MARK RUBERY CHESS

Even the greatest of players are not immune to the disasters that can befall all of us lesser mortals, so take heart in today’s selection...

Lieb-Spassky Munich 1979

1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Bc4 Nc6 4 d3 Bc5 5 f4 d6 6 Na4 Bxg1 7 Rxg1 Ng4 8 g3 exf4 9 Bxf4 Nxh2?? 10 Qh5! 1-0

Marshall-Chigorin Monte Carlo 1903

1 d4 d5 2 c4 Nc6 3 Nc3 dxc4 4 d5 Na5 5 Bf4 Bd7 6 e4 e6 7 dxe6 fxe6?? 8 Qh5+ 1-0

Borochow-Fine Pasadena 1932

1 e4 Nf6 2 e5 Nd5 3 c4 Nb6 4 d4 Nc6? (Now we know why 4...d6 is the only move) 5 d5 Nxe5 6 c5 Nbc4 7 f4 1-0

Zapata, Alonso (2480) - Anand, Viswanathan (2555) [C42]

Biel-B Biel (9), 1988

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4

5.Nc3 Bf5? (A careless alternative to the usual 5…Nxc3) 6.Qe2 1–0 (Black loses a piece as is shown by 6…Qe7 7 Nd5 Qd7 8 d3)

Christiansen, Larry Mark (2620) - Karpov,Anatoly (2725) [E12]

Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee (2) 1993

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Ba6 5.Qc2 Bb7 6.Nc3 c5 7.e4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Nxc6 Bxc6 10.Bf4 Nh5 11.Be3 Bd6? (Positionally well-motivated but tactically deficient)

12.Qd1! 1–0 (As there is a fatal double attack on both the bishop and the knight)

He completely changed the game as it was played by Blackburne, Anderssen, Morphy and the other romantic heroes, and most likely he was the foundation upon which all modern chess has been built, but that did not prevent him from being the most unpopular chess player who ever lived. He had a grudge against the world, and the world returned it. – Harold Schonberg (on Steinitz)