World Chess Championship 1889

The World Chess Championship 1889, considered the second official World Chess Championship match, was held in Havana, Cuba. Defending champion Wilhelm Steinitz beat Russian challenger Mikhail Chigorin by a score of 10½–6½. The match consisted of a maximum of 20 games, meaning the first player to 10½ points would be crowned the victor, marking a slight deviation from the "first to ten" format of Steinitz's prior title bout in 1886.

Background

Steinitz defeated Johannes Zukertort in 1886. At that time, however, there was no international organization recognizing the formal title of World Champion or a structured process to determine a challenger for the titleholder.

Steinitz developed a strategic approach to "attack and defense", frequently encouraging opponents to take the initiative. When in control of the position, he would create long-term positional weaknesses for his opponents, limiting their options in the middlegame and endgame. Despite his success, Steinitz's positional style was not universally appreciated, and some critics remained skeptical that aggressive, tactical play was becoming obsolete. At times, Steinitz adopted highly defensive formations that limited his counterplay opportunities and made his position more vulnerable.

Preparations

After the 1886 match, a search was begun to identify a worthy challenger. The members of the Havana Chess Club invited Steinitz to play in Cuba against a challenger of his own choosing. Before 1914, the incumbent champion had the final say over the challenger, venue, and playing conditions.

Steinitz chose Mikhail Chigorin, against whom Steinitz had a poor record in previous tournament meetings. Chigorin was a player with a strong record. The contrast in playing styles—Chigorin’s aggressive, tactical approach versus Steinitz’s positional strategy—was expected to produce a good match.

The match Chigorin accepted the match conditions, and the bookmakers began to take wagers on the outcome. Despite some public criticism of Steinitz’s style, betting trends suggested he was still widely regarded as the stronger player. The match was played in Havana, between January 20 and February 24, 1889. The total purse for the contestants was $1,150, the smallest prize fund of all the world championship encounters.

Results

The match was to last a maximum of 20 games, so the winner would be the first to reach a minimum of 10½ points. In the event of a 10–10 tie, the defending champion would retain the title.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+World Chess Championship Match 1889 |- ! !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12 !! 13 !! 14 !! 15 !! 16 !! 17 !! Total |- | align=left | | 1 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 0 || 1 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 0 || 0 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 1 || 1 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 0 || 0 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 0 || 1 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 0 || 1 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 0 || 0 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 0 || ½ || 6½ |- | align=left | |style="background:black; color:white"| 0 || 1 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 0 || 1 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 1 || 0 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 0 || 1 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 1 || 1 || style="background:black; color:white"| 0 || 1 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 0 || 1 ||style="background:black; color:white"| 1 || 1 ||style="background:black; color:white"| ½ || 10½

Steinitz won the match, retaining his title.

Games

Game 1, Chigorin–Steinitz, 1–0 Evans Gambit (C52) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.0-0 Qf6 7.d4 Nge7 8.Ng5 Nd8 9.f4 exd4 10.cxd4 Bb6 11.Be3 d5 12.Bxd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 0-0 14.Nc3 Re8 15.Nge4 Qg6 16.Bf2 c6 17.Re1 Bd7 18.Nc5 Rxe1+ 19.Qxe1 Qd6 20.Qe3 cxd5 21.Nxd7 Qxd7 22.Nxd5 Nc6 23.Nxb6 axb6 24.Re1 h6 25.d5 Nb4 26.Rd1 Nxd5 27.Qe5 Rxa2? (27...Ra5 was the only move in this position.) 28.Rxd5 Ra1+ 29.Qxa1 Qxd5 30.Bxb6 Qe4 31.g3 h5 32.Qd4 Qf3 33.Qe3 Qd1+ 34.Kg2 Qc2+ 35.Qf2 Qc6+ 36.Kg1 h4 37.Qc5 hxg3 38.hxg3 Qe4 39.Kf2 Qh1 40.Qc8+ Kh7 41.Qg4 Qh2+ 42.Kf1 Qh1+ 43.Bg1 Qd5 44.Qh3+ Kg8 45.Qc8+ Kh7 46.Qc5 Qd3+ 47.Kg2 Qd7 48.Bd4 f6 49.Kf3 b5 50.g4 Qb7+ 51.Kg3 b4 52.Qf5+ Kg8 53.g5 fxg5 54.Qe6+ Kh7 55.fxg5 Qc7+ 56.Kg4 g6 57.Qf6 Qc8+ 58.Kh4

Game 2, Steinitz–Chigorin, 1–0

Queen's Pawn Game (D02) 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Bg4 3.Ne5 Bh5 4.Qd3 Qc8 5.c4 f6 6.Nf3 e6 7.Nc3 Bg6 8.Qd1 c6 9.e3 Bd6 10.Bd2 Ne7 11.Rc1 Nd7 12.Nh4 f5 13.g4 Nf6 14.h3 Ne4 15.Bd3 fxg4? (This just loses a pawn.) 16.Nxg6 Nxg6 17.Bxe4 dxe4 18.Nxe4 Be7 19.hxg4 e5 20.d5 Qd7 21.Bc3 Rd8 22.Rh5 cxd5 23.cxd5 0-0 24.d6 () Qe6 25.Qb3 Qxb3 26.axb3 Bxd6 27.Nxd6 Rxd6 28.Bb4 Rb6 29.Bxf8 Kxf8 30.Rc8+ Kf7 31.Rc7+ Kf6 32.Rf5+ Ke6 33.Rff7 Rb4 34.Rxb7 Rxg4 35.Rxg7 h5 36.Rxa7 Kf5 37.f3 Rg2 38.Ra6 1–0

Game 3, Chigorin–Steinitz, 1–0 Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defence (C62) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.d4 Bd7 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.0-0 Bd6 7.Nc3 Nge7 8.Bg5 f6 9.Be3 0-0 10.Bc4+ Kh8 11.Nb5 Nc8 12.Qd2 Qe8 13.Rad1 Bg4 14.Be2 Nd8 15.c4 Ne6 16.h3 Bh5 17.c5 Be7 18.Qd5 Qc6 19.Bc4 Be8 20.a4 Nxc5 21.Bxc5 Bxc5 22.Qxc6 Bxc6 23.Nxc7 Nd6 24.Bb3 Bxe4 25.Nxa8 Bxf3 26.gxf3 Rxa8 27.Rd5 b6 28.Rfd1 Rd8 29.Kg2 a5 30.Bc2 g6 31.h4 Kg7 32.f4 exf4 33.Kf3 f5 34.Kxf4 Kf6 35.Bb3 h6 36.h5! (This excellent move makes Black's pawn on f5 a permanent weakness.) 36...gxh5 37.Bc2 Ke7 38.Re5+ Kf8 39.Rxf5+ Ke7 40.Re5+ Kd7 41.f3 h4 42.Kg4 Rg8+ 43.Kxh4 Rg2 44.Bf5+ Kc6 45.b3 Bf2+ 46.Kh3 Rg3+ 47.Kh2 Rxf3 48.Kg2 Rf4 49.Be6 Bc5 50.Bd5+ Kd7 51.Re6 Nf5 52.Bc4+ Kc7 53.Rd3 h5 54.Bb5 Rg4+ 55.Kh2 Rh4+ 56.Rh3 Bd6+ 57.Kg2 Rg4+ 58.Kf1 Ng3+ 59.Kf2 h4 60.Rh6 Rf4+ 61.Kg2 Be7 62.Rc6+ Kb7 63.Rc4 Rf8 64.Rd4 Kc8 65.Rd7 Bd8 66.Rh2 Ne4 67.Rg7 Nc5 68.Rh3 Bf6 69.Rg6 Bd8 70.Bc4 Rf4 71.Rf3 Rd4 72.Rg7 Kb8 73.Rff7 Rd6 74.Kh3 Rd2 75.Rh7 Rd6 76.Bf1 Ne6 77.Rd7 Rc6?? (77...Rxd7 would have allowed Black to retain his drawing chances.) 78.Kg4 Rc7 79.Bc4 Rxc4+ 80.bxc4 Kc8 81.Rd6 Nc5 82.Rc6+ Kb8 83.Rh8 1–0

Game 4, Steinitz–Chigorin, 1–0

Queen's Pawn Game (D02) 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Bg4 3.c4 Bxf3 4.gxf3 e6 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.e4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Qa5 8.Bd2 Nc6 9.d5! exd5? (9...Nd4 was necessary.) 10.a3! (; Black cannot retreat the bishop without losing even more material. If he moves the bishop to anywhere other than d6, White will play 11.Nxd5, and Black cannot defend against the threat against his queen and the c7-pawn. If 10...Bd6, then White plays 11.Nxd5 Qc5 [the only square] 12.Be3 Qa5+ 13.b4 and the queen is trapped, and after 13...Nxb4 14.Bd2, White will win a piece in even more favourable circumstances in comparison to the game.) 10...Nd4 11.Bd3 0-0-0 12.axb4 Nxf3+ 13.Qxf3!? (13.Ke2 seems to hold the piece, although the king will be exposed. With the text move, White's attack on Black's queen continues.) 13...Qxa1+ 14.Ke2 Qxb2 15.Rb1 Qa3 16.Nb5 Qa6 17.Qxf7 Qb6 18.Rc1 Nh6 19.Qxg7 dxe4 20.Qxc7+ Qxc7 21.Rxc7+ Kb8 22.Bxe4 1–0

Game 5, Chigorin–Steinitz, 0–1 Evans Gambit (C52) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.0-0 Qf6 7.d4 Nge7 8.Bg5 Qd6 9.Qb3 0-0 10.Rd1 Bb6 11.dxe5 Qg6 12.Qa3 Re8 13.Nbd2 d6 14.exd6 cxd6 15.Bf4 Bc5 16.Qc1 Bg4 17.Bg3 Rad8 18.h3?? (White blunders horribly, completely overlooking the pin that the bishop exerts on the f2-pawn.) 18...Bxf3 19.Nxf3 Qxg3 20.Kh1 Qg6 21.Rd3 Qf6 22.Qd2 Ng6 23.Ng5 Nge5 24.Rf3 Nxf3 25.Bxf7+ Qxf7 26.gxf3 Qc4

Game 6, Steinitz–Chigorin, 0–1 Queen's Pawn Game (D02) 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Bg4 3.c4 Bxf3 4.gxf3 dxc4 5.e4 e5 6.dxe5 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 Nc6 8.f4 Rd8+ 9.Bd2 Bc5 10.Rg1 Nge7 11.Bxc4 Ng6 12.Kc1 Bxf2 13.Rg2 Bb6 14.Nc3 Nd4 15.Nd5 Nf3 16.Nxb6 Nxd2 17.Rxd2 axb6 18.Rxd8+ Kxd8 19.Bxf7 Nxf4 20.Kd2 Rf8 21.Bb3 Ng6 22.e6 Ke7 23.Rg1?! (Steinitz ought to have prevented Black's rook from reaching the 7th rank. 23.Ke3 was in order) 23...Rf2+ 24.Ke3 Rxh2 25.Rg5 Rh3+ 26.Kd4 Rf3 27.Rb5 Nf4 28.a4 (28.Rf5! would have forced Black to be tied down, increasing White's drawing chances) 28...h5 29.a5 h4 30.axb6 c6 31.Rf5 Ne2+ 32.Kc5 Rxf5+ 33.exf5 h3 34.Ba4 h2 35.Bxc6 bxc6 36.b7 h1Q 37.b8Q Qc1+ 0–1

Game 7, Chigorin–Steinitz, 1–0 Evans Gambit (C52) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.0-0 Qf6 7.d4 Nge7 8.Bg5 Qd6 9.d5 Nd8 10.Qa4 Bb6 11.Na3 Qg6 12.Bxe7 Kxe7 13.Nxe5 Qf6 14.Nf3 Qxc3 15.e5 c6 16.d6+ Kf8 17.Bb3 h6 18.Qh4 g5 19.Qh5 Qxd3 20.Rad1 Qh7 21.Nc2 Kg7 22.Ncd4 Qg6 23.Qg4 h5 24.Nf5+ Kf8 25.Qxg5 Qxg5 26.Nxg5 h4 27.Kh1 Rh5 28.f4 Ne6 29.g4 hxg3 30.Nxg3 Rh6 31.Nxf7! Kxf7 32.f5 Ke8 33.fxe6 dxe6 34.Ne4 1–0

Game 8, Steinitz–Chigorin, 1–0

Semi-Slav Defence (D46) 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Bd6 6.Bd3 Nbd7 7.0-0 0-0 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 h6 11.Bc2 Re8 12.Re1 Qf6 13.Bd2 Nf8 14.Bc3 Bd7 15.c5 Bb8 16.d5! Qd8 17.d6 b6 18.b4 f6 19.Qd3 a5 20.a3 e5 21.Nh4 bxc5 22.bxc5 Ba7 23.Rad1 Bxc5 24.Qc4+ Ne6 25.Qe4 Nf8 26.Qc4+ Ne6 27.Bg6 Qb6 28.Re2 Reb8 29.Rb2 Qa7 30.Bf5 Kf7 31.Re2 Qa6 32.Qg4 Nf4 () 33.Rxe5! (Black's pieces are on the wrong side of the board, and merely spectate the execution of their monarch.) 33...fxe5 34.Bxe5 g5 35.Bg6+ Kf8 36.Qxd7 Qa7 37.Qf5+ Kg8 38.d7 1–0

Game 9, Chigorin–Steinitz, 0–1 Evans Gambit (C52) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.0-0 Qf6 7.d4 Nge7 8.Bg5 Qd6 9.d5 Nd8 10.Qa4 b6 11.Na3 a6 12.Bb3 Bxc3 13.Rac1 Qb4 14.Nb5 Qxb5 15.Qxb5 axb5 16.Rxc3 c5 17.dxc6 Ndxc6 18.Bxe7 Kxe7 19.Bd5 f6 20.Bxc6 dxc6 21.Rxc6 Bd7 22.Rxb6 Rhb8 23.Rxb8 Rxb8 24.Rb1 Bc6 25.Re1 Ra8 26.Re2 Ra4 27.Rb2 Rxe4 28.h3 Kd6 29.Nd2 Ra4 30.f3 f5 31.Kf2 Ra3 32.Nb1 Rd3 33.Ke2 e4 34.Nd2 Ra3 35.fxe4 fxe4 36.Nb1 Rg3 37.Kf2 Rd3 38.Ke2 h5 39.Nd2 Rg3 40.Kf2 Ra3 41.Nf1 Bd5 42.Rxb5 Rxa2+ 43.Ke3 Rxg2 44.Kd4 Bc6 45.Rxh5 Ra2 46.Ne3 Rd2+ 47.Kc4 Bd7 48.Rg5 Be6+ 49.Kb4 Rd4+ 50.Kb5 Rd3 51.Nc4+ Bxc4+ 52.Kxc4 Rd1 53.Rxg7 e3 54.Rb7 Ke5 55.Kc3 Ke4 56.Kc2 Rf1 0–1

Game 10, Steinitz–Chigorin, 1–0

Queen's Gambit Declined, Chigorin Defence (D07) 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Bg4 3.c4 Nc6 4.e3 e5 5.Qb3 Bxf3 6.gxf3 exd4 7.cxd5 Ne5 8.exd4 Nd7 9.Nc3 Qe7+ 10.Be3 Qb4 11.Qc2 Ngf6 12.Bb5 Rd8 13.0-0-0 a6 14.Ba4 Be7 15.Rhg1 g6 16.Bh6 b5 17.Bb3 Nb6 18.Rge1 Kd7 19.Bf4 Rc8 20.a3 Qa5 21.Bg5 Ng8 22.Bxe7 Nxe7 23.Ne4 Rb8 24.Nf6+ Kd8 25.Rxe7! () Kxe7 26.Qxc7+ Nd7 27.Qxa5 1–0

Game 11, Chigorin–Steinitz, 1–0 Evans Gambit (C52) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.0-0 Qf6 7.d4 Nge7 8.Bg5 Qd6 9.d5 Nd8 10.Qa4 b6 11.Na3 a6 12.Bd3 Bxc3 13.Rab1 Bb7 14.Nc4 Qc5 15.Be3 b5 16.Bxc5 bxa4 17.Rfc1 d6 18.Bxd6 cxd6 19.Nxd6+ Kd7 20.Nxb7 Bd4 21.Nxd4 exd4 22.Nxd8 Rhxd8 23.Rb7+ Kd6 24.e5+ Kxd5 25.Rxe7 Rac8 26.Rxc8 Rxc8 27.f3 Rc3 28.Be4+ Kc4 29.Rxf7 Kb4 30.e6 d3 31.Rd7 1–0

Game 12, Steinitz–Chigorin, 1–0 Queen's Gambit Declined, Chigorin Defence (D07) 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Bg4 3.c4 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd2 Nge7 7.Bd3 Bf5 8.Bxf5 Nxf5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Qb3 Bxc3 11.Bxc3 Rb8 12.0-0 0-0 13.Rac1 Re8 14.Bd2 Nce7 15.Rc2 c6 16.Rfc1 Ng6 17.Be1 Nfh4 18.Nxh4 Nxh4 19.f3 Nf5 20.Bf2 Qg5 21.Re1 Re6 22.e4 Rbe8 23.Rce2 Nd6 24.e5 Qd8 25.Kf1 Nc4 26.Qxb7 Qg5 27.Qb4 Rg6 28.Bg3 h5 29.b3 Nb6 30.Qd2 Qf5 31.Qc2 Qg5 32.Qd2 Qf5 33.Kg1 Nc8 34.Qc2 Qd7 35.Bh4 Nb6 36.Qd3 Na8 37.f4 Nc7 38.Bf2 Qg4 39.Be3 f5 40.Rf2 Rge6 41.Qe2 Qg6 42.Rf3 Qf7 43.Rg3 Kh7 44.Bf2 Rh6 45.Rc1 Rc8 46.Rgc3 Ne6 47.Qa6 Rg8 48.Rxc6 Nxf4 49.Rxh6+ gxh6 50.Bg3 Rg6 51.Qf1 Ne6 52.Qd3 Rg4 53.h3 Rxd4 54.Qa6 Rd2 55.Be1 Rd4 56.Rc6 Re4 57.Rxe6 Rxe1+ 58.Kh2 Rc1? (58...Qg7 and Black is still in the game.) 59.Rf6 Qg7 60.Qe6 Rf1 61.Rf7 1–0

Game 13, Chigorin–Steinitz, 1–0