Play the Ruy Lopez for Position

Chessorb Classic, Issue #131 -- GOTM #101

As the Romantic Era gave way to Steinitz's positional teaching in the late 19th Century, the great players of the time began to exhibit in their skill sets, not just dazzling tactical acumen but tremendous understanding of positional strategy.

The wonderful tactical games with Kingside attacks and violent ends within 25 moves also began to give way to slow burning positional arm wrestles that would go for 40 to 60 moves. Now games were decided not by seeing or missing a brilliant resource inside a forced sequence of a tactical maneuver. They were hingeing on minute, subtle positional features in the terrain during a game.

One of the most famous tournaments of this transitional period was Hastings, 1895. This tournament was contested by the greatest masters of the day and gave us many, many memorable games. Many of the players that would dominate the world for the next 20 years were present.

One of these was one of those positional slow burners contested by two of the best in the field. They were Emanuel Lasker with White and Harry Nelson Pillsbury with Black.

Lasker, Emanuel - Pillsbury, Harry Nelson [C60]

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See you next month.

Ken

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