IT is interesting to see when a new idea in chess came into being - or is thought to have come into being.
One of the most unusual, certainly in its day and still surprising to inexperienced players, is allowing Black to check the white king early in the King's Gambit by omitting the move Nf3.
The idea is often attributed to the first 'official' world champion, Wilhelm Steinitz.
I suspect many people would think Steinitz was responsible for playing as White 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.d4!?
But as far as I can discover he never played this sequence with either colour - the earliest game in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database is Francis Sidney Ensor - Curt von Bardeleben, London Minor 1883, which continued 3...Qh4+ 4.Ke2 d5 5.exd5 Bd6 6.c4 b6 7.Nf3 Bg4 8.Kd2 Bxf3!? 9.Qxf3 with a slight edge for White, according to Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02 (but 0-1, 46 moves).
Fast-forward 136 years and the game Ian Nepomniachtchi (2776) - Liren Ding (2811), Chess.com Blitz 2019, varied with 8.Qe1 Qh5 9.h3?!, after which the engines reckon 9...Bxf3+ 10.gxf3 Ne7 gives Black a winning advantage. Ding was also better after the game's 9...Ne7, according to the engines, and won in 22 moves.
Perhaps, you might think, Steinitz should be credited with the sequence 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4!?
But this goes back to at least 1590, and Steinitz only has one game as white with it in Mega22, although he has 12 games with Black, the reply 3...Ne7 being named after him despite being known since at least 1620.
However, where Steinitz did pioneer allowing an early queen check is in the Delayed - some would say Improved - King's Gambit, better known today as the Vienna Gambit.
His contribution is highlighted in the following game from 500 Master Games Of Chess by Savielly Tartakower and Julius du Mont.
Notes in italics are algebraicised from the book.
Steinitz - Gustav Neumann
Dundee 1867
Vienna Gambit
When this game was played, the extravagant move 4.d4, instead of the supposedly forced 4.Nf3, was at first thought to be due to an oversight on the part of the then world champion Steinitz*, for the resulting king hunt is truly alarming. In many subsequent games, however, he proved the virility of this paradoxical continuation, which supports even in the opening stages, his theory of: the king - a strong piece.
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6
Steinitz had been meeting 2...Nf6 with 3.f4 since at least 1860, but then there is no question of a quick ...Qh4+.
3.f4 exf4
We now have a kind of 'King's Gambit Deferred' (1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nc3 Nc6), but more prudent is 3...Bc5, eg 4.fxe5 d6 5.exd6 Qxd6 and, for his pawn, Black has taken the lead.
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| Position after 3...exf4 |
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
4.d4!?
Sensational!
Two year before Dundee, at Berlin Carlsbadgarten, Jules Arnous de Rivière - Neumann went 4.Bc4!? Qh4+ 5.Kf1 Bc5 6.g3? fxg3 7.Kg2 gxh2 8.Rxh2 Qg5+ 9.Kh1 Qxg1+ 10.Qxg1 Bxg1 11.Kxg1, after which White does not have enough for two pawns (but 1-0, 49 moves). The game was published in the German chess magazine Neue Berliner Schachzeitung. Did that game inspire Steinitz to try a similar idea against Neumann?
4...Qh4+ 5.Ke2 d6
He already sees that his task is not as easy as it looks, and that he must set to work with deliberation. After 5...d5 6.exd5 Bg4+ 7.Nf3 etc, Black's momentary pressure would drop to zero.
These moves were played in Steinitz - Johannes Zukertort, London 1872. Zukertort sacrificed a piece with 7...0-0-0!? 8.dxc6 Bc5!? 9.cxb7+ Kb8, getting interesting play (but 1-0, 51 moves). Komodo13.02 reckons 5...b6!? gives Black at least the upper hand, and also likes 5...g5. Stockfish15 likes 5...g5, and 5...Qh5+ 6.Nf3 g5.
6.Nf3
Beginning to recover territory.
6...Bg4 7.Bxf4 Bxf3
He is glad to displace the king still further, but a more pressing strategy would demand 7...f5. If 7...Qf6 [then] 8.Ke3 [the engines much prefer 8.Nd5].
8.Kxf3
In subsequent games Steinitz switched to 8.gxf3, but the engines prefer the text.
8...Nge7 9.Be2 0-0-0
Even stronger is ...Qf6, , according to the engines, now that White does not have the reply Nd5.
10.Be3
Evading the threat 10...Ne5+ 11.dxe5 dxe5, and Black recovers his piece with advantage.
This seems to be plain wrong as, even if it were Black's move after 9...0-0-0, the sequence 10...Ne5+?? 11.dxe5 dxe5 is simply met by the bishop retreat 12.Bd2.
10...Qf6+
He tries to keep the opposing king in chancery for, otherwise, there follows 11.g3 and Kg2, and White is out of all danger.
11.Kg3 d5 12.Bg4+
Not at once 12.e5 [because of] 12...Nf5+.
12...Kb8 13.e5 Qg6
With the threat of 14...h5. But 13...Nf5+ is a little better.
14.Kf2
The king makes his escape.
14...h5 15.Bh3 f6
He still has dreams of attack.
16.exf6 Qxf6+ 17.Qf3
He brings the adversary back to earth.
17...Qxf3+
Clearly not 17...Nxd4 18.Qxf6 gxf6 19.Bxd4. But also after 17...Qg6 18.Rhc1 Nb4 19.Qe2 Qf6+ 20.Kg1 the only result would be the furthering of White's intentions. After the exchange of queens, the grouping of the white forces proves superior.
The engines reckon 20.Kg1?! is suspect in view of 20...g5. They prefer 20.Qf3.
18.gxf3 g6 19.Ne2 Nf5?!
An anonymous ChessBase annotator gives this move a question mark, suggesting 19...Bh6, claiming equality, although Stockfish15, but not Komodo13.02, slightly prefers White.
20.Bxf5
Bringing about an almost symmetrical position in which White will be the first to attack weaknesses in the opposing formation (d5 and h5).
Steinitz was fond of the bishop-pair, but not a slave to them.
20...gxf5 21.c3 Bd6 22.Bf4 Kc8
Even if Black first occupies the open g file by 22...Rhg8 he would have to relinquish it again after 23.Rhg1 (eg 23...Kc8 24.Bxd6 etc, or 23...Bxf4 24.Nxf4 etc). The finish is impressive.
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| Position after 22...Kc8 |
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
23.Rhg1 Kd7?!
Komodo13.02 wants to prevent the white king's rook coming to the seventh by 23...Bf8 or 23...Rh7, but still reckons White is winning. Stockfish15 also suggests 23...Bf8, or 23...a5!?, but again reckons White is winning.
24.Rg7+
One objective is achieved. All goes according to plan.
24...Ne7 25.Rag1 Ke6!?
The engines prefer 25...Ke8 or 25...h4.
26.Bxd6 Rxd6 27.Nf4+ Kf6 28.Nd3
Conquest of the 'strong point' at e5.
28...Rb6 29.b3 Rh6 30.Ne5 Rb5 31.a4!? Ra5
31...Rxb3 loses to 32.Nd7+ Ke6 33.Nc5+ etc.
32.b4 Ra6 33.Nd7+
A deeply-conceived victory.
Tartakower and du Mont have Neumann resigning here, although Mega22 adds the moves 33...Ke6 34.Nc5+.
*Today it is customary to think of Steinitz as having only been world champion from his defeat of Johannes Zukertort in 1886.
