The most important feature of the Chess position is the activity of the pieces.
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[Event "St. Petersburg"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1896.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Pilsbury, Harry"]
[Black "Lasker, Emanuel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Hayes, David"]
[BlackElo "unknown"]
[ECO "D40"]
[TimeControl "0"]
[WhiteElo "unknown"]
{ Emanuel Lasker held the world championship for a record 27 years. He won
nearly every tournament he played in during his reign. Furthermore, he played
good chess into his late sixties. Despite his skill on 64 squares, he was
considered a weak player early in his reign as world champion by many of the
leading chess players of that time.|Harry Pilsbury, an American, had
beaten Lasker in a previous tournament. This fueled the belief that the world
champion Lasker could be beaten despite the fact that Lasker's poor
performance was more likely due to his recovery at that time from a serious
illness.|This game was a product of that time. Lasker felt he had to beat
his nemisis decisively to prove to the world that he was a worthy holder of
the title. Lasker's risky play resulted in a brilliant attack that so shakes
Pilsbury that he lost the next four games he played in the St. Petersburg
tournament.|This game contains one of the greatest combinations ever
conceived of on 64 squares. } 1. d4 { D40: Queen's Gambit Declined:
Semi-Tarrasch with 5 e3 (Pillsbury plays an opening that he used to win the
Hastings tournament ahead of Lasker.) } 1... d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 c5 5. Bg5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 { Now 6... Be7 is best. } 6... Nc6 { Lasker plays for blood. Now
the sharpest line is: 7. Bxf6 Nxd4 8. Bxd8 Nc2+ 9. Kd2 Nxa1 where the knight
is trapped and will eventually fall. } 7. Qh4 Be7 8. O-O-O Qa5 9. e3 { Controls
d4 and releases a bishop. } 9... Bd7 10. Kb1 h6 { Only a threat due to queen's pin
on black's rook. } 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Nd4 O-O { Now the pawn on h6 makes good on
it threat to capture g5. } 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Qh5 Nxd4 15. exd4 Be6 { Now white
should complete his development via g3 and Bg2, or even the sharp Bc4. } 16. f4 { How does Black generate counter play? } 16... Rac8 17. f5 Rxc3 { 17. Qf3 was
strong. } 18. fxe6 { The immediate 18. bxc3 Qxc3 with an eventual Rc8 and great
pressure from the Bishop on f6 is more than white can bear. Other heroic
defensive lines for white that involve Qf3 are likewise not adequate in the
end. } 18... Ra3 $1 { Surely there is some mistake in the notation. } 19. exf7+ { Why
not take this free move? } 19... Rxf7 20. bxa3 Qb6+ 21. Bb5 { An innovative defensive
resource. } ( { Otherwise: } 21. Ka1 Bxd4+ 22. Rxd4 Qxd4+ 23. Kb1 Qe4+ 24. Ka1 Qe1+ 25. Kb2 Rf2+ 26. Kb3 Qb1+ 27. Ka4 Rf4+ 28. Bc4 Rxc4+ 29. Ka5 Qb6# ) 21... Qxb5+ 22. Ka1 Rc7 $2 { Threatening 23... Rc1+ 24. Rxc1 Bxd4 with mate next.
However, this move is not as strong as 22... Qc4 23. Qg4 Re7 24. Qf3 Bxd4+
25. Rxd4 Qxd4+ 26. Kb1 Re3 27. Qf5 etc. } 23. Rd2 Rc4 { White's best defensive
resource is a good offense. 24. Re1 makes the pawn immune. For example, 24.
Re1 Bxd4+? 25. Rxd4 Rxd4 26. Re8+ Kh7 27. Qf5+ leads to mate next. } 24. Rhd1 Rc3 $6 { Making room for his queen on c4. However, black has better. 24...
Qc6 25. Kb1 Bg5 is crushing. } 25. Qf5 Qc4 { The mate threat is Rc1 } 26. Kb2 $2 { A natural attempt to hold the pawn on a3 and avoid mate on c1. However, 26.
Kb1 or Qb1 is OK. } 26... Rxa3 $1 { Demolishes the pawn shield. } 27. Qe6+ { It is
still not too late for Kb1. However, black has the advantage in any event. } 27... Kh7 28. Kxa3 Qc3+ 29. Ka4 b5+ $1 { An offer white cannot refuse. The end. } 30. Kxb5 { Decoy to b5 } 30... Qc4+ { A classical mating theme } 31. Ka5 Bd8+ 32. Qb6 axb6# { A huge struggle. } 0-1