World Championship 1892: Steinitz – Chigorin
Steinitz and Chigorin returned to Havana for a rematch that stayed level to the very end — and was settled by a catastrophe. With the score tied and a piece ahead in the final game, Chigorin overlooked a mate in two, and the crown stayed with Steinitz. It was the champion's fourth successive title-match victory.
◈A rematch on level terms
Between their two Havana matches, Steinitz had published The Modern Chess Instructor and the pair had even contested a two-game cable match from the Evans Gambit. The 1892 rematch, staged in the same city, was fought to a standstill: after twenty games the score stood at 10–10 with eight wins each, so the players continued until one reached ten wins.
Game 21 was drawn, and Steinitz took game 22 to move one win from the title.
◈The blunder that ended everything
Needing to win game 23 to stay alive, Chigorin chose the aggressive King's Gambit and outplayed Steinitz into a winning position, a clean piece to the good. Then, with more than a thousand spectators expecting Steinitz's resignation, he played *32.Bb4?? — and after 32...Rxh2+* resigned at once, since 33.Kg1 Rdg2 is mate.
Missing a mate in two while a piece up, it is remembered as one of the worst blunders in World Championship history — a heartbreaking end to a match Chigorin had come within a move of winning.
◈Cross Table
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steinitz | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 12½ |
| Chigorin | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 10½ |
1 win · ½ draw · 0 loss — click a game number to replay it.
“Never was Steinitz so close to defeat as now.”