[Event ""]
[Site "Kassa"]
[Date "1893.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Charousek"]
[Black "Wolner"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Tim McGrew"]
[ECO "C21"]

{ Rudolf Charousek was born in 1873 and died in the year 1900, a tragic loss to chess. He began playing at the age of 16, in 1889, and in the span of less than a dozen years he made his mark as one of the most promising masters of the "young" generation.
According to Hoffer, who wrote an article on him in the Chess Monthly, virtually all of the masters who met him admitted that he was a genius. Lasker is said to have remarked, "I shall have to play a championship match with this man some day."
Early in 1898, Charousek contracted an inflammation of the lungs that dogged him throughout the last year and a half of his life. Although he continued to try to participate in tournaments, finishing second at the German Congress (ahead of Steinitz, Schlechter, Janowski, etc), Hoffer remarked that he looked frail and emaciated.
On April 18, 1900, he was seized with a hemmorage of the lungs. He died the next day.
The game that brings us to the campfire this month was an offhand encounter between Charousek and Wollner, played at Kassa in 1893. As we play it over, keep in mind that this is a player who only learned how the pieces move four years earlier.
One of the wonderful things about games from the "romantic era" of chess is the fearless gambiteering spirit the contestants so frequently display. Charousek here offers the Danish Gambit, two full pawns for glorious diagonals and fierce attacking chances. } 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 Nf6 { By playing 4...Nf6, Wollner avoids some of the terrifying tactics of the Danish proper. At the time, this was considered a fully viable mode of defense. 
Wollner, perhaps understandably, was reluctant to grab that final pawn. Today, theory claims that Black can wend his way to equality by giving back the material in a tactical counter-trick, as follows: 4...cxb2 5.Bxb2 d5 The first pawn is given back. 6.Bxd5 Nf6 7.Bxf7+ And now, the second. But hasn't Black gone too far -- isn't he dropping his Queen here? 
7...Kxf7 8.Qxd8 Bb4+ The counter-trap: Black regains his material. 9.Qd2 Bxd2+ 10.Nxd2.
"Theory" judges this position to be equal. That may be true, but it's worth pointing out that the position is also very sharp, with substantial pawn majorities for each side. Some correspondence players have recently resurrected this variation as a winning attempt for White. It demands accurate defensive play from Black, because White's pawns advancing on the Kingside "bite" faster, thanks to Black's exposed Knight and King.
In this side line, there's one other move also worth considering. When Black plays ... Nf6, White need not liquidate but can instead play for central domination by accenting his development: 7.Nc3 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 One of the many interesting points in this line is that Black cannot force an exchange of Queens here, thanks to a very clever tactical shot: 8...c6 ... apparently forcing the Knight to move, but -- 9.Nf6+ White pulls Black's pieces forcibly into a fork! 9...gxf6 10.Qxd8+ Kxd8 11.Bxf6+ ... and when the dust clears, White is the exchange ahead. That is the tactical rationale behind White's interesting winning attempt with Nc3. I have much more analysis of this in my secret notebooks! } 5. Nf3 { Charousek offers Black one more chance to take a pawn, any pawn! } 5... Bc5 { Wollner is admirably "modern" in his lack of greed, and insists on completing his development. } 6. Nxc3 { Charousek follows suit, and the next few moves for each side are rather natural. } 6... d6 7. O-O O-O { But now something curious happens -- Charousek's imagination goes into overdrive! 
The most natural move here would be the simple and obvious Bg5, pinning the Knight and threatening Nd5 to disrupt the Kingside pawn formation. Black, however, could meet the pin with Nbd7, since he has not committed his N/b8 to c6 yet. Charousek therefore tries something which might, in the final analysis, be labeled a "coffeehouse" move. But if so, then coffeehouse chess is superb! } 8. Ng5 $5 { Well, what can the point of all of this be? The Knight is just hanging out there. We know that Nxf7 is, on general principles, a poor move -- trading two active minor pieces for a R + P is a bad deal in the opening and middlegame. Impatiently, Wollner tries to brush the Knight aside like Goliath trying to brush that pesky shepherd lad out of the way... } 8... h6 { I hope some one later gave Wollner financial compensation for playing this move, because we are all in his debt! } 9. Nxf7 $3 { Rules are made to be broken -- not often, but on just those occasions when genius rises to the occasion! Charousek has no intention of giving up his perfectly good Bishop for the Rook on f7. Instead, he has spied a fascinating feature of the position. We saw that by delaying the development of his Queen's Knight, Black has reserved the possibility of Nbd7 defending f6. But Charousek has seen -- and brilliantly exposes -- the dark side of Black's delayed development. The following combination is made possible because Black's Queen is undefended! } 9... Rxf7 { This pulls the Rook away from the eighth rank. Now the d-pawn is pinned against the undefended Queen. Hence: } 10. e5 $3 { Only this move is a just followup to the Knight sacrifice. Black's N/f6 must move (or he has lost material for nothing), and White will push this pawn up to e6. } 10... Ng4 11. e6 { Now the point of the sacrifice is becoming clearer. Charousek is not simply attacking the Rook: he has also used the P/e6 to cut off the defense of Black's Knight on the light diagonal from c8 to g4. In a sense, this is a very sophisticated double attack. Wollner is no fool: he realizes his position is desperate. So he immediately plays for the counterattack. } 11... Qh4 { No points for subtlety, but full marks for bravery. } 12. exf7+ { Charousek doesn't need to be asked twice. } 12... Kf8 { But now, how to meet the threats at h2 and f2? } 13. Bf4 { The only move! Charousek displays not only great attacking elan but also defensive savvy here. Consider the alternative: 13.h3 Nxf2 Now it is Black who has the attack, with a sacrifice on h3 threatened (in addition to the obvious ..Nxd1). } 13... Nxf2 14. Qe2 { By threatening mate at e8, Charousek ensures that his B/f4 cannot be taken. } 14... Ng4+ 15. Kh1 { Now ...Nf2+ would be met by Rxf2 and Qe8#. } 15... Bd7 { Wollner realizes that he is now on the defensive, and he tries hard to cover the weak e8 square. But Charousek is not to be denied! } 16. Rae1 { This intensifies the pressure: Charousek now threatens to sacrifice a Queen on e8! } 16... Nc6 { Wollner finally develops his Knight, lending his Rook's defensive aid to the beleaguered e8 square. 
But Charousek has realized something tremendous about this position. His Rook, sitting at f1, is on the same file as the enemy King. "Yes," you say, "but what of it? I often get my Rook on the same file as the enemy King -- but my own pawn blocks the file, so what's the use?" Youth and genius do not lose heart for such trifles. Charousek now sacrifices, not one, but two Queens to achieve the ultimate opening of all remaining lines! } 17. Qe8+ $3 Rxe8 18. fxe8=Q+ $3 Bxe8 19. Bxd6# { One of the finest sacrificial conclusions on record. Not often does one get to sacrifice two Queens to force checkmate before move 20! Talk about efficient piece deployment!! It doesn't get better than this! 
Years later, Kester Svendsen wrote a wonderful short story entitled "Last Round," about an old master who has tried for 50 years to create a work of art, the perfect game. In the crucial final round of a World Championship tournament, he trails the mighty Russian Rolavsky by half a point, and they are paired. Svendsen weaves his story around this as their game. 
"I have always a slight feeling of pity for the man who has no knowledge of chess, just as I would pity the man who has remained ignorant of love. Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make men happy."-- Siegbert Tarrasch. } 1-0