrants to play in the International Tournament to obtain the right number of players for a knock-out tournament . The tournament was a success, but disappointing for Staunton personally; in the second round he was knocked out by Anderssen, who won the tournament convincingly; and in the play-off for third place Staunton
308-477: A 1916 match. Tarrasch was a very influential chess writer, and was called Praeceptor Germaniae , meaning "Teacher of Germany." He took some of Wilhelm Steinitz 's ideas ( e.g. control of the center , bishop pair , space advantage ) and made them more accessible to the average chess player. In other areas, he departed from Steinitz. He emphasized piece mobility much more than Steinitz did, and disliked cramped positions, saying that they "had
385-486: A complimentary mention of him in its chess column. On 6 October 1858, while in Paris, Morphy wrote Staunton an open letter which was also circulated to several publications, in which Morphy complained about Staunton's conduct. Staunton replied on 9 October, re-stating the difficulties he faced, but now giving them as reasons to cancel the match. On 23 October, Staunton published his entire reply along with
462-562: A contract with the publishers Routledge to edit the text of Shakespeare . This edition appeared in parts from 1857 to 1860, and Staunton's work was praised by experts. While Staunton was busy with the Shakespeare edition, he received a courteous letter from the New Orleans Chess Club, inviting him to that city to play Paul Morphy , who had won the recent First American Chess Congress . Staunton replied, thanking
539-492: A courteous refusal of the offer, but that Morphy interpreted them differently, and one of the main reasons for his visit to Europe in 1858 was the hope of playing a match with Staunton. Some other chess historians disagree with Murray's interpretation of Staunton's response. Staunton did offer to play Morphy by electric telegraph , a technology whose progress and uses for chess he reported enthusiastically. However this offer arrived after Morphy had left for Europe – which perhaps
616-803: A date for the match. Staunton and Morphy met socially in Birmingham and, after a tense discussion, Staunton agreed to play in early November. Just after the tournament a letter signed by "Anti-book" appeared in Staunton's column in The Illustrated London News , alleging that Morphy did not actually have the money for his share of the stakes. This letter is widely thought to have been written by Staunton himself; if so, he must have written it immediately after reading Walker's article and Morphy's letter and immediately before leaving for Birmingham. Around this time Morphy wrote to friends in
693-451: A famous book about the St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament , which was translated into English in 1993. His fourth major book Das Schachspiel (1931), was translated by G. E. Smith and T. G. Bone as The Game of Chess (1935, ISBN 048625447X ). It was his last book and his most successful. He edited the magazine Deutsche Schachzeitung in 1897, and Tarrasch's Schachzeitung , for
770-538: A group in London. Staunton took a long-term interest in this solution to the difficulties of travel, and reported telegraph games in The Illustrated London News . In 1871 his report of a telegraphic match between Sydney and Adelaide calculated that the 74 moves of the longest game had travelled a total of 220,000 miles (not much less than the distance between Earth and Moon ). In 1847 Staunton published his most famous work, The Chess-Player's Handbook , which
847-403: A hard-fought match against Steinitz' challenger Mikhail Chigorin (+9−9=4) after leading most of the way. He also won four major tournaments in succession: Breslau 1889, Manchester 1890, Dresden 1892, and Leipzig 1894. However, after Emanuel Lasker became world chess champion in 1894, Tarrasch could not match him. Fred Reinfeld wrote: "Tarrasch was destined to play second fiddle for
SECTION 10
#1732794376881924-636: A higher place in the category of legitimate openings than has hitherto been assigned to it." Staunton cumbersomely referred to the opening as "The Queen's Bishop's Pawn Game in the King's Knight's Opening", as did George H. D. Gossip in The Chess Player's Manual (1888, American edition 1902). Napoleon Marache , one of the leading American players, similarly called it the "Queen's Bishop's Pawn Game" in his 1866 manual. In their treatise Chess Openings Ancient and Modern (1889, 1896), E. Freeborough and
1001-479: A historical source vary widely: E.G. Winter summarized the situation by writing: Siegbert Tarrasch Siegbert Tarrasch ( German pronunciation: [ˈziːɡbɐt ˈtaraʃ] ; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century. Tarrasch was born in Breslau , in what
1078-459: A long series of games against John Cochrane , a strong player and chess theoretician . Chessmetrics treats these games incorrectly as one match when it was in fact a series of matches, and lists it as Staunton's best performance. A little later that year he lost a short match (2½–3½) in London against the visiting French player Saint-Amant , who was generally regarded as the world's strongest active player. Staunton challenged Saint-Amant to
1155-512: A longer match to be played in Paris for a stake of £100, equivalent to £12,000 in 2023. Then he prepared new opening lines, especially those beginning 1.c4, which became known as the English Opening after this match. He also took Thomas Worrall and Harry Wilson to Paris as his assistants; this is the first known case where seconds were used in a match. Staunton gained a seven-game lead but then struggled to keep it before winning
1232-536: A match against Elijah Williams , who had won their play-off for third place in the London International tournament. Staunton won more games (six wins, three draws, and four losses) but lost the match because he had given Williams a three-game start. In 1853, while trying to arrange a match against Anderssen, Staunton met von der Lasa in Brussels. The two began a match, but had to abandon it in
1309-629: A match against the German master H.W. Popert, a slow, cautious player with great defensive skill. From May to December 1840 Staunton edited a chess column for the New Court Gazette . He then became chess editor of the magazine British Miscellany , and his chess column developed into a separate magazine, the Chess Player's Chronicle , which Staunton owned and edited until the early 1850s. Early in 1843 Staunton prevailed in
1386-461: A match between Staunton and Paul Morphy , but it never came about. It was alleged by British Chess Association president Lord Lyttelton that Staunton misled Morphy while trying to avoid the match; it is also possible Staunton overestimated his chances of getting physically fit and of making time available for a match. Modern commentators consider Staunton's understanding of positional play to have been far ahead of his contemporaries. Although not
1463-562: A narrow plus score against Harry Nelson Pillsbury of +6−5=2, while Lasker was even +5−5=4. Still, Tarrasch remained a powerful player, demolishing Frank Marshall in a match in 1905 (+8−1=8), and winning Ostend 1907 over Schlechter , Janowski , Marshall , Burn , and Chigorin. There was no love lost between Tarrasch and Lasker. The story goes that when they were introduced at the opening of their 1908 championship match, Tarrasch clicked his heels, bowed stiffly, and said, "To you, Dr. Lasker, I have only three words, check and mate"—then left
1540-552: A partial copy of Morphy's open letter, omitting the reference to the "anti-book" letter. Various chess columns then printed anonymous and acrimonious letters. Morphy took no part in any of this, but wrote to Lord Lyttelton , the president of the British Chess Association, explaining his own efforts to bring about the match, accusing Staunton of avoiding the match by all means short of admitting he did not wish to play, complaining about Staunton's representation of
1617-433: A previous marriage. In 1849, Nathaniel Cooke registered a chess set design, and Jaques of London obtained the manufacturing rights. Staunton advertised the new set in his Illustrated London News chess column, pointing out that the pieces were easily identifiable, very stable, and good-looking. Each box was signed by Staunton, and Staunton received a royalty on each set sold. The design became popular, and has been
SECTION 20
#17327943768811694-527: A rampant attacking player, he attacked when his preparations were complete. His chess articles and books were widely read and encouraged the development of chess in the United Kingdom, and his Chess-Players' Handbook (1847) was a reference for decades. The chess openings the English Opening and Staunton Gambit were named for his advocacy of them. Staunton has been a controversial figure since his own time, and his chess writings could be spiteful. On
1771-448: A significant number featured correspondence chess . Some followed with enthusiasm the progress of promising youngsters, including Paul Morphy . Staunton produced over 1,400 weekly articles for The Illustrated London News . The first chess match by electric telegraph took place in 1844, between Washington and Baltimore. In April 1845 Staunton and Captain Kennedy travelled to Gosport to play two games by telegraph against
1848-437: A unique challenge to chess history. Many players immediately associate his name with Paul Morphy, as in 'Staunton ducked a match with Morphy'. ... This is extremely unfair, as it concentrates the focus on Staunton to a relatively minor, factually controversial incident, while it ignores his significant achievements." As chess historian Edward Winter writes, "The issue of national bias does, unfortunately, require consideration in
1925-473: A unique opportunity, because the difficulties that obstructed international participation would be greatly reduced. He may also have been motivated by reports that a few years earlier Ludwig Bledow had proposed to organise an international tournament in Germany, whose winner was to be recognised as the world champion. Staunton and his colleagues had ambitious objectives for this tournament, including convening
2002-481: Is somewhat premature because the move: 1) takes away the most natural square for White's queen knight , 2) temporarily creates a hole on d3, and 3) develops a pawn rather than a piece, leaving White behind in development and not well placed to meet a counterattack in the center . Moreover, unlike in the Giuoco Piano, where White's d4 advance attacks Black's king bishop on c5, in
2079-439: Is still in print. It contained over 300 pages of opening analysis, and almost 100 pages of endgame analysis. Staunton's Handbook was based on Bilguer and von der Lasa's Handbuch des Schachspiels (first published in 1843), but enhanced by many variations and analyses of Staunton's own. His book The Chess-Player's Companion followed in 1849. He still found time for two matches in 1846, comfortably beating
2156-458: The First Folio of Shakespeare in 1866; and papers on Unsuspected corruptions of Shakespeare's text , published from 1872 to his death. All these works were highly regarded at the time. When he died suddenly of heart disease, on 22 June 1874, he was at his desk writing one of these papers. At the same time he was also working on his last chess book, Chess: Theory and Practice , which
2233-479: The Reverend C.E. Ranken called it "Staunton's Opening". In an appendix to later editions of Staunton's work, R.F. Green, editor of British Chess Magazine , also called it "Staunton's Opening", directing those seeking a definition of "Ponziani's Game" to the former name. Green referred to 3...f5 as "Ponziani's Counter Gambit". Chess historian H. J. R. Murray in his celebrated 1913 work A History of Chess called
2310-485: The first international chess tournament in 1851, which made England the world's leading chess centre and caused Adolf Anderssen to be recognised as the world's strongest player. From 1840 onwards he became a leading chess commentator, and won matches against top players of the 1840s. In 1847 he entered a parallel career as a Shakespearean scholar. Ill health and his two writing careers led him to give up competitive chess after 1851. In 1858 attempts were made to organise
2387-545: The world champion . The response was less enthusiastic elsewhere in Europe. Even in England some writers suggested other players, notably Buckle or von der Lasa , were stronger. In 1845 Staunton began a chess column for The Illustrated London News , which became the most influential chess column in the world and which he continued for the rest of his life. Although his articles mostly focused on over-the-board play,
Ponziani Opening - Misplaced Pages Continue
2464-1060: The "Ponziani Opening (sometimes called Staunton's)". Wilhelm Steinitz , the first World Champion , in his 1895 treatise The Modern Chess Instructor (Part II), called the opening the "Ponziani Opening", as did his successor, Emanuel Lasker , in Lasker's Manual of Chess . Similarly, Frank Marshall in Chess Openings , the authors of Modern Chess Openings (Second Edition 1913), and Siegbert Tarrasch in The Game of Chess (1931, English translation 1938) called it "Ponziani's Opening". William Cook in The Chess Players' Compendium (Fifth Edition 1910) called it "Ponziani's Game", while Francis Joseph Lee and Gossip in The Complete Chess – Guide (1903) called it "Ponziani's Knight's Game". Contemporary authors likewise call it
2541-442: The "Ponziani Opening", "Ponziani's Opening", or simply the "Ponziani". The Ponziani is rarely played today except as a surprise weapon, because Black has the pleasant choice between equalizing easily and attempting to obtain an advantage with sharper play. White's third move prepares to build a powerful pawn center with 4.d4, a logical objective also seen in the more popular Ruy Lopez and Giuoco Piano . However, 3.c3
2618-548: The 1851 census. In 1849, he listed William Staunton as his father on his marriage registration. Record of his birth or baptism has never been found. The chess historian H. J. R. Murray summarised the information that he " gleaned " from various sources: Staunton was born in 1810, reputedly the natural son (meaning illegitimately born) of Frederick Howard, fifth Earl of Carlisle ; he was neglected in youth, receiving little or no education; although he spent some time in Oxford, he
2695-410: The 19th round, though much less famous than Lasker's win against Capablanca the round before, was essential to enable Lasker to achieve his famous come-from-behind victory over Capablanca in the tournament. This tournament was probably Tarrasch's swan song , because his chess career was not very successful after this, although he still played some highly regarded games. Tarrasch lost +0-5=1 to Lasker in
2772-535: The Black side of the Advance French against Louis Paulsen ( Nuremberg 1888): A number of chess openings are named after Tarrasch, with the most notable being: In the game Tarrasch versus Allies , Black seems to be holding here (at least against an immediate catastrophe), because the black queen guards against Qb7+ (followed by Kxa5 Ra1#), while the black rook on c8 defends against Rxc5#. Tarrasch played
2849-491: The London International tournament Staunton challenged Anderssen to a match of twenty-one games, for £100 (£14,874/US$ 18,355 in 2022 terms). Anderssen accepted the challenge but the match could not be arranged: Staunton was physically unfit for an immediate contest, and Anderssen had to return to work. Carl Jaenisch had arrived too late for the tournament; Staunton convincingly won a match with him soon after (seven wins, one draw, and two losses). Later in 1851 Staunton played
2926-570: The New Orleans Chess Club and Morphy "for the honor implied in your selection of me as the opponent of such a champion" and pointing out that he had not competed for several years and was working six days a week (on editing Shakespeare), and that he could not possibly travel across the Atlantic for a match. Staunton also wrote in The Illustrated London News that he had "been compelled, by laborious literary occupation, to abandon
3003-635: The Ponziani d4 will not gain a tempo . On the positive side, the move 3.c3 creates a second diagonal for the white queen. As early as 1904, Marshall wrote that, "There is no point in White's third move unless Black plays badly. ... White practically surrenders the privilege of the first move ." More recently, Graham Burgess called the Ponziani "a relic from a bygone age, popular neither at top level nor at club level". Bruce Pandolfini has said, Curiously, every great teacher of openings who investigated
3080-429: The Ponziani has concluded that it leads to interesting play and deserves to be played more often. Yet it has never captured the fancy of chessplayers in general, and it remains to be seen whether the Ponziani is an opening of the past or of the future. In Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur , Max Euwe and Walter Meiden wrote, "What should one do with this opening? It is no opening for beginners, because tactics predominate in
3157-687: The Staunton–Morphy affair." Chess historian Dale Brandreth makes a similar point, from an American perspective: the fact is that the British have always had their "thing" about Morphy. They just can't seem to accept that Staunton was an unmitigated bastard in his treatment of Morphy because he knew damned well he could never have made any decent showing against him in a match. However, Frederick Edge (1830–1882) and Philip W. Sergeant (1872–1952), two of Staunton's harshest critics, were British, while former world champion Bobby Fischer (1943–2008), one of
Ponziani Opening - Misplaced Pages Continue
3234-424: The U.S. asking them to obtain the stake money for the Staunton match. Morphy's family refused to contribute as they "should not allow him to play a money match either with his own money or anyone else's", but the New Orleans Chess Club sent £500. Meanwhile, Morphy went to Paris to play against continental masters. In September The Illustrated London News printed both a complimentary full-page article about Morphy and
3311-537: The US and Asia, enabling the committee to set up a prize fund of £500, equivalent to about £359,000 in 2006's money. Despite the generally enthusiastic response, several major players were unable to participate, including von der Lasa , Saint-Amant and Cochrane . Adolf Anderssen was at first deterred by the travel costs, but accepted his invitation when Staunton offered to pay Anderssen's travel expenses out of his own pocket if necessary. The committee had also organised
3388-470: The biggest fans of both Staunton and Morphy, was American. Chess historians trace much of the 20th century animosity against Staunton to books by Sergeant about Morphy. Sergeant in turn relied on a book by Edge, who accompanied Morphy to Europe in 1858 as his secretary and personal assistant, but returned to the U.S. in January ;1859, a few months before Morphy. Opinions of Edge's value as
3465-531: The early stages of the Third Reich . A medical doctor by profession, Tarrasch may have been the best player in the world in the early 1890s. He scored heavily against the ageing World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz in tournaments (+3−0=1) but refused an opportunity to challenge Steinitz for the world title in 1892 because of the demands of his medical practice. Soon afterwards, in St. Petersburg in 1893, Tarrasch drew
3542-572: The edge, i.e. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nge7 4.Bc4 (immediately targeting f7) d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 and now either 6.0-0 or 6.Qb3 lead to a White advantage. Also playable for White is 4.Bb5 which transposes to a line of the Cozio Defense to the Ruy Lopez . Here are two games illustrating the wild tactical play that often develops in the 3...d5 4.Qa4 f6 5.Bb5 Ne7 line: Howard Staunton Howard Staunton (April 1810 – 22 June 1874)
3619-413: The facts in The Illustrated London News , and demanding "that you shall declare to the world it is through no fault of mine that this match has not taken place." Lyttelton replied that it was reasonable for Staunton to decline the match, but that in his opinion Staunton should have done so plainly in his first letter to America, but had instead often given the impression that he would soon be ready to start
3696-583: The germ of defeat." Tarrasch formulated a very important rule in rook endgames that is often called the Tarrasch rule : In 1895, Tarrasch's book Dreihundert Schachpartien was published. It was first translated into English in 1959 by Robin Ault and John Kirwan in a limited edition and a commercial edition in 1999 when S. Schwarz put out Three Hundred Chess Games. Tarrasch released Die moderne Schachpartie in 1912, but it has not been translated yet. He wrote
3773-463: The ingenious interference move 31.Bc7! (known as a Plachutta interference because the pieces both move orthogonally ). This blocks off both defences, and whatever piece captures becomes overloaded. That is, if 31...Rxc7, the rook is overloaded, having to look after both the key squares, since the queen is blocked from b7. So White would play 32.Qb7+ Rxb7, deflecting the rook from defence of c5, allowing 33.Rxc5#. But if Black plays instead 31...Qxc7,
3850-431: The last two years of his life. He was a target of the hypermodern school, led by Richard Réti , Aron Nimzowitsch , and Savielly Tartakower , all of whom criticized his ideas as dogmatic. However, many modern masters regard Tarrasch's actual play as not dogmatic. According to American grandmaster Andrew Soltis , Tarrasch's chess was "all about piece mobility". As an example of his playing style see his victory on
3927-570: The late Alexander McDonnell Esq. Staunton was apparently twenty-six when he took a serious interest in chess. He said that at that time the strongest players he saw in London, Saint-Amant and George Walker , could easily have given him rook odds . In 1838 he played many games with Captain Evans , inventor of the Evans Gambit , and also lost a match against the German chess writer Aaron Alexandre . He had improved sufficiently by 1840 to win
SECTION 50
#17327943768814004-715: The match 13–8 (eleven wins, four draws, and six losses) in December 1843. Saint-Amant wanted a third match, but Staunton was initially unwilling as he had developed heart palpitations during the second match. Von der Lasa later suggested this was why Staunton faded in the second match. However, after a long, difficult negotiation, which he reported in the Chess Player's Chronicle , Staunton went to Paris intending to start their third match in October ;1844, but he caught pneumonia while travelling and almost died;
4081-569: The match was postponed and never took place. Several modern commentators regard Staunton as de facto World Champion after his match victory over Saint-Amant, although that title did not yet formally exist. After Saint-Amant's defeat, no other Frenchmen arose to continue the French supremacy in chess established by Philidor , Deschapelles , La Bourdonnais and Saint-Amant. Some contemporary English commentators, mainly in Staunton's Chess Player's Chronicle , and some later writers hailed Staunton as
4158-514: The match. Staunton continued writing the chess column in The Illustrated London News until his death in 1874, greeting new developments with enthusiasm. In 1860 he published Chess Praxis , a supplement to his 1847 work The Chess Player's Handbook . The new book devoted 168 pages to presenting many of Morphy's games and praised the American's play. Five years later Staunton published Great Schools of England (1865), whose main subject
4235-421: The middle of the thirteenth game, with von der Lasa leading (five wins, four losses, and three draws). Staunton was unfit to continue because of heart palpitations , which had affected him in the second match against Saint-Amant in 1843. In von der Lasa's opinion there was no chance that Staunton's health would be good enough for a serious contest from 1853 onwards. In the mid-1850s Staunton obtained
4312-544: The opening bears the surname of Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani . Although Ponziani did analyze the opening in 1769, his principal contribution was the introduction of the countergambit 3...f5!? Later the opening was favored by Howard Staunton , who in The Chess-Player's Handbook (1847) called it "so full of interest and variety, that its omission in many of the leading works on the game is truly unaccountable. ... it deserves, and, if we mistake not, will yet attain
4389-686: The opening simply the "Staunton", explaining that he was using "the ordinary names of the Openings as used by English players of the present day". James Mason in his treatise The Art of Chess (Fourth Edition c. 1910?) referred to the opening as the "Ponziani–Staunton Attack". The famous German Handbuch des Schachspiels , which went through eight editions between 1843 and 1916, called it the "Englisches Springerspiel" (English Knight's Game). The Reverend E.E. Cunnington in The Modern Chess Primer (Thirteenth Edition 1933) referred to it as
4466-546: The opening was his introduction, in 1769, of the countergambit 3...f5 !? The opening is now considered inferior to 3.Bb5, the Ruy Lopez , and 3.Bc4, the Italian Game , and is accordingly rarely seen today at any level of play. Magnus Carlsen used it for a victory in 2013. Black's main responses are 3...Nf6, leading to quiet play, and 3...d5, leading to sharp play. Ponziani's countergambit 3...f5!?
4543-515: The other hand, he maintained good working relationships with several strong players and influential chess enthusiasts, and demonstrated excellent management skills. Most information about Staunton's early life is based on claims he made. In the 1861 and 1871 English census, he claimed he was born in Keswick, Cumberland , located within the Lake District , which he listed as his birthplace in
4620-466: The play. There are no simple strategic principles to govern the general lines in this opening." After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 the main continuations are: Here is a quiet draw typical of the 3...Nf6 line: While this game was agreed drawn there are good winning chances for White in this type of endgame. The variation 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nge7 has been attributed to Reti due to him having tried it against Tartakower and lost. Recent analysis gives White
4697-621: The practice of chess, beyond the indulgence of an occasional game ... . If Mr. Morphy – for whose skill we entertain the liveliest admiration – be desirous to win his spurs among the chess chivalry of Europe, he must take advantage of his purposed visit next year; he will then meet in this country, in France, in Germany and in Russia, many champions ... ready to test and do honor to his prowess." Chess historian H. J. R. Murray wrote that Staunton's letter and article should have been interpreted as
SECTION 60
#17327943768814774-495: The professionals Bernhard Horwitz (fourteen wins, three draws, and seven losses) and Daniel Harrwitz . The match against Harrwitz was set up in a very unusual way: seven games in which Staunton gave Harrwitz odds of pawn and two moves (Staunton won four and lost three), seven games where he gave pawn and move (Staunton lost six and won one), and seven at no odds (Staunton won all seven). On 23 July 1849, Staunton married Frances Carpenter Nethersole, who had had eight children by
4851-473: The publication contract for his Shakespearean work. In early August, Morphy wrote asking Staunton when the match could occur, and Staunton asked again for a delay of some weeks. Staunton did compete in a tournament in Birmingham , that started on 22 August, but it was a knock-out tournament , and he was eliminated in the second round by Johann Löwenthal after playing a total of four games. This
4928-454: The queen blocks off the rook's defence of c5 and becomes overloaded: 32.Rxc5+ Qxc5 deflects the queen from defence of b7, allowing 33.Qb7+ Kxa5 34.Ra1#. Black actually resigned after this move. In the game against Carl Walbrodt , Tarrasch played rather poorly, and his opponent had the better of him for a long time. But the game was redeemed by the following startling combination: 34.Rxd4 seems obvious, because 34...cxd4 allows 35.Bxd4 winning
5005-531: The rest of his life." For example, Lasker scored much better against mutual opponents, e.g. vs. Chigorin, Tarrasch had +2 over 34 games while Lasker scored +7 in 21; vs. Akiba Rubinstein , Tarrasch was −8 without a single win, while Lasker scored +2−1=2; vs. David Janowski , Tarrasch scored +3 compared to Lasker's huge +22; vs. Géza Maróczy , Tarrasch was +1 over 16 games while Lasker scored +4−0=1, vs. Richard Teichmann Tarrasch scored +8−5=2, while Lasker beat him all four tournament games. However, Tarrasch had
5082-519: The result was the same: Anderssen won. In 1852 Staunton published his book The Chess Tournament , which recounted in detail the efforts required to make the London International Tournament happen and presented all the games with his comments on the play. Some of Staunton's comments in the book and in The Illustrated London News were offensive, because he was disappointed with the placing he achieved. Immediately after
5159-513: The room. When Lasker finally agreed to a title match in 1908 , he beat Tarrasch convincingly +8−3=5. Tarrasch continued to be one of the leading players in the world for a while. He finished fourth in the very strong St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament , behind only World Champion Lasker and future World Champions José Raúl Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine , and ahead of Marshall, Ossip Bernstein , Rubinstein , Nimzowitsch , Blackburne , Janowski, and Gunsberg . His win against Capablanca in
5236-498: The standard for both professional and amateur chess players ever since. Anthony Saidy and Norman Lessing wrote that, "if a vote was taken among chess-players as to which pieces they most enjoyed playing with, ... the Staunton chessmen would win by an overwhelming margin." Staunton proposed and then took the lead in organising the first ever international tournament, as he thought the Great Exhibition of 1851 presented
5313-479: Was an English chess master who is generally regarded as the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant . He promoted a chess set of clearly distinguishable pieces of standardised shape – the Staunton pattern promulgated by Nathaniel Cooke – that is still the style required for competitions. He was the principal organiser of
5390-563: Was fortunate, as the newly laid cable broke down after a month and was not replaced until 1866. Upon arriving in England in June 1858, Morphy promptly challenged Staunton to a match. At first, Staunton declined Morphy's offer saying that the challenge came too late. Morphy did not give up negotiations and urging Staunton to play. In early July Staunton agreed provided he was given time to get back into practice on openings and endgames , and provided that he could manage all this without breaking
5467-490: Was narrowly beaten by Elijah Williams . Staunton's defeat by Williams suggests that Staunton had over-stretched himself by acting as both a competitor and the Secretary of the organising committee. The London Chess Club, which had fallen out with Staunton and his colleagues, organised a tournament that was played a month later and had a multi-national set of players (many of whom had competed in Staunton's tournament), and
5544-494: Was never a member of the university; when he came of age he inherited a few thousand pounds, which he soon squandered; in later life Staunton often used to tell how he had once played Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice , with the famous English actor Edmund Kean playing Shylock . In 1836, Staunton came to London, where he took out a subscription for William Greenwood Walker's Games at Chess, actually played in London, by
5621-439: Was published posthumously in 1876. A memorial plaque now hangs at his old residence of 117 Lansdowne Road, London. In 1997 a memorial stone bearing an engraving of a chess knight was raised over his grave at Kensal Green Cemetery in London, which had previously been unmarked and neglected. Staunton has been a controversial figure ever since his own time. In the words of chess journalist Mark Weeks, "Staunton represents
5698-529: Was successfully played in the grandmaster game Hikaru Nakamura – Julio Becerra Rivero , US Championship 2007. The Ponziani is one of the oldest known openings, having been first discussed in chess literature by no later than 1497. It was mentioned in both of the earliest chess treatises: the Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez con ci Iuegos de Partido by Lucena and the Göttingen manuscript . Today
5775-454: Was the history of major English public schools but which also presented some progressive ideas: Learning can only take place successfully if the active interest of the student is engaged; corporal punishment is to be avoided and fagging should be abolished. Most of Staunton's later life was occupied in writing about Shakespeare , including: A photolithographic reproduction of the 1600 Quarto of Much Ado about Nothing in 1864 and of
5852-704: Was then Prussian Silesia and now is Poland. Having finished school in 1880, he left Breslau to study medicine in Berlin and then in Halle . With his family, he settled in Nuremberg , Bavaria , and later in Munich , setting up a successful medical practice. He had five children. Tarrasch was Jewish, converted to Christianity in 1909, and was a patriotic German who lost a son in World War I , yet he faced antisemitism in
5929-468: Was to be Staunton's last public chess competition. H.J.R. Murray wrote that Staunton had overexerted himself and damaged his health by trying both to get ahead of schedule on the Shakespeare project and to play some competitive chess. Just before Staunton left London for Birmingham, his old enemy George Walker had published an article accusing him of trying to delay the match indefinitely, and Staunton received another letter from Morphy pressing him to name
#880119