Levitsky versus Marshall

Levitsky versus Marshall is a famous game of chess played by Stepan Levitsky and Frank Marshall. It was played in Breslau (now Wrocław) on July 20, 1912, during the master's tournament of the DSB Congress. Legend has it that after Marshall's winning last move of the game, gold coins were tossed onto the board by spectators, although this is contested by other accounts. The game is also known as "American Beauty".

After the game started with a French Defence, Levitsky made some suboptimal moves, and then a big mistake allowing Marshall to win a piece. Levitsky tried to counterattack, but Marshall's unexpected winning move put his queen—his most valuable piece—on a square where it could be captured by three of Levitsky's pieces. Legend says that this move immediately triggered a shower of gold.

It is unclear whether the legend that the winning queen move triggered a shower of gold coins is true. Marshall insisted that "the spectators ... threw gold pieces on [his] board at the conclusion of [his] brilliant win over Levitsky", but Israel Horowitz reported that "Marshall's wife, Caroline, disclaims even a shower of pennies."Eric Schiller wrote, "others say they were just paying off their wagers."

White: Stefen Levitsky   Black: Frank Marshall   Opening: French Defence (ECO C10)
Tournament: DSB Congress XVIII 1912

1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. Nc3 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. exd5 exd5 6. Be2 Nf6 7. 0-0 Be7

8. Bg5 0-0 9. dxc5 Be6 10. Nd4 Bxc5 11. Nxe6

11... fxe6 12. Bg4 Qd6 13. Bh3 Rae8 14. Qd2 Bb4

15. Bxf6 Rxf6 16. Rad1 Qc5

17. Qe2 Bxc3 18. bxc3 Qxc3

19. Rxd5

19... Nd4 20. Qh5

20... Ref8

21. Re5

21... Rh6 22. Qg5??

22... Rxh3! 23. Rc5 (see diagram) 23... Qg3!!

0–1

Bibliography

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Wikipedia