Janowski's Classic Bishop Sacrifice - Best Of The 1910s - Janowski vs. Chajes, 1916
Dawid Janowski possesses a few ignominious honors. He lost what was likely the most lopsided World Chess Championship match ever against Emanuel Lasker by the score of 8-0 with a handful of draws. Additionally, in the 1920s, Janowski lost a famous game to the ten-year-old Sammy Reshevsky.
Despite these famous and dubious placements in chess history, Janowski was a great and exciting player who could be truly fearsome in his attacking element. In this game against Oscar Chajes, Janowski finds himself exactly in said element and seizes the chance to sacrifice a bishop on h7 and follow up with relentless attacking play and beautiful lines.
Top 10 Games of the 1910s
- #1: ????
- #2: ????
- #3: ????
- #4: ????
- #5: ????
- #6: Janowski vs. Chajes, 1916
- #7: Spielmann vs. Rubinastein, 1911
- #8: Reti vs. Flamberg, 1912
- #9: Rubinstein vs. Vidmar, 1918
- #10: Nimzowitsch vs. Baron Ungern-Sternberg, 1910
- See also: Top 10 of the 1920s, Top 10 of the 1930s, Top 10 of the 1940s, Top 10 of the 1950s, Top 10 of the 1960s, Top 10 of the 1970s, Top 10 of the 1980s, Top 10 of the 1990s, Top 10 of the 2000s, and Top 10 of the 2010s
The game opens calmly enough with typical Semi-Slav play, but Chajes falters with the natural 15...Nxc5? Janowski's bishop sacrifice with 17.Bxh7+! isn't too difficult, but it is the pretty follow-ups 20.Nd7!, 22.Ne4!, 24.g4!, and 26.Qh7+! that stand out. It is worth noting that the sturdy defense with 19...Kh8!! could have help on with surprising resilience.
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