Emanuel Lasker vs Carl Schlechter - Lasker - Schlechter World Championship Match 1910.02.08

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Emanuel Lasker vs Carl Schlechter
Lasker - Schlechter World Championship Match Berlin GER round 10 1910.02.08
Slav Defense: Bonet Gambit 1-0

[Event "Lasker - Schlechter World Championship Match"]
[Site "Berlin GER"]
[Date "1910.02.08"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "10"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Emanuel Lasker"]
[Black "Carl Schlechter"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "141"]

1. d4 {Notes by J. R. Capablanca} d5 2. c4 c6 {2...e6 is the
usual move and I believe better than the text move.} 3. Nf3
Nf6 4. e3 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Bd3 O-O {A new and original way of
playing the defense to the Queen's Gambit so far as I know.}
7. Qc2 Na6 8. a3 dxc4 {Schlechter here goes into a series of
moves which finally leave him with a weak isolated c pawn,
which cannot possibly be so very good.} 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 b4
11. Na4 bxa3 12. bxa3 Bb7 13. Rb1 $1 Qc7 14. Ne5 {If Lasker
wanted to play a safe game he should have castled and if he
intended to make a kingside attack he might have started with
14.h4 before playing Ne5.} $2 Nh5 15. g4 {Starting an attack
on the kingside which is justified in view of the score of the
match. Lasker's policy throughout this game is good, but why
Schlechter, who only needed a draw, should play such a wild
game can only be explained by the fact that perhaps he was not
satisfied to win the match by a mere fluke, which proved to be
the case in the fifth game.} Bxe5 16. gxh5 Bg7 17. hxg6 hxg6
18. Qc4 {?} Bc8 {!} 19. Rg1 Qa5+ 20. Bd2 Qd5 21. Rc1 Bb7
22. Qc2 Qh5 23. Bxg6 {23.Qb3, I believe, was the right move
here. The text move did not turn out so well.} 23... Qxh2
24. Rf1 fxg6 25. Qb3+ Rf7 26. Qxb7 Raf8 27. Qb3 Kh8 28. f4 g5
29. Qd3 gxf4 30. exf4 Qh4+ 31. Ke2 Qh2+ 32. Rf2 Qh5+ 33. Rf3
Nc7 34. Rxc6 34... Nb5 {34...Nd5 looks a mighty strong move.}
35. Rc4 Rxf4 {A bad sacrifice. 35...e5! looks like the right
move. It seems as though Black could always draw.} 36. Bxf4
Rxf4 37. Rc8+ Bf8 38. Kf2 {?} Qh2+ 39. Ke1 Qh1+ {!} 40. Rf1
Qh4+ 41. Kd2 Rxf1 42. Qxf1 Qxd4+ 43. Qd3 Qf2+ 44. Kd1 Nd6
45. Rc5 Bh6 46. Rd5 Kg8 47. Nc5 {Lasker had fought his battle
and obtained an advantage without moving this knight for
thirty-six moves. From the 37th move, on to the finish, Lasker
plays with remarkable precision and the fact that Schlechter
held on so well shows the sterling qualities of the Austrian
master.} Qg1+ 48. Kc2 Qc1+ 49. Kb3 Bg7 50. Ne6 Qb2+ 51. Ka4
Kf7 52. Nxg7 Qxg7 53. Qb3 Ke8 54. Qb8+ Kf7 55. Qxa7 Qg4+
56. Qd4 Qd7+ 57. Kb3 Qb7+ 58. Ka2 Qc6 59. Qd3 Ke6 60. Rg5 Kd7
61. Re5 Qg2+ 62. Re2 Qg4 63. Rd2 Qa4 64. Qf5+ Kc7 {An
oversight, I suppose. Had not Schlechter allowed Lasker to
exchange queens, the doctor would have had a merry time in
forcing a win.} 65. Qc2+ Qxc2+ 66. Rxc2+ Kb6 {The game is
over. Schlechter might just as well have resigned here.}
67. Re2 Nc8 68. Kb3 Kc6 69. Rc2+ Kb7 70. Kb4 Na7 71. Kc5 {All
in all, a great game, which will go down in the history of
chess as a remarkable finish to the greatest struggle for the
Chess Championship of the World.} 1-0

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Updated: 5 February, 2022
Created: 5 February, 2022