Originally posted by no1marauder
Harry Pillsbury deserves a mention methinks.
Pillsbury too is up there but it is often forgotten what a great player he was.
Mention must also be made of Zugertort and Chigorin.
Unlike Keres, Tartakower, Rubinstein, Nimzovitch and Pilsbury both Zugertort
and Chigorin actually got shots at the World Title and came close to taking it.
Zugertort was leading by 3 clear games at one stage v Steinitz but then went
into a nose dive losing the next 4 out of 5 games.
Chigorin v Steinitz in 1892 (featuring 7 Evans Gambits W.4 D2 L1 - those olden golden days! )
Chigorin held the lead by two clear points at one point in the match and in the
very last game he was a piece up with a won game.
He then made a terrible and famous blunder allowing himself to be mated in two moves.
Here Chigorin as White played 32.Bb4?? 32...Rxh2+ and mate next move.
The move 32.Rxb7 is winning but there is a wee trick for Black in there.
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "?"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/pp2R2p/3BNkb1/3P1p2/7p/8/PP1rr2P/5R1K w - - 0 1"]
2. Rxb7 Rxe6 {Possibly the trick that Chigorin saw and wanted to avoid even though it is still winning for White. Sometimes a threat, even a ghost threat, takes over and it becomes the most important thing on the board. You cannot see past it. It is possible that Chigorin played 32.Bb4 to avoid this move.}
3. dxe6 Rxd6 4. Re1 {White glides home.}