Game Five: Steinitz-von Bardeleben, Hastings 1895 "Whoever sees no other aim in the game than that of giving checkmate to one's opponent, will never become a good chess player."1895 found Wilhelm Steinitz past his peak, having lost the World Championship to the 25-year-old Emanuel Lasker the previous year. "I may be an old lion," he remarked defiantly, "but I can still bite someone's hand off if he puts it in my mouth." The someone in this case is Kurt von Bardeleben, who went into a rage and stalked away from the game after the 25th move--after he had been put in check five consecutive turns. Von Bardeleben, who intentionally lost on time rather than suffer the ignominy of resigning, later committed suicide in 1924 by jumping from a window. Steinitz, who was known to drink copious quantities of champagne during matches "to fortify his nerves," completed the total humiliation of his opponent by demonstrating to the audience a series of checks that led, inexorably and inevitably, to checkmate on the 35th move. Reuben Fine described it as "A game with a combination which ranks amongst the most profound ever made." The following year, however, Steinitz was again defeated by Lasker +2=5 -10, and suffered a nervous breakdown, claiming to be able to make telephone calls without the use of any hardware. Steinitz, who Harold Schonberg in Grandmasters of Chess referred to as "the most unpopular chess player who ever lived" died penniless in 1900 and was buried in a pauper's grave at Brooklyn's Evergreen Cemetery. |
| (PREVIOUS) | (NEXT) |