24...Rc2+! The breakthrough on the second rank. Steinitz's rooks crash into White's camp, where they will be impossible to dislodge.
Mikhail Chigorin vs Wilhelm Steinitz
Why this game matters
Havana, 1892. The final game of the World Championship rematch, and a clash of philosophies: Mikhail Chigorin, the last great Romantic, wheels out the King's Gambit against Wilhelm Steinitz, the founder of positional chess. Chigorin attacks; Steinitz absorbs the pressure, returns material to reach a winning structure, and grinds the position down with a swarm of rooks on the second rank.
The lesson
Defence is a weapon. Steinitz met Chigorin's gambit not with counter-fire but with calm, accurate consolidation — accepting some risk, then handing material back at the right moment to reach a position where his rooks dominated the open files and the second rank. Against a fierce attacker, soundness and active piece play beat panic.
Move by move
1. e41.e4 e5 2.f4 — the King's Gambit. Chigorin, the great Romantic, offers a pawn to open lines and attack, exactly the style Steinitz spent his life proving could be refuted.
6. d46.d4 Bg7 — Steinitz declines to get carried away, calmly developing and keeping his extra f-pawn while preparing to castle.
11. dxe511.Qxd1 Nxd1 — queens come off early. Steinitz is happy to defuse the attack and head for a structure where his pieces are simply better placed.
15. Nf315.Rfe8 — Steinitz centralises his rooks. The whole second half of the game is about who controls the open files, and he is winning that battle.
20. Bg320.Bg3 Nd4! — the knight leaps to a dominant central square, eyeing the e2 and c2 invasion squares behind White's position.
24. cxd424...Rc2+! The breakthrough on the second rank. Steinitz's rooks crash into White's camp, where they will be impossible to dislodge.
25. Kg125.Kg1 Ree2! Doubling rooks on the second rank — the classic 'pigs on the seventh' motif. White's position is now strategically lost.
27. Kh127.Kh1 Kg7 — Steinitz even has time to safeguard his own king while the rooks do their work. Calm in a won position.
30. Re730.Re7 Rge2 — the rooks coordinate to keep up the pressure; White is reduced to shuffling while the second rank is overrun.
32. Bb432...Rxh2+ — and Black is winning decisively. Chigorin resigned soon after. The positional champion outlasted the Romantic's gambit.
Frequently asked
Why is this game historically important?
It comes from the 1892 World Championship between the positional pioneer Steinitz and the Romantic attacker Chigorin — a direct clash of the old and new schools. Steinitz's calm defence and counterplay illustrate exactly the scientific approach he championed.
Did Steinitz win the match?
Yes. The match was famously close — tied 8–8 at one point — but Steinitz prevailed, retaining the World Championship. Chigorin lost both of his title matches against Steinitz (1889 and 1892).
Can I take over Steinitz's side?
Yes — pick up the board as Black just before 24...Rc2+ and try to find the rook invasion of the second rank, or replay the whole game move by move, no sign-up.