How to save a lost game

by Stephan Oliver Platz
8/14/2020 – Dr. Emanuel Lasker, World Champion from 1894 to 1921, enjoyed the reputation of being a very "lucky" player. After all, time and again he managed to save bad and very bad positions. However, to quote Lasker's rival José Raúl Capablanca: "A good player is always lucky"! But what should a good player do in lost positions to let fortune smile on him? Stephan-Oliver Platz has some ideas. | Photo: Emanuel Lasker | Photo: Cleveland Public Library

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You certainly know the following situation very well from your own experience: My game is totally lost. What shall I do? Resign? Or go on fighting? If I only knew, how!  In this article I want to give you some hints, how to save a lost position and how to defend a difficult one. I'll show you the differences between some sorts of bad positions and how to handle them accordingly.

The idea for this article came into my mind when I was analyzing the 5th match game Teichmann - Lee which was played long time ago, in 1901. Curiously enough I knew a woman who was born in 1901. She was my grandfather's sister, a kind person who never believed the story that men had landed on the moon and walked on its surface. In spite of some clear evidence nobody was able to convince her that the moon landing was not a big hoax.

But let's go back to the before mentioned Teichmann - Lee game. In a Scandinavian the London chess master Francis Joseph Lee (1857 - 1909) soon got a bad position. After only 16 moves his game was totally lost, both strategically and tactically. 11 moves later the German grandmaster Richard Teichmann (1868 - 1925) forced a mate in 7 and Lee resigned. He won the match 5-2 with one draw.

I was a little bit disappointed when I saw how Lee defended this hopeless position. He tried a trap which was so obvious that only a complete beginner would fall for it. Soon I discovered that he might have tried a really big swindle, much more subtle and by far not so easy to detect. I'll show you what he could have tried to save the game. But first let's take a look at what really happened:

 
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White has just played his pawn from c2 to c4 starting an attack against the adverse King. His bishops are ideally placed leaving the black King not a single square to go to. What did Black try to save the game? 1...b4 Avoiding an open c-line. Unfortunately Black will not be able to block one of the bishops by playing Nd5 as long as there is a white pawn on c4. 2.Qe1 Qe7 3.Bxc6 bxc6 The white bishop pair has gone, but the black queen side pawns are shattered. 4.a3! White needs open files for his intended king attack. c5 5.axb4 cxb4 6.Ra1 Qb7 7.Ra4 Nd7 A little trap, but way too obvious. 8.Rxb4! After 8.Bxg7? Rhg8 9.Rxb4 Qa8 White cannot save his bishop on account of Qxg2+ mate. 8...Qa8 9.Bd6 Again, 9.Bxg7? Rhg8 10.d5 Rxg7∞ 9...Qc6 10.c5 After a short while Black's position is desperate. As soon as Qe1 and Rf1 come into play the battle will be over. a5 or 10...Nf6 11.Rb8+ Kd7 12.Rb6+- 11.Rb3 Qa4? A blunder, but there was no more saving move. 11...a4 12.Rb4+- intending 13.Qa1 11...Qa8 12.Qc3 a4 13.Ra1 Qc6 14.Rb4+- 12.Qe4! and Black resigned, because he cannot avoid checkmate, e. g. Nxc5 12...Qb4? 13.Qc6# 13.Qa8+ Kd7 14.Qa7+ Nb7 14...Ke8? 15.Qe7# 15.Rxb7+ Kc6 15...Ke8 16.Re7+ Kf8 17.Rxf7+ Kg8 18.Rxg7# 16.Qb6+ Kd5 17.Qc5+ Ke4 18.Re1+ Kd3 19.Qc3# 1–0
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Teichmann,R-Lee,F-1–01901

Now let's examine the subtle defence I discovered. Against proper play it's no use whatsoever, because Black's position is simply lost. But why shouldn't you give your opponent the opportunity to help you out? Let's begin with the same horrible position. A clever defender is needed now!

 
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We start again in the same horrible position for Black. The clever defender plays 1...bxc4! 2.Qxc4 Nd5! If Black wants to get some counterplay he needs the open g-file for one of his rooks. Francis Lee had the same idea, but here it is much more likely that White will do him the favour by playing 3. Bxg7. Why? Bf3 is protecting g2 while the other bishop might help out by retreating Bg7-e5-g3. White is winning a pawn with a better position and without any risk.Therefore this mode of play is much more subtle. 3.Bxg7 Taking the generously offered pawn looks quite logical, because White can easily find out that after 3.Rc1!? f6 4.Bg3 h5 5.h3 or 5.h4 g5! 5...g5 Black will get some counterplay without being a pawn down What else might White play? 3.a4!? is a good prophylactic move preventing b5 and maintaining White's positional superiority without offering Black counterchances by opening up the g-file. 3...Rhg8 4.Be5 Everything is just fine for White. The pinned knight cannot take the bishop, and again the black King has not a single square left. b5 Now the black King is ready to go to b7 unpinning the knight. 5.Qc2 A move which is very likely to be played in this position keeping the knight pinned and attacking h7 at the same time. f6! This is my subtle idea by which Black might hold the game. Why? Because White might be tempted to grab the f6 pawn. Obviously after 6.Bxf6 Black mustn't retake with his knight on account of 7.Bxc6. Therefore White's only concern will be the move 6. ... Rdf8 attacking Bf6 directly and Bf3 indirectly. Soon he'll find out that he will easily avoid the loss of a piece by simply playing 7.Rc1 Kb7 8.Bxd5. So why not win a second pawn? 6.Bxf6? A clever attacker would decline the offer and play 6.Bg3! Kb7 7.a4! instead. If White finds this continuation and succeeds by attacking the weakened king position, he will really deserve to win the game. But perhaps the temptation to grab a second pawn is too big. 6...Rdf8! Now Black has even two open lines towards the white King's position. Two pawns are a good investment for that purpose. 6...Nxf6? 7.Bxc6+- 7.Rc1! Taking the knight at once 7.Bxd5? would be insufficient because of Qxd5! threatening both Qxg2+ mate and Rxf6. 7...Kb7! 7...Rxf6? loses after 8.Qxc6+ Qxc6 9.Rxc6+ Kd7 10.Bxd5 Rg5 10...exd5? 11.Rxf6 11.Be4 Rf4 12.Re1! Rxe4! 13.Rxe4 Kxc6 14.Rxe6+ 8.Bxd5 Still looking great for White, isn't it? If the queen retakes, 9.Qxh7+ will prove decisive, and after 8. ... exd5 the bishop will escape. exd5! Some of these beautiful variations might have induced White to play 6.Bxf6. Now he must think of where to retreat his bishop. Much better than 8...Qxd5? 9.Qxh7+ Kb6 10.g3 with a clear advantage, e. g. Qxa2 10...Rxf6 11.Qxg8+- 10...Nxd4? 11.Qc7# 10...Rc8!? 11.Rc5!+- Qxa2? 12.Rfc1! Qxb2 13.Rxc6+! Rxc6 14.Rxc6+ Kxc6 15.d5+! 11.Rxc6+! (a pretty exchange sacrifice) Kxc6 12.Rc1+ losing the queen or Black will be mated, e. g. Kd5 or 12...Kd6 13.Qc7+ Kd5 14.Qc6# 13.Qb7+ Kd6 14.Be5# 9.Be5! White has found out that 9.Bh4? even loses the game on account of Nxd4 attacking the queen 10.Qd3 Nf3+! 11.Kh1 Nxh4-+ and miraculously Black has turned the tables completely. This combination succeeded, because g2 was pinned by Rg8, and Nf3 was protected by Rf8. Luckily the white bishop has a better square at his disposal. 9...Nxe5 10.dxe5 At first sight White's position still looks promising. He is two pawns up, and two of his major pieces are doubled on the c-file. Soon he will play f4. How shall Black stop these two passed pawns? Rxg2+! What a shock! Suddenly White notices that the rook cannot be taken, because he would soon be mated. 11.Kh1! 11.Kxg2? Qg4+ 12.Kh1 Qf3+ 13.Kg1 Rg8+ 14.Qg6 Rxg6# 11...Rfg8 That's it! Black has defended his lost position cleverly, hasn't he? I don't think that you can hope for more when you look back at the terrible position he had to deal with. The difference is obvious: Now the white King has no square to go. f4 supporting e5 cannot be played either, because the white queen would get lost. Sure, White is still a pawn up, but will he be able to win this endgame? White has a lot of moves at his disposal, e. g. 12.Qc5 The best continuation for White might be 12.Rg1!? Rxg1+ 13.Rxg1 Rxg1+ 14.Kxg1 Qg7+! 15.Kf1 Qxe5 16.Qxh7+ Kb6 , but here, too, Black has counterchances because of his advanced passed pawn and his activequeen another plan is 12.Qd3!? (threatening 13.Rcd1) Kb8! (best) 13.Qf3 13.Rcd1? Qg4! 14.Qxd5 the King moved to b8 to prevent the white Queen from checking when taking this pawn Rxh2+! 15.Kxh2 Qh4# 13...Qe7 14.Qf6 14.Qxd5? Rxh2+! 14...Qxf6 15.exf6 R2g6 16.Rc6 Kb7 17.Rd6 Rf8 18.Rxd5 Rgxf6 19.Rd7+ Kb6 20.Rxh7 Rxf2 21.Rb1 Rg8= or he may play 12.Rfe1 R8g4! 13.e6 Qd6! 14.Qxh7+ Rg7 15.Qh3 Qf4 16.Rg1 16.e7? Rxh2+! 17.Qxh2 Qf3+ 18.Qg2 Qxg2# 16...d4! 17.Qxg2+ Rxg2 18.Kxg2 Qe4+ 19.Kf1 Qxe6 20.b3 d3! and Black has the initiative. 12...Rxh2+! 13.Kxh2 Rg2+! A pretty double rook sacrifice leading quickly to a draw by a perpetual check. 14.Kxg2 Qg4+ 15.Kh2 Qh4+ 16.Kg2 Qg4+ , etc. ½–½
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Attacker-Clever Defender-½–½2020

Did you notice the difference? Francis Lee lost the game without any significant resistance. The clever defender, however, did his best to distract the attacker's attention from persuing his king attack by offering him two pawns. He got two open lines for both of his rooks, and the hidden resource he had prepared was the surprising rook sacrifice 10. ... Rxg2+! Such a move is not so easy to find when you are forced to calculate multiple variations.

The purpose of this DVD is to explain the viewer all main methods of defence: exchanging pieces, creating a fortress, eliminating dangerous enemy pieces, escaping the danger zone with the king, improving the position of the pieces.

"Errare humanum est"

Always keep in mind that you're playing versus a human mind, not a chess engine. Error and confusion may occur at any time. Therefore rely on tactics! Sacrifice a pawn or two, or even a piece, if necessary! Confuse your opponent and compel him to calculate very precisely. He might overlook a subtlety or even make a decisive mistake. Don't forget: You can't lose anything, because your position is already lost.

Lost game or lost position?

Perhaps we should have considered this aspect a little earlier. A position is lost when each possible move at your disposal will lead to defeat. But fortunately a lost position is not identical with a lost game. Why? Because, as before mentioned, your opponent might make mistakes. In fact your game is lost only after you have resigned or after you have been mated. As long as there is a little resource left, some sort of a hidden trap, give it a try. I'll give you an example from one of my own games:

Rudolf Mandl - Platz (Badenweiler 1985)

The white queen is ready to take my pawn on g3. In fact my position was totally lost. Why?

1) White is a piece up.

2) The pawn g3 will soon fall giving the white King a safe retreat to f2.

3) To make things worse, Re4 is under attack.

4) While White is threatening both Nxe4 and Qxg3 I have not a single threat at my disposal, at least no immediate one.

5) I cannot prevent White from completing his development by Bd2 and Rae1. At least I'll be a piece down without any compensation.

It is easy to see that Black is going to lose no matter what he does. It's a typical example of a lost position. What is necessary now?

First step:

Admit that you are in a lost position

A correct evaluation of the position is absolutly essential. If you are not honest to yourself you won't find an adequate answer that might save your game.  If your position is only bad, but not lost, don't panic! In such a situation it is not necessary to sacrifice pawns or pieces or do some other crazy things. Try do defend properly instead. Here things are different. By defensive play I could have achieved nothing, e. g. 1. ... Re8? 2.Qxg3! +-.

Second step:

Try to find a hidden resource

When I had to play on in this difficult position I detected a hidden resource that might not only save, but even win the game. No, I was not out of my mind, only speculating. Suppose I were in a position to start a mating attack. How could this be accomplished?

a) Pg3 must not get lost.

b) The black queen must move from d7 to h7.

If Ng5 were somewhere else, he could no longer control h7 nor retreat to h3 blocking the h-file. Well, this is a plan that might work. But, of course, I need a little help from my opponent.

Third step:

Combine tactics with psychology

How can I prevent my opponent from playing Qxg3? How can I persuade him to remove his knight from g5? I tried to slip into my opponent's mind and think what he might think. Somehow I had to convince him that Qxg3 is bad. The only move to prevent Qxg3 is 1. ... Nxd4, because after 2.Qxg3? Ne2+ is winning. But after 2.cxd4! Rxd4 he can take g3 and I'll have only one pawn for two knights while the white King is perfectly safe. This would mean game over. What would you do?

1. ... Bxd4! A bold move and the only one that might save the game. What is the first variation my opponent is going to calculate now? The answer is easy: 2.cxd4 Nxd4 3.Qxg3 Ne2+ losing the queen. Subconsciously he is now warned and likely to think that taking the bishop and taking the pawn are bad. The next step is also easy to foresee: If cxd4 and Qxg3 are bad, then I'll simply take the rook on e4! And in fact he did so after comparatively short thinking: 2.Nxe4?

I waited for a while enjoying the situation, played 2. ... Rh1+! and he resigned. It is a mate in 4 moves: 3.Kxh1 Qh7+ 4.Qh5 Qxh5+ 5.Kg1 Qh2+ mate. Of course, by taking the pawn on g3 with his queen instead of grabbing the rook he would have won the game.

If you think that only a weak player will fall for such a trap, you'll be disappointed: In 1985 Rudolf Mandl played for SC Heidelberg in the German Bundesliga. He was not weak at all, but only incautious. He had played very well so far and could have won, if he had only spent more time on his last move. When we analyzed the game afterwards he told me that just a few seconds after he had played Rxe4? he detected the winning rook sacrifice. The ten or twenty seconds I let him wait must have been a horribly long time for him.

Do not resign prematurely

From these examples you'll have learned that it is not advisable to resign too soon.  Suppose you're playing with the white pieces a hopeless pawn ending where your opponent has two united passed pawns on c7 and b6, while you have only a pawn majority on the king side. For you it is easy to see that he can simply advance his passed pawns distracting your King in order to stop them. Afterwards he would have plenty of time to collect your king side pawns. But will he see it, too? A grandmaster certainly would, but when playing against another amateur I would take no notice of the queen side, but try to look optimistic and advance my pawns on the king side in order to create a passed pawn as soon as possible. Perhaps he will forget about his own passed pawns and focus on defending against my threats. If he wastes one move to many, I might save the game.

Study the endgames carefully

In fact a good way to avoid unnecessary losses is to know a lot about endgames. Many players focus on the openings and wonder why they make so little progress. In New York in 1924 former World Chess Champion Dr. Emanual Lasker had to defend a critical position against Edward Lasker:

Emanuel Lasker – Edward Lasker (New York 1924)

The name Emanuel Lasker will always be linked with his incredible 27 years reign on the throne of world chess. In 1894, at the age of 25, he had already won the world title from Wilhelm Steinitz and his record number of years on the throne did not end till 1921 when Lasker had to accept the superiority of Jose Raul Capablanca. But not only had the only German world champion so far seen off all challengers for many years, he had also won the greatest tournaments of his age, sometimes with an enormous lead. The fascinating question is, how did he manage that?

White's pawn on g7 will soon be lost. Isn't it time to resign? Emanuel Lasker played 1.g8Q+! Rxg8 2.Kc4 and easily drew the game. He knew that in positions like this even a rook and pawn cannot win against a single knight supported by his King.

 
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1.g8Q+! Rxg8 2.Kc4 Rg3 2...Rb8 3.Kc3 Kf5 4.Nc4 Kxf4 5.Kb2 Ke4 6.Kc3!= 3.Na4 Kf5 4.Kb4 Kxf4 5.Nb2 Ke4 6.Na4 Kd4 7.Nb2! King and knight are building sort of a fortress. This is why Black cannot win. Rf3 8.Na4! Re3 9.Nb2! Ke4 10.Na4 Kf3 11.Ka3! Ke4 12.Kb4 Kd4 13.Nb2! Rh3 14.Na4! (again keeping the black King at a distance) Kd3! 14...Kd5 15.Nb2 Kc6 16.Kc4= 15.Kxb3! 15.Nb2+? Kc2! 16.Ka3 Rc3! 17.Na4 b2+ 18.Nxc3 Kxc3 19.Ka2 Kc2-+ 15...Kd4+ and a draw was agreed, because a former World Champion can easily defend the resulting rook versus knight ending. ½–½
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Lasker,E-Lasker,E-½–½1924New York

Before you resign, consider each possible move

A good method to avoid unnecessary losses is to consider and calculate the consequences of each possible move. Here is a classical example: After 45 moves White's position looked hopeless. Do you think that he should resign?

 
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Black is threatening mate and there seems to be no saving move. Instead of resigning Znosko Borovsky came up with a surprise by playing 1.Ra8! Rxa8 After 1...Rb2? White wins by playing 2.Ra3+! 2.h8Q? Rb1# 2...Kf4 3.h8Q+- 2.h8Q! Rxh8 stalemate! ½–½
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Znosko Borovsky,E-Salwe,G-½–½1907Ostend

Carl Ahues (1883 - 1968), winner of the German Chess Championship in 1929, once played a casual game against an amateur in which he was a rook and a knight down. The following diagram will show you the critical position:

Do you think that there might be a saving move? By applying the recommended methods, you should be able to find one. Did you spot it? (If not, please be patient, I'll give you the solution a little later.)

Do not mix up a lost position with an only seemingly lost one

From these examples you'll have learned that there is a big difference between a really lost position and a position which only seems to be lost. But even the weirdest things happen time and again. In some cases chess players resigned in spite of having a winning position. They simply didn't realize what was going on. If they had followed my advice to calculate carefully the consequences of each possible move at their disposal they wouldn't have resigned, but played the winning move instead. Perhaps you have already heard of the following classical example:

Ignatz von Popiel - Georg Marco (Monte Carlo 1902)

White had just moved his Rook to d1 attacking the pinned bishop on d4 for a third time. Black therefore resigned. What would you have done instead?

The aim of this course is to help you understand how to make tactical opportunities arise as well as to sharpen your tactical vision - these selected lectures will help to foster your overall tactical understanding.

Here is another classical example:

Carl Ahues once played a casual game against an amateur. Doesn't this sound familiar? He had found a brilliant queen sacrifice to save a completely lost position:

You'll notice that this is the answer to my question from diagram 6. I guess that Mr. Ahues looked very optimistic when he sacrificed his queen, because Black, shocked by the surprising 1.Qxf6!!, resigned at once. He didn't see any move to avoid mate. If the queen is taken, Rg3+ and Bxf6+ mate will follow.

Would you have resigned, too? Or is there any saving move?

Answer: Yes, there is. Sure, after 1. ... Qe1+ or 1. ... Qd1+ White simply plays 2.Kh2!, but 1. ... Qg4! is good enough to win the game. By this move Black is not only threatening Qxg2+ mate, but also protecting g7 at the same time. White may do whatever he wants. In each case he will be at least a rook down. In spite of the saving move 1. ... Qg4! the queen sacrifice 1.Qxf6 was completely justified, because after every other move Black certainly would have won the game.

Do not calculate too selectively

Occasionally we tend to overlook certain moves because of our human "selective" approach. This is our great strength and a weakness, too. We often exclude a move like 1. ... Qg4 from our calculations, because in 999 out of 1000 cases it is bad to throw away the queen. But there are exceptions like in this instance. The seemingly lost position after 1.Qxf6!! was in fact still a winning position for Black.

Therefore always keep in mind the differences between the various sorts of "lost" positions. There might be a hidden winning move in even the worst looking cases or you may find a hidden resource with a subtle trap. If your opponent is already very optimistic, it might work and hopefully you'll be able to avoid several unnecessary losses from now on.

Finally let's take a look at the solution from the Marco game: 1. ... Bg1! threatening mate would have won the queen and the game.

But you wouldn't resign after 1. ... Bg1, would you? Suppose you're playing for your club and your opponent is in serious time trouble. If only a win will help your team, what would you do? If a draw is enough, what else would you suggest?

 
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Black resigned, because his pinned bishop on d4 was attacked by three white pieces (Nf5, Qd3 and Rd1). He did not see that he could achieve a clear advantage by playing 1...Bg1! threatening mate and Rxd3 at the same time. Is there any chance for White to draw or even win the game? Well, he can try to defend this lost position in two different ways: 2.Kxg1 If you're pl aying for your club and only a victory will help your team your only chance is 2.Rxg1 Rxd3 3.Bxd3 Bxe4 4.Nd6! hoping for Bxd3? 5.Nf7++- indeed with a winning advntage for White If your opponent avoids the trap you'll probably get an ending of rook versus queen, e. g. 2.Rxg1 Rxd3 3.Bxd3 Bxe4 4.Nd6 Bd5! 5.Nxb5! axb5 6.Bxb5 Bxg2+! 7.Rxg2 Qxb5 8.h3 , etc. 2...Rxd3 3.Bxd3 Bxe4 4.Bxe4 4.Re1? Qc5+! 4...Qxe4 5.Nd4! Qe3+ 6.Kf1 Qc3! 7.Nb3! a5 8.Nc1 Qc2 9.Re1 a4 10.Kg1 b4 11.h3 b3 12.axb3 axb3 13.Nxb3! Qxb3 This endgame is a little better than the one resulting from 2.Rxg1, because both of your pawns are on the king side. Your only hope is a rook versus queen ending without any pawns. If your opponent has only little time left (e.g. playing on 30 seconds increment) he might spoil it. By proper play the King and rook will be separated and the queen will win the rook after a series of checks attacking King and rook at the same time. 1–0
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von Popiel,I-Marco,G-1–01902Monte Carlo

Forget all about the "best" move

Let's summarize: In a lost position the main principle is not to play the theoretically "best" moves, but those which offer you the best practical chances. If such a move is identical with the "best" or "correct" move, then go ahead! But if not, choose an objectively bad one that might give you a chance to hold or sometimes even win the game. What else can you hope for in a "lost" position?

Links

New York 1924, Round 20: Fortune favours the brave


Stephan is a passionate collector of chess books and for years he has been successfully playing as an amateur for his German club. The former musician and comedian works as a freelance journalist and author in Berlin and in the Franconian village Hiltpoltstein.

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