The World Champions' Weirdest Pets - Wilhelm Steinitz and the Vienna Game

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Introduction

Steinitz, the first official world chess champion, is very much seen as the father of the classical school of chess. Therefore, Steinitz's games are mostly devoid of "weird openings." However, every chess player, no matter their strength, has their weird tastes, so the reader will be happy to know that there will be four articles covering Steinitz's weird opening adventures - one on the Steinitz Attack, the second on the Dutch Defense, the third on the Vienna Game, and the fourth on the King's Gambit. I must mention that "early Steinitz" was very much a swashbuckler, and the positional Steinitz only appeared in the second half of his career.

First of all, we must define what a "weird opening" is. There's no clear-cut definition, but to me, a weird opening is any opening that is: a) almost never played at top level (in the 21st century! - circa 2021) and b) breaks known opening principles and generally goes against the "classical" principles Steinitz himself had helped create / bring into focus. For example, the King's Gambit would be a normal opening in Steinitz's time, but it's definitely a "weird opening" in the 21st century as it's almost never played by any top player, and no top player plays it consistently. Of course, the Vienna Game isn't as weird as some of the other openings we've looked at, but it does break one relatively minor opening principle with many exceptions, "Develop the kingside pieces before the queenside pieces." Admittedly, I also wanted an excuse to analyze the Vienna fun Steinitz got into. Moreover, Steinitz was Austrian, so there's that funny aspect as well!

The Vienna Game

Note: The variations covered will only deal with those that were played in the games featured in this article.

The Vienna Gambit, a line of the Vienna Game, is the older sibling of the King's Gambit - more controlled and less flashy. Make no mistake, though, for the Vienna Gambit remains a highly sharp opening with a lot of lines that are very difficult to evaluate. However, the f4 push is delayed and better prepared in the Vienna Gambit, so the wild lines in the King's Gambit are more tame in the Vienna Gambit. The Vienna Gambit is an opening that has stood the test of time as it was highly popular in the Romantic era and is still seen to this day even at the highest levels, especially in rapid and blitz. The Vienna Game itself can also be played quite slowly with moves such as 3. g3, so it's not like the Vienna Gambit is the only line that exists after the Vienna Game. Therefore, the Vienna Game is a very flexible and dangerous weapon. As one of the old guards of the Romantic era, Steinitz had a line in the Vienna named after him - the Steinitz Gambit, so we'll explore this line in quite some detail.

A Crushing Victory

In Part One, we looked at a game Steinitz played against Dionisio in the Steinitz Attack, where Dionisio fought well but eventually succumbed to Steinitz's strong endgame play. In this part, we'll see how Steinitz tries out another one of his opening inventions against Dionisio. As the observant reader can figure out from the title of this sub-section, it's clear that Dionisio did not fare any better against the Steinitz Gambit!

This game exemplifies the archetype of the Romantic era. Steinitz gives up some pawns and puts his king in a questionable long-term spot, but, in turn, he fights tooth and nail to blow open the Black position. That he does, not without some help from Black, whose 16...g5 simply doomed his king.

A Devastating Defeat

Walter Penn Shipley was an American chess player and lawyer. His legend will become even bigger when we see his games against none other than Lasker in later articles. For now, enjoy this rather hair-raising game.

This line, which we could perhaps call Shipley's Defense to the Steinitz Gambit, has stood the test of time. Modern day engines do not outright refute it, and, in a practical game, it's almost impossible to play for White. Congratulations to Shipley for achieving the impossible and beating a chess monster as strong as Steinitz! In his pet line, I bet Shipley could even nab victories from Carlsen!

A Slugfest

George Brunton Fraser was a Scottish chess player who was also a big promoter of the game. He was definitely at or at least very close to master strength as he was able to give Steinitz a run for his money in one match they had played. In this game, Fraser gives Steinitz's king a good workout:

Unfortunately, Steinitz has blunderd away a few winning or equal endgames here and there. Of course, back in those days, the games would last for a large portion of the day, so endgame blunders are excusable as they arise more out of tiredness than lack of understanding or analysis skills.

A Hard-Fought Draw

It's Dionisio once again!

Steinitz found himself on the wrong side of the gambit equation. Fortunately, this time he was able to quiet the "haters" and showed some resourcefulness in the endgame. Alas, Dionisio could have made Steinitz come to regret testing out his inventions against him!

A Peaceful Game

George Henry Mackenzie was a Scottish-American chess master. He was a strong contender for the world title and was one of the top players in the world. That being said, his score against Steinitz was abysmal, so, in that regard, this funny game makes at least some sense:

Are you laughing yet?! The extenuating circumstances are that Steintiz had already won the match they were playing, so this game was more for show, and both players did not want a show.

Test time!

Test

Martinez doesn't care about king safety!

What are the four moves in this position which maintain "dynamic equality"?

It's getting quite busy on the queenside...

A very important Yasserism!

Don't play on autopilot!

Ke2 vs. Kd8

Accept the world champion's blunder!

Do not repeat!

Conclusion

In conclusion, Steinitz's love for the King's Gambit's older sibling rewarded him with just as many daring chess games. In many games in Steinitz's Gambit in the Vienna Gambit, Steinitz would try to prove that the king was indeed a fighting piece. The only person that could prove him wrong on that, at least consistently, was the legend that is Shipley! Shipley's knowledge of his defense to the Steinitz Gambit was legendary; in fact, we'll get to know just how legendary it was...