Lesson
White to move. Main line: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. e3 Bf5 4. Nc3 e6 5. Nf3 Nd7 6. a3 Bd6 7. c5 Bc7 8. b4 e5 9. Be2 Ngf6 10. Bb2 e4 11. Nd2 h5 12. h3 Nf8 13. a4 Ng6 14. b5 Nh4 15. g3 Ng2+ 16. Kf1 Nxe3+ 17. fxe3 Bxg3 18. Kg2 Bc7 19. Qg1 Rh6 20. Kf1 Rg6 21. Qf2 Qd7 22. bxc6 bxc6 23. Rg1 Bxh3+ 24. Ke1 Ng4 25. Bxg4 Bxg4 26. Ne2 Qe7 27. Nf4 Rh6 28. Bc3 g5 29. Ne2 Rf6 30. Qg2 Rf3 31. Nf1 Rb8 32. Kd2 f5 33. a5 f4 34. Rh1 Qf7 35. Re1 fxe3+ 36. Nxe3 Rf2 37. Qxf2 Qxf2 38. Nxg4 Bf4+ 39. Kc2 hxg4 40. Bd2 e3 41. Bc1 Qg2 42. Kc3 Kd7 43. Rh7+ Ke6 44. Rh6+ Kf5 45. Bxe3 Bxe3 46. Rf1+ Bf4
The opening already contains a modern strategic conflict. Zukertort expands on the queenside with c5, b4 and b5; Steinitz answers in the center with ...e5 and then turns toward the king when White weakens the dark squares with h3 and g3.
The attack begins with 15...Ng2+ and 16...Nxe3+. Black gives up the knight, but the recapture tears the f-pawn away, removes White’s castling rights and leaves the king exposed to the bishop, rooks and queen.
The finish is not a checkmate on the board. After 46...Bf4, Black’s connected attack and extra material leave White without a useful defence, so Zukertort resigned. Steinitz had won the opening game with Black before Zukertort answered by winning the next four.
Where the official title begins
Steinitz and Zukertort were already established rivals when they met in the United States in 1886, but this match did something earlier contests had not: it was explicitly arranged to decide a world champion. The first five games were played in New York, followed by stages in St. Louis and New Orleans, with the first player to reach ten wins taking the match.
This opening game therefore matters independently of its quality. It is move one of the lineage that runs from Steinitz through every later undisputed champion. FIDE’s Historical Committee records that Steinitz won the opener with Black, then lost four games in succession before recovering to win the match 12½–7½.
Two attacks moving in opposite directions
Zukertort claims queenside space with 7.c5, 8.b4, 13.a4 and 14.b5. The pawns look impressive, but they also consume time while his king remains in the centre. Steinitz answers where the board is more urgent: 8...e5 challenges the centre and 11...h5 begins to prepare a route toward the white king.
The contrast is useful for club players because neither plan is mysterious. White is gaining territory on one wing; Black is opening lines on the other. The deciding question is not who owns more squares, but whose play reaches a concrete target first. Here the exposed king is more vulnerable than Black’s queenside structure.
What the knight sacrifice buys
After 15.g3, Steinitz checks with 15...Ng2+ and then plays 16...Nxe3+. The knight disappears after 17.fxe3, but that recapture is the point: the f-pawn is dragged away, the white king loses any hope of castling and the dark-squared bishop enters on g3. Material has been exchanged for access, time and permanent damage to the king position.
The attack is not a short forced mate. Steinitz keeps improving the pieces with ...Rh6, ...Rg6, ...Qd7 and ...Bxh3+, then brings the second rook into play. That long follow-through is more instructive than the sacrifice itself: if the remaining pieces cannot join, giving up the knight would only be an attractive mistake.
Why the game ends without checkmate
The score stops after 46...Bf4. White is not checkmated, but resignation is entirely normal: Black has a bishop and queen coordinating around the king, White’s rook is tied down, and the remaining material and threats leave no realistic recovery. A complete historical score should preserve that distinction rather than invent a mating move that was never played.
When studying the replay, pause after 14...Nh4 and decide whether you would allow 15.g3. Then pause again after 17.fxe3 and count what Black received for the knight. The exercise is not to memorize nineteenth-century opening play; it is to practise valuing king exposure, open lines and development alongside material.
15.g3: Challenges the knight, but weakens the dark squares and permits the checking sequence that exposes the king.
16...Nxe3+: A practical piece sacrifice: Black gives material to remove the f-pawn and bring the bishop and rooks into the attack.
29...Rf6 and 30...Rf3: The essential follow-up. Black uses the open files instead of searching for an immediate, unsupported finish.
A wing expansion is only useful if the opponent cannot create something more urgent against the king.
Judge a sacrifice by the lines and tempi it buys, not by the first check it produces.
Historical scores often end in resignation; the final recorded position is part of the history and should not be rewritten.
After sacrificing, bring every remaining piece into play before looking for a final combination.
Source: FIDE Historical Committee: Chess in 1886 — https://his.fide.com/2026/05/08/chess-in-the-19th-century-milestones-of-1886/
Source: PGN Mentor: 1886 World Championship — https://www.pgnmentor.com/events/WorldChamp1886/