Amsterdam, 1889

The Double Bishop Sacrifice

Emanuel Lasker – Johann Bauer · 1-0

Result: 1-0
Moves: 38
Opening: Bird Opening
The names end at: 1... d5

Watch it on the map Final position on the map

The story

Played in the first round of the 1889 tournament in Amsterdam, one of Emanuel Lasker’s first strong events; five years later he became world champion.

From Bird’s Opening Lasker sacrifices both bishops — 15. Bxh7+ and 17. Bxg7 — to strip away the pawns in front of Black’s king, then wins material by force with the queen and a rook lift.

The double bishop sacrifice has been repeated many times since, for example in Nimzowitsch–Tarrasch (1914) and Polgar–Karpov (2003), but this game made it famous.

The Double Bishop Sacrifice: the map where the opening names end — The position where the game leaves the named openings, with every game of the next four moves around it.

The moves

1.f4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.b3 e6 4.Bb2 Be7 5.Bd3 b6 6.Nc3 Bb7 7.Nf3 Nbd7 8.O-O O-O 9.Ne2 c5 10.Ng3 Qc7 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 Qc6 13.Qe2 a6 14.Nh5 Nxh5 15.Bxh7+ Kxh7 16.Qxh5+ Kg8 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Qg4+ Kh7 19.Rf3 e5 20.Rh3+ Qh6 21.Rxh6+ Kxh6 22.Qd7 Bf6 23.Qxb7 Kg7 24.Rf1 Rab8 25.Qd7 Rfd8 26.Qg4+ Kf8 27.fxe5 Bg7 28.e6 Rb7 29.Qg6 f6 30.Rxf6+ Bxf6 31.Qxf6+ Ke8 32.Qh8+ Ke7 33.Qg7+ Kxe6 34.Qxb7 Rd6 35.Qxa6 d4 36.exd4 cxd4 37.h4 d3 38.Qxd3 1-0

Through the openings

1. f4Bird Opening
1... d5Bird Opening: Dutch Variation

Source of the moves: en.wikipedia.org

More famous games

The Opera GameMorphy, Paris 1858Playing from a box at the opera, Morphy mates his two opponents in 17 moves. The Immortal GameAnderssen, London 1851Anderssen gives up both rooks, a bishop and his queen, then mates with the minor pieces he has left. The Evergreen GameAnderssen, Berlin 1852Anderssen sacrifices his queen and mates with a bishop; more than 170 years on, the game is still fresh. The Game of the CenturyD. Byrne – Fischer, New York 1956Thirteen-year-old Bobby Fischer gives up his queen and wins. Kasparov's ImmortalKasparov – Topalov, Wijk aan Zee 1999A rook sacrifice on move 24 starts a hunt that chases Black's king across the whole board. Deep Blue Beats KasparovDeep Blue – Kasparov, New York 1997The last game of the first match a computer won against the world champion, over in 19 moves. The Game Spassky ApplaudedFischer – Spassky, Reykjavik 1972Fischer almost never opened 1.c4; here he did, and at the end even Spassky joined the applause. The Octopus KnightKarpov – Kasparov, Moscow 1985Kasparov's knight digs in on d3 and paralyses White; that match made him world champion. Botvinnik's Bishop SacrificeBotvinnik – Capablanca, AVRO 1938Botvinnik beats former world champion Capablanca with a bishop sacrifice on move 30.