Alexander Alekhine's Best Games: Algebraic Edition

Alexander Alekhine's Best Games Alexander Alekhine Additional material by C .H.O'D. Alexander and John Nunn

Foreword by Garry Kasparov

Games selected by Raymond Keene

Algebraic Classics Series Series Editor: Dr. John Nunn GM

B. T. Batsford Ltd, London

The material in this book was first published in three volumes by G. Bell and Sons: My Best Games of Chess 1 908·1923 (1 927) My Best Games of Chess 1924·1937 ( 1 939) Alekhine's Best Games of Chess 1938·45 ( 1949) First Batsford Edition 1989 This selection of algebraicised games © B . T. Batsford 1996 Additional material © John Nunn 1996 ISBN 0 7 1 34 7970 1 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, by any means, without prior permission of the publisher.

Typeset by John Nunn and printed in Great Britain by Redwood Books, Trowbridge, Wilts for the publishers, B . T. Batsford Ltd, 4 Fitzhardinge Street, London W I H OAH

A BATSFORD CHESS BOOK Editorial Panel: Mark Dvoretsky, John Nunn, Jon Speelman General Adviser: Raymond Keene OBE

Commissioning Editor: Graham Burgess

Contents

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

Vygodchikov-Alekhine, Corr., Russia 1908-9 Alekhine-Levenfish, St. Petersburg Chess Society Winter Tournament 1912 Nirnzowitsch-Alekhine, All-Russian Masters, Vilna 1912 Alekhine-Duras, Masters' Quadrangular, St. Petersburg 1913 Znosko-Borovsky-Alekhine, Masters' Quadrangular, St. Petersburg 1913 De Roszynski-Alekhine, Paris 1913 Mieses-Alekhine, Scheveningen 1913 Alekhine-Nimzowitsch, All-Russian Masters, St. Petersburg 1914 Alekhine-Marshall, St Petersburg International 1914 Alekhine-Tarrasch, St. Petersburg International 1914 Alekhine-Fahrni, Mannheim 1914 Alekhine-Isakov, Moscow Championship 1919 Rabinovich-Alekhine, All-Russian Masters', Moscow 1920 Alekhine-Teichmann, Match (2) Berlin 1921 Selezniev-Alekhine, Triberg 1921 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Triberg 1921 Alekhine-Sterk, Budapest 1921 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Budapest 1921 Steiner-Alekhine. Budapest 1921 Alekhine-Rubinstein, The Hague 1921 Tarrasch-Alekhine, Pistyan 1922 lohner-Alekhine, Pistyan 1922 Alekhine-Wolf, Pistyan 1922 Torres-Alekhine, Exhibition Game, Seville 1922 Alekhine-Yates, London 1922 Bogoljubow-Alekhine, Hastings 1922 Alekhine-Reti, Vienna 1922 Alekhine-Slimisch, Exhibition Game, Berlin 1923 Griinfeld-Alekhine, Karlsbad 1923 Alekhine-Rubinstein, Karlsbad 1923 Alekhine-Maroczy, Karlsbad 1923 Alekhine-Chajes, Karlsbad 1923 Alekhine-Reti, New York 1924 Alekhine-lanowski, New York 1924 Alekhine-Opocensky, Paris 1925

8 10 12 14 16 19 20 23 25 27 30 31 34 37 39 44

46 49 51 54 58 60 62 65 67 70 73 77 78 82 86 87 92 95 97

36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43

44

45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78

Tarraseh-Alekhine, Baden-Baden 1925 Reti-Alekhine, Baden-Baden 1925 Alekhine-Treybal, Baden-Baden 1925 Sir G. T homas-Alekhine, Baden-Baden 1925 Alekhine-Marshall, Baden-Baden 1925 Alekhine-Sehwartz, Blindfold Exhibition, London 1926 Rubinstein-Alekhine, Semmering 1926 Rubinstein-Alekhine, Dresden 1926 Euwe-Alekhine, Second Exhibition Game, Amsterdam, 1926 Alekhine-Euwe, Third Exhibition Game, Amsterdam 1926 Alekhine-Nimzowitseh, New York 1927 Alekhine-Marshall, New York, 1927 Alekhine-Tartakower, Keeskemet 1927 Kmoeh-Alekhine, Keeskemet 1927 Capablanea-Alekhine, Buenos Aires Weh (1) 1927 Capablanea-Alekhine, Buenos Aires Weh (11) 1927 Capablanea-Alekhine, Buenos Aires Weh (21) 1927 Alekhine-Capablanea, Buenos Aires Weh (32) 1927 Alekhine-Capablanea, Buenos Aires Weh (34) 1927 Marshall-Alekhine, Exhibition Game, New York 1929 Alekhine-Steiner, Bradley-Beach 1929 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Wiesbaden Weh (1) 1929 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Wiesbaden Weh (5) 1929 Bogoljubow-Alekhine, Wiesbaden Weh (8) 1929 Bogoljubow-Alekhine, Amsterdam Weh (22) 1929 Alekhine-Nimzowitseh, San Remo 1930 Alekhine-Maroczy, San Remo 1930 Alekhine-Tartakower, San Remo 1930 Ahues-Alekhine, San Remo 1930 Alekhine-Kmoch, San Remo 1930 Stithlberg-Alekhine, Hamburg tt 1930 Alekhine-Andersen, Prague tt 1931 Alekhine-Nirnzowitseh, Bled 1931 Pire-Alekhine, Bled 1931 Alekhine-Flohr, Bled, 1931 Alekhine-Maroczy, Bled 1931 Alekhine-Winter, London 1932 Alekhine-Koltanowski, London 1932 Alekhine-Tartakower, London 1932 Alekhine-Sultan Khan, Berne 1932 Alekhine-Flohr, Berne 1932 Alekhine-Steiner, Pasadena 1932 Alekhine-Kimura, Blindfold Exhibition on 15 boards, Tokyo 1933

99 100 103 105 107 109

III

113 115 118 121 124 125 127 129 131 136 138 142 145 149 151 152 154 156 158 160 164 167 169 171 173 175 176 178 180 183 185 187 189 191 192 194

79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118

Alekhine-Mikenas, Folkestone tt 1933. Znosko-Borovsky-A1ekhine, Paris 1933 A1ekhine-Bogo1jubow, Baden-Baden Weh (2) 1934 Bogoljubow-Alekhine, PforzheimWeh (9) 1934 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, BayreuthWeh (16) 1934 Bogoljubow-Alekhine, Kissingen Weh (17) 1934 Bogo1jubow-Alekhine, BerlinWeh (25) 1934 A1ekhine-Em. Lasker, Zurich 1934 Alekhine-Euwe, Amsterdam Weh (1) 1935 A1ekhine-Euwe, AmsterdamWeh (3) 1935 Euwe-Alekhine, The Hague Weh (4) 1935 A1ekhine-Euwe, Utrecht Weh (7) 1935 Ahues-Alekhine, Bad Nauheim 1936 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Dresden 1936 Alekhine-Frydman, Podebrad 1936 A1ekhine-Foltys, Podebrad 1936 Winter-Alekhine, Nottingham 1936 A1ekhine-Alexander, Nottingham 1936 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Nottingham 1936 Alekhine-Fine, Hastings, 1937 Alekhine-Reshevsky, Kemeri 1937 Alekhine-Fine, Kemeri 1937 A1ekhine-Bogoljubow, Quadrangular Tournament, Bad Nauheim 1937 Alekhine-Sil.misch, Quadrangular Tournament, Bad Nauheim 1937 Alekhine-Euwe, Rotterdam Weh (2) 1937 Alekhine-Euwe, HaarlemWeh (6) 1937 Alekhine-Euwe, Leiden Weh (8) 1937 A1ekhine-Euwe, ZwolleWeh (14) 1937 A1ekhine-Euwe, DelftWeh (22) 1937 A1ekhine-Euwe, Rotterdam Weh (24) 1937 Euwe-Alekhine, The Hague Weh (25) 1937 Alekhine-Book, Margate 1938 Alekhine-Euwe, AVRO 1938 Alekhine-Flohr, AVRO 1938 A1ekhine-Capablanea, AVRO 1938 A1ekhine-Keres, Salzburg 1942 Keres-Alekhine, Salzburg 1942 Alekhine-Keres, Munich 1942 Alekhine-Junge, Krakow 1942 A1ekhine-Junge, Prague 1942

196 199 202 204 207 210 212 215 216 218 220 224 227 229 233 235 238 240 242 245 248 252 255 258 261 263 266 268 271 276 279 282 284 287 289 291 294 296 298 299

Foreword by Garry Kasparov

Ask any chess fan to give a short list of his favourite games and it is sure to in­ clude games by Alekhine. Perhaps Reti-Alekhine, from Baden-Baden 1925, or Bogoljubow-Alekhine, Hastings 1922. These two games are generally reckoned to be amongst the most brilliant on record. But Alekhine's reputation was not built solely on the wonderful quality of his games, nor, simply, on his longevity as World Champion (he held the title from 1927-35 and again from 1937-46, when he died as World Champion, sadly destitute, in Portugal). It was also Alekhine's outstanding diligence as an annotator of his own masterpieces which has helped to establish his place in the history of chess. No serious student of chess can af­ ford to ignore Alekhine's notes to his games, and the most important of these are assembled here in this volume. Alekhine's games and writings exerted a great influence on me from a very early age. I wished to emulate the dynamic style of the first, great, Russian-born champion, who wrested the crown from Capablanca in 1927. I fell in love with the rich complexity of his ideas at the chessboard. Alekhine's attacks came sud­ denly, like destructive thunderstorms that erupted from a clear sky. Max Euwe , who briefly took the world title from Alekhine between 1935 and 1937, wrote of him: Alekhine is a poet, who creates a work of art out of something which would hardly inspire another man to send a picture postcard. The wilder and more in­ volved a position the more beautiful the conception he can evolve. A similar view was expressed by Dr. Emanuel Lasker: Alekhine loves making experiments... delighted to think that his own skill and his own imagination are the cause of all that what happens on the board. This style of Alekhine's was what I admired and wanted to develop in my own games. I had a natural feeling for it. I hope readers of this book will feel similarly inspired by Alekhine's masterpieces.

Garry Kasparov

Baku 1989

Introduction by John Nunn

I first came across Alekhine's collection of games when I was about 11 years old. Up to that point, I had been quite successful in junior events and I had the feeling that chess wasn't really a very difficult game. After playing over all 220 games in the first two volumes (covering the periods 1905-23 and 1924-37), I thought "How can anyone play like this? It's just impossible to see so much during a game". I was particularly struck by his game against Rubinstein from Semmer­ ing, 1926 (game 42 in this book), and the move IS...ltJx12! in particular. It seemed incredible that there might be a stronger move than the obvious recapture on c3, but after having checked the analysis several times, I had to admit that taking on 12 was a forced win. But how did this move even enter Alekhine's head? Today, finding this combination doesn't seem so totally impossible as it did then, but it remains an enormously impressive game. In my opinion Alekhine's special gen­ ius lay in his ability to discover unexpected twists in positions where a lesser player would have made an automatic, conventional move. Other examples of such twists, in addition to the IS....!bxf2 mentioned above, are the move 19 'fIc7! in game 31 and the idea of IS dxe5 and 19 'i'f4! in game 47. In view of my early acquaintance with Alekhine 's books, I was excited when the idea arose of producing an algebraic edition of the cream of Alekhine's games. This gradually became a major project. Apart from the conversion to alge­ braic, I have corrected a surprisingly large number of notational errors in the original books, rearranged the games in chronological order, edited the text and checked the analysis. I have not commented on minor flaws in the analysis, but major errors and omissions are pointed out in footnotes (except for game lIS, where the new analysis was so extensive that it had to be embedded in the text). These terse footnotes should be studied carefully, as in many cases they indicate fundamental reassessments of famous games, for example Reti-Alekhine, Baden-Baden 1925 and Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Nottingham 1936. Some readers may find it surprising that so many major analytical errors exist in Alekhine's notes-after having worked on this book, my respect for Alekhine's games has increased, but I have come to recognise that his annotations are influenced by the "I won the game, so I must have been winning all the way through" syndrome (which, it must be said, afflicts many annotators). A few additional points: games 1-109 were originally annotated by Alekhine himself-the remaining games were annotated by C.H.O'D. Alexander. All foot­ notes are mine, except where they are marked (GB), in which case they were writ­ ten by Graham Burgess. Alekhine uses the symbols '±' and '=F' to mean 'clear advantage for White' and 'clear advantage for Black' respectively. The games in this book represent the distillation of the life work of one of the greatest chess geniuses of all time. As I discovered myself, it is possible to learn a great deal from them.

8 Corr., Russia 1908-9 Game l Vygodchikov - Alekhine Corr., Russia 1 908-9 Ruy Lopez e5 e4 lDc6 lM.3 a6 3 J. b5 ll)f6 4 J.a4 5 0-0 J.cS This move, suggested in 1 908 by the Danish master MlIlller, is in my opinion much better than its reputa­ tion as, up to the present, it has in no way been refuted and the few games in which it has been adopted rather tend to militate in its favour. 6 lDxe5 White could also play 6 c3 to which the best reply is 6 . . . J. a7 as in a game Yates-Alekhine (Hastings 1 922), which continued as follows: 7 d4 (interesting would be 7 Ite1 lDg4 ! 8 d4 exd4 9 cxd4 lDxd4 ! 10 lDxd4 1i'h4 ! with a winning attack) 7 ...lDxe4 8 1i'e2 f5 9 dxe5 0-0 10 lDbd2 d5 1 1 exd6 lDxd6 1 2 J. b3+ Wh8 1 3 lDc4 f4 14 lDce5 lDxe5 15 lDxe5 1i'g5 1 6 J. d2 J. h3 1 7 J. d5 Itae8 1 8 Itfe 1 Ite6 ! 1 9 1i' d3, and now Black, who played the surprise move 19 . . .J. e3 !?, finally obtained only a draw, whereas he could have won a pawn simply by 1 9 ... J. xg2 followed by 20 ... Itxe5 . lDxe5 6 lDxe4 ! 7 d4 1

2

8 Ite1 After 8 dxc5 lDxc5 91i'd4 (9 1i'd5 is similar) 9 . . . 1i'e7! 1 0 J. f4 f6 (Dr. Groen-Alekhine, Portsmouth 1 923) White has insufficient compensation for his pawn. If 8 1i'e2 (as in Takacs-Alekhine, Vienna 1 922), then 8 . . . J. e7 9 1i'xe4 lDg6 10 c4 0-0 1 1 lDc3 f5 with good attacking chances. The continuation of this interesting game was 12 1i'f3 lDh4 1 3 1i'd3 b5 14 J. b3 Wh8 1 5 J. f4 lDg6 1 6 J. d2 J. b7 1 7 Itfe1 bxc4 1 8 J. xc4 d5 19 J. b3 c5 ! 20 dxc5 d4 2 1 lDa4 J. e4 22 1i'c4 J. g5 23 1i'c 1 J. xd2 24 1i'xd2 lDh4 25 f3 J.xf3 26 g3, and now B lack could have won at once by the sacrificial combination 26 ...f4 27 gxh4 1i'xh4, for if28 J. c2, then 28 ... d3 ! 29 J. xd3 l%ad8 is decisive. J.e7 8 9 Itxe4 lDg6 0-0 10 lDc3 J.d6! 11 lDd5 It was most important to preserve this bishop. Now that B lack has overcome most of the opening diffi­ culties, he must in the sequel obtain at least an equal game. 12 1i'f3 To 1 2 c4 Black had the powerful 1 reply 12 .. .f5 1 3 Ite1 c5 ! . 12 f5 But here this advance is prema­ ture. White gains an important tempo ...

However, at the end of this line 14 dxcS .i.xcs I S b4 .i.a7 l6 1i'hS, threatening the deadly 17 .tgS, gives White a near-decisive advantage, since Black must also take into account the possibility of .i.b3 followed by cS. Therefore 1 2 c4 should be met by 1 2 ... bS, with approximate equality.

Vygodchikov - Alekhine 9 by playing his light-squared bishop to b3 and B lack loses the chance of ... c5. The correct plan was 12 ... b5 1 3 R.b3 R.b7, with very good chances for B lack. �h8 13 R.b3! Evidently the rook could not be captured because of mate in four: 1 4 !iJe 7 + c;t> h 8 1 5 tLlxg6+ bxg6 1 6 'iWh3+ 'iWh4 17 'iWxh4#. 14 .!:te2 f4 In preparation for 1 5 ... c6. If Black plays 14 ... 'iWh4, then 15 h3 'iWxd4 1 6 c3 'iWc5 1 7 R.e3 'iWc6 1 8 R.d4, with a strong attack) . 15 c4 c6 Aiming for the rook sacrifice on move 1 7 . 1 5 . . . c5 would be met by 1 6 R.c2, a move which i s threatened in any event, and 1 5 ... 'iWg5 16 c5 tLlh4 would be insufficient because of 1 7 'iWg3 ! . R.b8 1 6 c5 17 tLlb6 (D)

B

d5! ! 17 This rook sacrifice i s absolutely sound, and White would have been better advised not to accept it and to play instead 1 8 tLlxc 8 ! (not 1 8 R.c2 immediately because of 18 ... 'iWg5 ! ) 1 8 ... 'iWxc8 1 9 R.c2 ! with a slight ad­ vantage. It is easy to understand that White was tempted to capture the rook, considering that the strong black at­ tack which follows was not obvious. 18 �a8 tLlh4 19 'iWc3 Naturally not 1 9 'iWh5 because of 19 . . . g6 20 'iWh6 tLlf5 followed by 2 1 . . .tLlxd4. If 19 'iWd3 ! there would have been interesting complications. The probable line of play would have been: 1 9 . . . R.f5 20 'iWc3 (if 20 'iWd l , then Black replies 20 . . . 'iWg5 ! ) 2 0 .. .f 3 2 1 .!:te3 ! (if 2 1 gxf3, then 2 1 . .. 'iWf6 22 f4 R.g4) 2 1 . . .fxg2 22 f3 ! 'iW g5 ! (threatening . . . R.xh2+) 23 .!:te5 R.xe5 ! 24 R.xg5 R.xd4+ 25 'iWxd4 tLlxf3+ 26 c;t>xg2 tLlxd4 27 tLlb6 R.e4+ 28 c;t>g3 l:tf3+ 29 �h4 R.f5 ! and mate in a few moves. The text move in some ways fa­ cilitates Black's attack, as he now has a serious threat based on a queen sacrifice. 19 f3 20 .!:te5 Compulsory. After the plausible reply 20 l:te3 the continuation would •••

•••

In this line Black's queen doesn't need to be banished to the queenside; 1 6 .. 'ifh4 is a big improvement, when White must prove that he has enough compensation for the pawn. .

10 St. Petersburg Chess Society Winter Tournament 1912 be 20 ... 1Wg5 ! 21 g 3 �xg3 ! 22 hxg3 1Wxg3+ 2 3 fxg3 f2+ 24 �f1.th3+ and Black wins. �xe5 20 21 dxe5 tDxg2! Threatening ... 1Wh4-h3. 22 'ti'd4 'ti'd7 Black could also win by 22 ... tDf4 ! 23 �xf4 1Wh4 ! , but the variation adopted is equally decisive. 23 e6 A desperate move, but after 23 t;Ph 1 1Wh3 White would have no de­ fence against 24 ... tDel!. 'ti'xe6 23 24 �d2 'ti'g6! Stronger than 24 . . . 1Wh3 25 �c3 :'g8 26 1We5 tDf4 27 1Wg5, and Black cannot play 27 . . . �g4 because of 28 �xg7+ ! with perpetual check!. 25 �c2 Black wins after 25 'it>h l tDel or 25..tfl �h3. 25 'ti'xc2 26 'it>hl 'ti'g6 27 :'gl The only resource. 27 �3 28 tDb6 (D) 28 tDf4! This manoeuvre, prepared by B l ack's last few moves, is immedi­ ately decisive, for after the queen exchange White's game remains ab­ solutely without resource. 29 :'xg6 �g2+ 30 :'xg2 fxg2+ 31 'it>gl tDe2+

B

•••

•••

•••

1

In this line '1J

.•.

32 'it>xg2 0-1

tDxd4

Game 2 Alekhine - Levenftsh St. Petersburg Chess Society Winter Tournament 1912 Queen's Pawn Game c5 1 d4 The advance of this pawn is rightly considered inferior even when prepared by 1 . . .tDf6 2 li)f3. On the first move it constitutes, in my opin­ ion, a grave positional error, for White at once obtains a great posi­ tional advantage by simply advanc­ ing the centre pawns. 2 d5 tDf6 d6 3 tDc3 g6 4 e4 If instead of the text move B lack replies with 4 . . .e6 White's answer would be 5 �c4, and the sequel would not be satisfactory for Black because of the weakness at d6. 5 f4

1D forces instant resignation.

Alekhine - Levenfish 1 1 Already threatening 6 e5. tDbd7 S 6 tDf3 If now 6 . . . �g7 then 7 e5 dxe5 8 fxe5 tDg4 9 e6 tDde5 10 �b5+. This is why Black plays: 6 a6 dxeS 7 eS 8 fxeS tDg4 9 e6! This move demolishes Black's variation. tDdeS 9 10 �f4 (D) •••

B

1 2 �c4! This is preferable to the immedi­ ate capture of the f7 -pawn, a capture which the text move renders much more threatening. 12 fxe6 'i6 13 dxe6 The alternative was 1 3 . . . 'fixd l + 1 4 l:txdl �g7 1 5 �c7 0-0 1 6 �b6 and White wins a pawn, at the same time maintaining all his pressure. 1 3 . . . �b6, threatening two pawns at the same time, is shown to be insuf­ ficient by an unexpected sacrificial combination. 14 fie2! The initial move. 14 'ixb2 (D) At first sight there appears to be little danger in this capture, for the reply 15 �d2 would be frustrated by 15 . . . tDh5 16 �e5 �h6+ 17 �d3 �xe6 18 �xe6 l:td8+, but White had a different scheme in mind. •••

•••

tDxf3+ 10 Or 1 0 . . . �g7 1 1 �e2 tDxf3+ 1 2 gxf3 tDf6 1 3 exf7+ �xf7 1 4 0-0-0, with an overwhelming advantage for White! . After the text move Black prob­ ably hopes for the reply 1 1 �xf3 upon which he would obtain a play­ able game by 1 1 . . .fxe6 ! . 1 1 gxf3! tDf6 ..•

w

In this line 1 2 ... .txc3+ 1 3 bxc3 1i'xd5 is more testing, although 14 fxg4! 'it'x h 1 1 5 0-0-0 1i'c6 1 6 exf7+ �xf7 1 7 .tg2 gives White an enormous attack. White could also play I I h3ibxf3+ 1 2 1i'xf3ibf6 1 3 exf7+ �xf7 14 .tc4, which gives him a clear advantage at no risk.

12 All-Russian Masters, Vilna 1912 15 lC!b5! This attack by the knight (which cannot be captured due to I S . . . axbS 1 6 �xbS+ rJi>dS 17 ': d l +) decides the issue in a few moves. B lack has nothing better than to accept the sac­ rifice and to capture both rooks. 15 �xal+ 16 'if2 �xhl 17 tDc7+ 'itd8 �d7 18 �d2+ 1-0 19 exd7 The threat is 20 lC!e6#, and if 1 9 . . . eS ( 1 9 . .lC!xd7 . 20 �e6), then White replies 20 lC!e6+ �7 21 dS�+ ':xdS 22 �xdS+ �f7 23 lC!xfS+ �g7 24 �e7#. Game 3 Nimzowitsch - Alekhine All-Russian Masters, Vilna 1912 Queen's Pawn Game d5 1 d4 c5 2 lC!f3 lC!c6 3 �f4 lbf6 4 e3 Here 4 ... 'i!t'b6 would be premature on account of S lC!c3. 5 lC!c3 Now, however, this move is out of place. The usual line of play, S c3 followed by 6 �d3, is certainly better. �g4 5 ... Equally satisfactory would be S ... a6 followed by 6 ...�g4. e6 6 �b5 �h5 7 h3 This move gives White the chance to weaken the enemy position on

both wings. B lack had two ways of obtaining a good game, 7 ... �xf3 S �xf3 a6 9 �xc6+ bxc6 and 7 ... cxd4 S exd4 �hS 9 g4 �g6 10 lC!eS �b6 1 1 a4 �b4. 8 g4 �g6 9 lC!e5 �b6 Of course not 9 .. JlcS, because of 10lC!xc6 followed by 1 1 �a6. How­ ever, 9 ...�cS would have been more prudent. 10 a4! Very strong, as B lack has no time to continue 10 . . . cxd4 followed by 1 1 ...�b4, because of 1 1 as. There­ fore he is compelled to yield the bS­ square to his opponent. as 10 ... 1 1 h4 h5 This move is relatively better than 1 1 ... h6, as it forces White to make an immediate decision on the kingside. 12 lDxg6 fxg6 (D)

13 gxh5 The variation 1 3 gslC!gS 14 �d3 �f7 I S lth3 looks stronger than it really is, as Black can resist the at­ tack by bringing his gS-knight to e7 and then fS . The text move makes

Nimzowitsch - Alekhine 13 things easy for Black. His g7-pawn, it is true, is weakened, but, on the other hand, he obtains excellent pros­ pects in the centre. 13 gxh5 14 "it'e2 0-0-0 The king's position on the queen­ side will be quite safe as the white bishop can easily be eliminated. 15 O-O-O! (D) A very pretty trap. •••

Better would be 17 i.xc6 bxc6 1 8 l1hg l l1d7, but i n this case also Black's game is superiorl . 17 c4! Both dislodging the bishop and initiating a combined attack on both wings. 18 i.g6 Naturally not 1 8 lbb5 cxd3 1 9 lbxd6+ 'Oifd7, followed b y . . .'Oifxd6. 18 lbe7 19 l1hgl 1i'b4 l1b6! (D) 20 'Oifd2 •••

B w

15 i.d6 Black discovers in time the oppo­ nent's subtle plan: 15 ... cxd4 16 exd4 lbxd4 1 7 lhd4 1Wxd4 1 8 1Wxe6+ lbd7 19 "it'c6+ ! ! bxc6 20 i.a6#. The text move eliminates all danger. l1xd6 16 i.xd6 17 i.d3 White has insufficiently weighed the consequences of this move; in particular, he has not realised that the knight will have no time to settle down at b5, and consequently B lack will obtain an important advantage. •••

An amusing reply to White's trap on the 1 5 th move. B lack in his turn threatens mate by a queen sacrifice, a Roland for an Oliver ! 2 1 ...lbxg6 22 l1xg6 1Wxb2 23 l1bl "it'xc3+ 24 'Oifxc3 lbe4#. In addition the text move allows the queen to co-operate in a decisive action against the ex­ posed g6-bishop. 21 f3 Evading the threat. 11h6 21 •••

17 .id3 is a really awful move, which not only allows B lack to attack b2. but also results in the almost immediate trapping of the bishop!

14 Masters' Quadrangular, St. Petersburg 1913 22 i.n Hapless bishop, with only one square on which to shelter ! 22 �5 23 ..2 1!t'e7! 24 �b5 A desperate move. After 24 i.g6 Black would win immediately by 24 ... �xh4 since 25 "xh4 loses the queen after 25 . . . �e4+. In giving up the bishop, White has a vague hope of complications resulting from the queen reaching b8. 24 25 lDa7+ 26 'fi'b8 B l ack could have continued with the simple 26 . . . "e8. But his objec­ tive, which he indeed succeeds in achieving, is the capture of the white queen. 27 lIg5 �e8 28 lIdgl l:[f6 Not, of course, 28 . . ...xf3 because of 29 l:txg7+. 29 f4 g6 30 �c1 1!t'h7 1!t'f7 31 c3 1!t'e7 32 �bl Taking advantage of the fact that White cannot capture the black g6pawn because of the resulting pin by 33 ..... h7. 33 d7 ! 8 "ikxa8 �xf3 9 gxf3 "ikxf3 1 0 A g l "ikxe4+ 1 1 'it>d l "ikf3+ and Black has at least a draw, as White cannot play 1 2 'iltc2 on ac­ count of 1 2 ... ltJb4+ 1 • ltJh6(D) 6

7 �xf7+ After 7 "ikxb7 Ab8 8 "ika6 Ab6 9 "ika4 �e7 followed by ... 0-0, Black's lead in development would be suffi­ cient compensation for the pawn sacrificed. ltJxf7 7 8 ltJxf7 'lixn 'iltd7! 9 'lixb7 The sacrifice of the exchange is entirely sound and yields B lack a strong counter-attack. 'ifc4! 10 'lixa8 1 1 f3 (D) Evidently forced.

B

�xf3! 11 By this unexpected combination B l ack secures the advantage. Incor­ rect would be, however, 1 1 . . .ltJd4 owing to 12 d3 "ikxd3 13 cxd4 �xf3 1 4 ltJc3!. 12 gxf3 ltJd4! 13 d3 This move loses at once. White's only chance was perhaps 1 3 cxd4, •••

w

Indeed, 12 �el iLld4 13 ti'xf3 iLlxf3+ 14 �fl iLlxgl 15 �xgl e4 gives Black a clear advantage.

20 Scheveningen 1913 leading to the following variation: 1 3 ... 'iWxc l + 14 cJo>e2 'iWxh l IS dS 'iWxh2+ 1 6 cJo>d3 'iW gIl 17 'iW c6+ cJo>d8, but Black's position is manifestly superior. 'iVxd3 13 ... 14 cxd4 J.e7! On this move White has the sad choice between the loss of the queen or mate. He prefers the latter. 15 'iVxhS J.h4# Game 7 Mieses - Alekhine Scheveningen 1913 Centre Game eS 1 e4 exd4 2 d4 3 'iVxd4 It is quite evident that such dis­ placements of the queen at an early stage in the opening are not likely to reap any advantage. However, Black is compelled to play with pre­ cision, in order to give his opponent no time to start an attack against the kingside or even in the centre. For, no doubt, the white queen installed at g3 (via e3) would exercise pres­ sure on Black's kings ide if he even­ tually castles on that side. lDc6 3 J.e7 4 'iVe3 Black could also have played 4 ... lDf6 for the following variation is mere bluff and eventually turns to B l ack's advantage: S eS lDg4 611e4 dS ! 7 exd6+ J. e6 8 J. a6 (or 8 dxc7 'iWdl + ! ) 8�.'iWxd6 9 J. xb7 'iWb4+ ! 1 0 'iWxb4 lDxb4. ..•

5 J.d2 ttJr6 0-0 6 lDc3 dS! 7 0-0-0 This advance, which at first sight appears somewhat risky in view of the position of White's d I-rook, will on the contrary allow Black to ex­ tract the maximum return from his advanced development. 7 . ..d6 would result in almost a closed game and White would find time to complete his neglected development. S exdS lDxdS 9 itg3 J.h4! Providing without loss of time against the threat 10 J. h6. Black's advantage is now evident. J.e6 10 ito The sacrifice initiated by this move is both full of promise and de­ void of risk, for B lack will have an equivalent in material for his queen. It would, however, have been more logical to adopt the following vari­ ation : 10 . . . lDxc3 1 1 J. xc3 'iWgS 1 2 J. d2 (else 1 2. . .J. g4) 1 2 . . . 'iWcS ! 1 3 J.e3 'iWaS , which would have given Black a dominating position without such complications as defy exact calculation. 1 1 J.e3! (D) Calling for the subsequent com­ bination, for 1 1 . . .lDce7 would be bad because of 1 2 lDxdS J. xdS 1 3 ithS and 14 c4. lDxc3! 11 B l ack obtains rook, knight and pawn for his queen while maintain­ ing the superior posi tion. The sacri­ fice is therefore fully justified. Much less strong would be 1 1 . . .lDcb4 1 2 •••

Mieses - Alekhine 2 1 Now White seems t o b e able to disentangle his forces, but neverthe­ less Black's position still remains very strong, even after the unavoid­ able exchange. 20 .txf3 21 11ixf3 �eS 22 11ie2 (D)

a3 �xc3 13 l:txdS �ba2+ 14 'id2 � b l + 15 'iel , and the two black knights would find themselves in a tragicomic situation. 12 l:txd8 �xa2+ l:taxd8 13 'ibl 14 .te2 �ab4 15 �h3 l:tre8 Essential as a basis for all the sub­ sequent combinations. 16 �4 1 6 l:td 1 .td5 1 7 'i .tf6 was no better, as Black threatens I S ... .te4. 16 .trs 17 l:tc1 g6 B l ack is preparing the combina­ tion ... �xc2 followed by . . . �b4, which at present would not be suffi­ cient, e.g. 17 . . . �xc2 I S l:txc2 �b4 19 �d3 .te4 20 �xb4 ! ' 1 8 g4 In order to exchange the dangerous black bishop. .te4 18 .tr6 19 11ih3 20 .tf3 •.•

B

It is clear that 22 'Wxb7 l:tbS would entail a rapid disintegration through the combined action of the rook and the f6-bishop. 22 ... cSt A very important move which puts renewed vigour into Black's at­ tack. White in particular threatened to force further simplifications by 23 c3 �bd3 24 �xd3 �xd3 25 l:td l . B y his last move Black frustrates this plan, and, if necessary, aims at posting a knight at d 3 , supported by . . . c4. As White cannot reply 23 .txc5, because of 23 ... �ed3 24 'WxeS+ l:txeS 25 �xd3 �c6, weak­ ening his right wing!, he has to try a

I am not sure what Alekhine means here. The ending seems to be dead drawn after 26 l:d I , for example.

22 Scheveningen 1913 counter-attack which B lack allows him no time to develop. c4 23 ':'gt 24 h4 lDd5 The renewed complications re­ sulting from this move required the most exact calculations. l:1xd5 25 lDxd5 26 f4 26 g5 i.g7 27 ':'dl ':'bS 28 i.d4 ':'e6 is also to Black's advantage). lDd3! 26 B lack takes immediate advantage of the weakening of the white bishop resulting from 26 f4. 27 'if3 If White had played 27 cxd3 the sequel would have been 27 .. . l:1xd3 28 l:1g3 i.d4 ! 29 'ic2 (not 29 'ixd3 cxd3 30 i.xd4 l:1el + 3 1 c2 dxe l� ! . It i s puzzling that, i f this line was indeed Alekhine's intention, he did not give it to its conclusion. 4 However, after 3 1 'ife4 ! I see no win for Black, as the queen is ready to take the d3-pawn after 3 1 . . . .i.c3 or 3 1 ... :8c2, while 3 1 ... d2 may be met by 32 'ie2.

Alekhine - Nimzowitsch 23 This analysis shows the correct­ ness of the sacrifice initiated on move 1 1 , and the soundness of the final combination. l:tcc2! 31 g5 l:tbl+ 32 'it>el �c3+ 33 'itdl 0-1 Game 8 Alekhine Nimzowitsch All-Russian Masters, St. Petersburg 1 914 Ruy Lopez -

e5 1 e4 2 lbn lbc6 3 �b5 a6 4 �a4 lbf6 5 0-0 lbxe4 The most analysed variation of the Ruy Lopez. In the latest practical tests the results are somewhat in White's favour, and it occurs less and less in master play. b5 6 d4 7 �b3 d5 8 dxe5 �e6 �e7 9 c3 10 lbbd2 After 10 �e3 0-0 I 1 lbbd2 lbxd2 1 2 'ili'xd2 lba5 Black has a satisfac­ tory game. Less recommendable, however, are 1 1 .. .f5 12 exf6 lbxf6 1 3 lbg5 ! and 1 1 . . .�g4 1 2 lbxe4 dxe4 1 3 'ili'd5 ! . lbc5 10 B etter would have been 10 . . . 0-0 1 1 �c2 f5 1 2 exf6 lbxf6, although in this case also White's game is some­ what preferable after 1 3 lbb3 (not •••

13 lbg5 because of 13 . . .�g4 14 f3 �c8 !). 11 �c2 �g4 1 1 . . . 0-0 would be insufficient because ofBogoljubow's ingenious innovation in his game against Reti (Stockholm 1920): 1 2 lbd4 ! lbxe5 1 3 f4 �g4 14 �e l �h4 1 5 'ili'xe5 l:te8 1 6 lbc6 �d7 1 7 f5 ! and White must win. 12 l:tel 0-0 13 lbb3 lbe4 (D) If 1 3 . . . lbe6 (Janowski-Lasker, Paris 1 9 1 3 ) White obtains a fine at­ tacking game after 14 'ili'd3. The text move is an innovation which is re­ futed in the present game.

w

14 �f4! Not 14 �xe4 dxe4 15 'ili'xd8 l:taxd8 16 l:txe4 l:td 1 + 17 lbe 1 �f5 1 8 l:te2 �d3 19 l:te3 �g5, with ad­ vantage to B lack, whereas with the text move White threatens to win a pawn. 14 f5 15 exf6 lbxf6 lbe4 16 �d3 This pawn offer will ultimately prove to be insufficient, but Black's

24 All-Russian Masters, St. Petersburg 1914 position was already beset with diffi­ culties. If, for instance, 1 6 . . . �h5 then 17 lbh4 ! with a great positional superiority. 'it'd7 17 i.xc7 Obviously Black cannot afford 17 .. :iWxc7 because of 1 8 'iWxd5+. 18 lbe5! lbxe5 19 �xe5 �h4 It is clear that Black cannot play 1 9 .. Jhf2 because of 20 l'txe4 . 20 i.g3 �xg3 21 hxg3 .ti5 At first sight this move seems to create difficulties for White, for in­ stance after 22 'iWe2, the manoeuvre 22...�g4 would force the white queen back to d3. 22 'it'd4! This definitely ensures an advantage, since the threat of . . . lbxg3 by B l ack is illusory, e.g. 22 . . . lbxg3 23 lbc5 �d6 24 �b3 ! and wins. Conse­ quently Black is now forced to look after his weak point at d5. ltfd8 22 22 .. J:tad8 would have been a little better, but the game was lost in any event. 23 :adl 'it'c7 (D) Renewing the threat of ... lbxg3. 24 lbd2! To this move Black cannot reply with 24 . . . lbxg3 because o f 25 �b3; nor is 24 . . . lbxd2 feasible, on account of the following variation: 25 �xf5 lbc4 26 �e6+ 'oih8 27 �xd5 ! lbxb2 28l'tbl lbc4 29 �xa8 ! and wins. lbxf2 24 A desperate sacrifice. But simi­ larly after 24 . . . �g6 25 �b3 lbf6 26 •••

•••

w

lbf3 the win was only a question of technique. 25 �xf5 lbxdl 26 l'txdl 'it'xg3 27 �e6+ 'oih8 28 �xd5 l'tac8 29 lbe4 1!t'h4 30 b3 l'tc6 31 'it'f2 More straightforward would have been 3 1 �xc6 ! ':'xd4 32 cxd4 and the passed pawn would have quickly become irresistible. But once the queens are exchanged the ending cannot present any difficulties for White. 31 �h5 'it'xf3 32 'it'f3 Evidently forced. 33 gxf3 g6 34 :d2 l'tb6 bxc4 35 c4 36 bxc4 l'tbl+ 37 c,i;>t2 as l'tel 38 c5 'oig7 39 c6 40 �c4! Winning the exchange as well, for after 40 . . ':c8 4 1 nd7+'oih6 42 �d5 B lack cannot prevent 43 lbd6, or if •••

Alekhine - Marshall 25 40 .. J1xd2+ 4 1 tDxd2 followed by 42 c7 and Black loses at once. lhc4 40 4 1 l:xd8 l:xc6 42 l:d7+ �h6 43 �g3 l:c4 Or 43 . . . l:c2 44 f4 l:xa2 45 tDg5 and the mate cannot be avoided. �g5 44 tDf2! If 44 . . . l:a4 45 tDg4+ �h5 46 l:d5+ g5 47 l:d6 and mate to follow. Or 44 ... g5 45 tDg4+, followed by 46 tDe5+ and White wins. 45 l:d5+ <M6 46 l:xa5 1-0 Game 9 Alekhine - Marshall St. Petersburg International 1914 Petroff's Defence 1 e4 e5 2 tDf3 tDf6 d6 3 tDxe5 4 tDf3 tDxe4 d5 5 d4 6 i.d3 i.d6 7 c4 This variation of the Petroff does not cause Black any difficulty. White could secure better chances by 3 d4 (Steinitz), 5 1We2 (Lasker), or even 5 tDc3. i.b4+! 7 8 tDbd2 tDxd2 This exchange, which permits White quite an appreciable advan­ tage in development, hardly appears justified. The correct line of play was 8 . . . 0-0 9 0-0 i.xd2 ! 10 i.xd2 i.g4 with at least an equal game. •••

9 i.xd2 1We7+ 10 1We2 1Wxe2+ It is interesting to notice that this plausible queen exchange is later on shown up as a decisive mistake. Black must first play 10 . . . i.xd2+ 1 1 �xd2 1Wxe2+ 1 2 i.xe2 dxc4 1 3 i.xc4 0-0 after which White would have maintained a slight positional superiority, but Black's game would still remain fully defensible. 1 1 �e2 i.xd2 12 �d2 i.e6 If now 1 2 ... dxc4, then 1 3 l:he 1 + ! with still greater effect than i n the actual game, White having pre­ served his bishop for the attack against his opponent's undeveloped position. 13 cxd5 i.xd5 14 l:he1+ �d8 i.xe4 15 i.e4! Forced, for if 1 5 ... c6 White would win a pawn at once by 1 6 i.xd5 cxd5 17 l:e5 . 16 l:xe4 l:e8 This move was absolutely neces­ sary to prevent the threatened dou­ bling of White's rooks on the open e-file. l:xe4 17 l:ael 18 l:xe4 tDc6 (D) 19 l:g4! The winning manoeuvre. On the other hand, 1 9 tDg5 was insufficient, on account of 19 ... �d7 ! . Now Black is going to lose a pawn by force. 19 g6 �e7 20 l:h4! Best in the circumstances, for after 20 . . . h5 2 1 g4 followed by 22 •••

26 St. Petersburg International 1914 b6 28 29 l:te2! White, as we see from the sequel, proposes to sacrifice a pawn in order to occupy the 7th rank with his rook and thus to obtain a dangerous passed pawn. This manoeuvre is the shortest and surest means of secur­ ing victory. iDdS 29 1Df4 30 �4 Or 3O ... l:te6+ 3 1 lDe5 iDf6+ 32 �f3 and White dominates the whole board. iDxg2 31 l:tc2 32 iDeS! Not at once 32 l:txc7 on account of 32 . . .l:tf4+ followed by 33 . . . l:txf3, whereas now, since White threatens 33 iDd7+, B lack cannot save his c­ pawn. 32 �e8 l:txf2 33 l:txc7 34 iDc4! (D) A very important move. The white knight is going to be posted on b7, where it will support the advance of the passed d-pawn by covering d6 and dS. •••

•.•

gxh5 White would establish a passed pawn. 21 l:txh7 l:td8 22 l:th4 l:tdS 23 l:te4+! Forcing the retreat of Black's king, for after 23 ... �f6 24 �c3, the threat of 25 l:teS would have been very dangerous for the opponent. �f8 23 l:tfs 24 �c3 Contemplating . . . iDe7-d5+ in or­ der to cause White the maximum technical difficulties. a6 25 l:te2 If 25 . . . iDe7 White would have re­ plied 26 l:te5 and the continuation of the game would scarcely be modi­ fied. iDe7 26 a3 27 l:teS! 1lf6 After the exchange of rooks, Black could no longer save the posi­ tion. 28 �d3 Preparing 29 l:tc5, which B lack prevents by his reply, but at the cost of a new weakness at c7 which White will proceed to exploit without de­ lay. •••

Alekhine - Tarrasch 2 7 b51 34 35 lbd6+ �f8 36 d5 C6 37 lbb7! lbC4 38 b4 g5 39 d6 lbe6 40 �d5! The coup de grttce. White's rook cannot be captured on account of 40 ... lbxc7 41 dxc711c2 42 lbc5 ! . S imilarly, after 40 . . .lle2 White would win easily by 4 1 c6 �d4+ 42 �b6 so, as a last resource, Black tries to exploit his kingside pawns after the sacrifice of the rook for the passed pawn. But this manoeuvre is foredoomed to failure. 40 lbC4+ llxh2 41 �e6 42 lbe5 Preventing the sacrifice of B lack's knight for the pawn, and winning a whole rook. 42 lld2 43 lle8+ �f7 lbe6 44 d7 45 lbxe6 �xe6 llxd8 46 d81i' 47 llxd8 g4 �f7 48 lle8+ rs 49 lle2 �6 50 �d5 C4 51 d4 �g5 52 e4 f3 53 lle2

54 lld2 55 �C4

�h4 1-0

Game 10 Alekhine - Tarraseh

St. Falkbeer Counter-Gambit 1 C4 e5 2 e4 From's Gambit Accepted (2 fxe5 d6 3 exd6) offers White only an equal game at best. 2 d5 3 exd5 e4 lbC6 4 d3 At the time the present game was played, the variations springing from this move were considered ad­ vantageous for White, thanks espe­ cially to analyses by the late S imon Alapin. Recently, however, Dr. Tar­ rasch succeeded in invalidating this opinion, introducing in his game against Spielmann at Mahrisch-Os­ trau 1 924, an improvement of great importance (see note to Black's 6th move). lbxe4 5 dxe4 .irs 6 lbf3 An innovation which the sequel shows to be insufficient. The correct line of play, demonstrated by Dr. Tarrasch in the game mentioned above, is 6 ... .ic5 71i'e2 .ir5 ! and if

Here B lack missed a much better defence: 34 . . l:tf6, intending either ... b5 or . . .l:te6+. After the natural reply 35 d5 , it isn't easy for White to evade the checks, for example 35 .. 1U4+ 36 �d3 (36 h3 �6e5 3 1 .tHc I ! and wins. "d7 28 l:e6! ..•

Selemiev - Alekhine 39 29 hS CiJe7 30 'i3 tM7 Again forced, because of the dou­ ble threat 3 1 .txeS and 3 1 h6. h6 31 .tf4 32 'it'c3! lbd6 Permitting White a decisive sacri­ fice. 32 . . . l:tc8 was a little better, upon which White would have continued his winning attack by 33 "'b4 and 34 .ta4. 33 .txh6! Putting an end to all resistance, for if 33 . . . gxh6, then 34 l:t l xf6 'ilr'g8 3S "'g3+ and White mates in a few moves. 33 tbxe4 A desperate move. 34 l:lxe4 lLlxdS 3S 'it'c1 ! 1-0 If now 3 S . . . gxh6, then 3 6 .txdS "'xdS 37 "'xh6+ 'ilr'g8 38 l:tg4+ 'ilr'f7 39 "'xf6+ and wins. •••

This system of development was introduced by the author in one of his match-games against Teichmann at Berlin 1 921 . Its only defect is that c6 may eventually become weak--a weakness, however, which does not present very great drawbacks. S 0-0 In the course of the same tourna­ ment, a game Brinckmann-Alekhine continued as follows : S b3 1L1bd7 6 .tb2 eS 7 dxeS dxeS 8 0-0 e4 ! 9 lLleS .td6 1 0 lLlxd7 "'xd7 1 1 1L1d2 "'e6 1 2 e3 hS ! 1 3 "'e2 h4 14 lLlc4 .tcS IS l:tfd l .tdS 16 1Lla3 hxg3 1 7 hxg3 a6 18 c4 .tb7 19 lLlc2 "'fS 20 .t a3 .txa3 2 1 lLlxa3 lLlg4 22 1L1c2 l:th2 23 "'d2 'ilr'e7 ! 24 1Llb4 l:tah8 2S "'e2 (D)

B

Game I S Selezniev - Alekhine Triberg 1 92 1 Queen's Pawn Game 1 d4 1Llf6 b6 2 1Llf3 This move is possible before . . . e6 because White has played 2 1L1f3, but after 2 c4 it is not good on account of 3 lbc3 .tb7 4 "'c2 ! . 3 g3 In my opinion best, as White's bishop on g2 is at least as strong as Black's on b7 . .tb7 3 d6 4 .tg2

2S .....f3 ! ! 0-1 . S lLlbd7 6 .tf4 To prevent 6 ... eS. h6 6 Threatening . . . gS in some combi­ native variations, but the real inten­ tion is to make this advance only when B lack is assured of an immedi­ ate and definite advantage. ..•

•••

40 Triberg 1921 7 lLlc3 Allowing the following demon­ stration aimed at the d-pawn. 7 ... c5 8 d5 8 dxc5 lLlxc5 would have given Black a very promising position. 8 ... b5! Otherwise White, by playing 9 a4 !, would prevent Black from seiz­ ing the initiative on the queenside. 9 lLlel White's d-pawn is certainly more valuable than Black's b-pawn. 9 a6 b4 10 a4 1 1 lLle4 lLlxe4 12 i.xe4 g6 S o as to develop the bishop at g7, the object of the manoeuvre com­ mencing with 7 ... c5 . 13 c4 bxc3 Absolutely essential to prevent White from blocking the queenside, which would have enabled him to undertake a strong attack, without fear of distraction, by advancing his centre pawns. i.g7 14 bxc3 15 l:tbl l:tb8 0-0 16 c4 as 17 1i'c2 Preparing the following sacrifice of the exchange. 1i'c7 18 lLlf3 JLa6 19 i.d2 20 i.d3 (D)

B

20 ... Absolutely correct. The resulting strong passed pawn, supported by the bishop on g7, and the possibili­ ties of attacking White's c-pawn are, on the whole, worth more than the exchange. 21 i.xb4 cxb4 lLlc5 22 lLld2 But this move is illogical. Black could have demonstrated the cor­ rectness of his sacrifice more clearly by 22 . . . l:tc8 followed by 23 . . . lLlb6 or also 23 . . . lLle5, and if necessary 2 3 . . .i.c3. 23 lLlb3! White plays a strong move, the value of which was not appreciated in good time. If Black replies to it by 23 . . . lLlxa4, White could advanta­ geously continue 24 l:tal ! lLlc5 25 lLlxa5 i.xal 26 l:txal 'ih7 (else 27 i.xg6 ! ) 27 lLlc6. Or if 23 . . . l:tc8 24 lLlxc5 1i'xc5 25 l:tfc I i.c3 26 1i'b3 (not 26 l:tb3 i. xc4 27 l:txc3 bxc3 2 8 i. xg6, o n account of 28 . . .'ig7 ! 1 )

Here 29 .i.f5 ! is good for White, but, by substituting 28 . .i.xd5, Alekhine' s opinion is vindicated. .

.

Selezniev - Alekhine 4 1 26 ... "it'd4 27 lhc3 bxc3 28 lIcl and White cannot lose. lbd7 23 Thus Black must submit to this temporary retreat, while threatening 24 . . . lIc8. But White seizes the op­ portunity to eliminate his weak c­ pawn by a counter-sacrifice which opens new lines and affords at the same time excellent chances. .i.xd3 24 e5! 25 exd3! After 25 "it'xd3 dxc5 Black's two passed pawns would soon decide the game. The text move parries this danger, whilst opening the e-file for White. On the other hand there is the drawback, very slight though it may be, of weakening the king's position, and particularly the square f3 , a weakness which Black will exploit later on. dxe5 25 26 :reI Against the plausible move 26 "it'c4, which was equally to be con­ sidered, Black would have retorted 26 . . . 'fid6 ! 27 lbxaS lbe5 28 'iVb3 lIa8 1 with excellent chances. lbe5 26 27 lIe3 The attempt to give back the ex­ change would have been insuffi­ cient : 27 1!i'xc5 lbf3+ 28 �f1 "it'xc5 29 lbxc5 lbd2+ ! 30 �e2 lbxb l 3 1 lIxbl lId8 ! and Black wins a pawn. lIe8 27 'iVd7! 28 lIc1 •••

2 9 d4 lbg4 30 lIe4 If 30 dxc5 lbxe3 3 1 fxe3 , then 3 l .. .1!i'xa4 ! (but not 3 l . . .1!i'xd5). e4! 30 Now Black's queenside pawns become very threatening. The ques­ tion is, how to maintain them ! The game now enters upon its most criti­ cal phase. 3 1 lbe5 If 3 1 lbxaS obviously 3 1 . . .1!i'xd5 and Black wins easily. 31 'if5! 32 'ie2! (D) White has defended himself ex­ cellently, and hopes to obtain a deci­ sive advantage by the text move, which threatens the knight and the c­ pawn at the same time; but Black's reply gives him a disagreeable sur­ prise. •••

•••

.••

B

•••

Why not 28. . .lLlf3+ and 29 . . . lLld2 ?

32 b3! ! Before deciding on this surpris­ ing move, Black had to visualise the following variations, apart from the •••

42 Triberg 1921 continuation played in the game it­ self: 1 ) 33 11£4 'iVh5 34 1hg4 (or 34 'iVxg4 leading to line 2) 34 . . . b2 35 lIb l , d l or el (if 35 'iVxb2, then 35 ...'iVxg4 as in the game) 35 . . ..i.xd4 and Black's pawns become over­ whelming. 2) 33 'iVxg4 b2 34 lib 1 'iVxg4 35 lIxg4 c3 3 6 lLld3 lIc4 37 lLlxb2 ! lIb4 ! 38 lIe4 c,t>f8 with advantage to Black, for if 39 lIc 1 1 f5 40 lLld3 fxe4 4 1 lLlxb4 axb4 42 a5 .i.xd4 43 a6 c,t>f7 ! and wins. 33 lIxg4 b2 34 'iVxb2 'iVxg4 35 lIxc4 Apparently White has chosen the simplest method of extricating him­ self from his difficulties, for he has eliminated the passed pawns and re­ mains a pawn to the good. However, Black's next move creates new diffi­ culties for him. 35 h5! Profiting by the immobility of the hostile pieces to threaten a mating at­ tack by means of ... h4-h3, followed by ... 'iVf3. 36 'iVc2 The only resource for the defence, in fact, consists in playing the white queen to d3. 36 h4 Naturally not 36 . . . .i.xd4 on ac­ count of 37 g2 ! .

lId8! 3 7 'iVd3 37 . . . h3 would be insufficient, as after 38 f3 'iVh5 (38 . . .'iVg5 ? 39 lLle4 ! ) 3 9 'iVe4 'iVh6 40 lIc2 White could defend himself satisfactorily. 38 f3 'i5 Not 3 8 ... 'iVh3 on account of 3 9 g4 lIb8 40 lLle4 lIb2 4 1 lIc8+ ! .i.f8 42 lLlf2 and White would win the ex­ change. 39 'iVe4 hxg3 40 hxg3 'iVg5! 41 g2 'iVd2+ After 4 1 .. .lIxd5 White would have forced the exchange of queens by 42 f4 'iVh5 43 'iVf3 and Black would have difficulty in securing the win. 42 c,t>h3 .i.f6! (D)

w

•..

.•.

In order to occupy the h-file with the rook. This is the only means of securing the win. 43 lIc2 44 g2

The whole combination is refuted by 39 d6! and after 39 . . exd6 40 llbe l ! or 39 . . . e6 40 llc l ! (40 . . . fS 41 d7 fS 26 �xg7 + <Ji>eS 27 �gS+ <Ji>d7 2S tLle5+ <Ji>c7 29 �xf7 + and 30 tLlxc4. 2) 24 . .. 11xc4 25 'iYg5 llg4 26 'ixg4 g6 27 'ixa4. •••

22 b3! actually nets a whole piece, so this would indeed have been a straightforward win for White. Black ' s 17th move is really just a blunder.

Alekhine - Bogoljubow 49 3) 24 ... gxf6 25 l:tg4+ and mate in two moves. After the text move the variation 25 l:txc5 gxf6 should win in the long run, but White answers with a still stronger reply. 25 'i!t'g3! S imple and decisive. 25 g6 26 l:txa4 'i!t'd3 'firs 27 l:tn 28 'i!t'f4 'i!t'c2 1-0 29 'iWb6 Game 1 8 Alekhine - Bogoljubow Budapest 192 1 Queen's Pawn Game 1 d4 lbf6 e6 2 c4 3 lbf3 .i.b4+ 3 . . . d5 or 3 . . . b6 would be prefer­ able. 4 .i.d2 .i.xd2+ This exchange assists White's development. In the Queen's Gam­ bit, Black's dark-squared bishop is far too valuable a defensive piece to be exchanged in the opening with loss of time. 0-0 5 'i!t'xd2 6 lbc3 d5 7 e3 lbbd7 c6 8 U3 9 0-0 Allowing Black to free himself by an ingenious manoeuvre. White could have frustrated this plan by 9 l:td l ! and Black's position would have remained very cramped.

9 ... dxc4 10 .i.xc4 e5! (D) Taking advantage of the exposed position of White's queen, for if now 1 1 dxe5, then l l ...lbxe5 ! , and Black equalises with ease.

11 .i.b3! By this move, which prevents B lack from gaining time later on with . . . lbb6, White indirectly meets 1 1 ... e4, which would now result merely in the loss of a pawn after 1 2 lbg5, and thus White still maintains a slight superiority. The sacrifice 1 1 .i.xf7+ would only lead to a draw, for example 1 1 ...l:txf7 (not 1 1 . ..�xf7? 1 2 dxe5 lOg4 1 3 l:tad l ! 'fie7 14 e6+ ! �xe6 15 'fid4 l2Jge5 1 6 lbxe5 lbxe5 1 7 f4 ! , and White obtains a strong at­ tack) 12 dxe5 lbg4 1 3 e6 l:txf3 ! 1 4 exd7 .i.xd7 1 5 gxf3 lbxh2! (and not 15 ... 'fih4, because of 16 'fid6) 1 6 �xh2 'fih4+ and draws by perpetual check. fie7 11 _ In his game against Johner (Pis­ tyan 1922), Griinfeld tried l l . . .exd4 1 2 'fixd4 ( 1 2 exd4 also deserves .

50 Budapest 1921 consideration) 12 . . .'iWb6 and finally secured the draw. After the text move the superiority of White's game is clear. exd4 12 e4! 13 li)xd4 li)e5 1 3 . . . li)xe4 is impossible, both now and on the next move, on ac­ count of 'iWe3 winning a piece. :td8 1 14 .i.e2 15 :tadl Threatening 1 6 li)xc6. 15 .i.g4 16 f3 li)e6 li)xd4 17 'iff2 .i.e6 18 :txd4 19 lU'dl Black was compelled to abandon the only open file in order to develop his light-squared bishop. Moreover, the white centre pawns, thanks to their mobility, will be able to attack Black's knight and bishop success­ fully. As against this, the notorious 'majority of pawns on the queenside' is not, at the moment, of any value, for their advance, as is shown in the present game, will give rise to new weaknesses, which the opponent will turn to advantage. The game is already virtually decided. b6 19 Defending his a-pawn, which was indirectly attacked. 20 h3! Preparing the advance of the f­ pawn. •••

20 e5 This move leads to nothing, see­ ing that it does not compel the ex­ change of rooks. It would have been rather better (now, or on the 22nd move) to take measures against the advance of White's e- and f-pawns by playing, for example, 20 . . . li)e8 followed by ... f6. l:xd2 21 :t4d2 22 'iWxd2 (D) •••

B

22 e4 23 f4 g6 If 23 . .. 'iWc5+ simply 24 'iWd4 ! and Black's position after the exchange of queens would be untenable, de­ spite his majority on the queenside. 24 'ifd4 Threatening to win a pawn by 25 f5. 24 :te8 25 g4! Decisive ! Black has no adequate defence against the threats 26 f5 , or 26 e5 followed by 27 f5. •••

..•

Here 14 ... lbfxe4 is met by 1 5 lbxe4 lbxe4 1 6 "ie3, rather than the immediate 1 5 "ie3, when 1 5. . .f5 1 6 1'3 "ig5 ! defends.

Steiner - Alekhine 51 25 i.xg4 A desperate sacrifice which can­ not defer the imminent catastrophe any more than other attempts. lbxg4 26 hxg4 h5 27 �g2! 28 lbd5 'iVh4 'iVd8 29 :hl 1-0 30 i.dl ! An instructive game from the stra­ tegic point of view. •••

Game 1 9 Steiner - Alekhine Budapest 1921 Alekhine Defence 1 e4 lbr6 This new defence was played for the first time by myself in a consult­ ation game at Zurich (August 1 92 1 ), and was introduced into master prac­ tice shortly afterwards at the Buda­ pest Tournament in September of the same year. Its correctness now seems perfectly established. One of the most searching proofs of its vitality lies in the fact that Dr. Emanuel Lasker, ex-champion of the world, although openly opposed to this defence, successfully adopted it against Maroczy at the New York Tournament (March-April 1 924), af­ ter having tried in vain to demolish it. In the course of an encounter be­ tween Dr. Lasker and Dr. Tarrasch, Black obtained a clearly superior, if not a winning, game in the following way: 1 e4 lbf6 2 e5 lbd5 3 d4 d6 4 c4 lbb6 5 f4 dxe5 6 fxe5 lbc6 7 i.e3

i.f5 8 lbc3 e6 9 lbf3 i.b4 10 i.d3 i.g4 ! 1 1 i.e2 i.xf3 12 gxf3 'iVh4+ 13 i.t2 'iVf4 ! . 2 e5 In a game Bogoljubow-Alekhine (Karlsbad 1 923), White tried 2 lbc3 upon which Black replied by 2 . . . d5 (2 . . . e5 , transposing into the Vienna Game, is also to be considered), leading to the continuation 3 e5 lbfd7! 4 d4 c5 ! 5 i.b5 lbc6 6 lbf3 and now Black could have reached a very advantageous variation of the French Defence by 6 ... e6 in place of the risky line 6 . . . a6 7 i.xc6 bxc6 8 e6 ! . lbd5 2 ... 3 d4 In a game S limisch-Alekhine from the same tournament, White continued by 3 lbc3 e6 ! 4 lbxd5 exd5 5 d4 d6 6 lbf3 lbc6 7 i.e2 i.e7 8 i.f4 0-0 9 0-0 f6 10 exf6 i.xf6 and Black had a slightly superior game. 3 ... d6 4 i.g5 After this move, whose object is to hinder the advance of the hostile e-pawn, White loses his advantage, because of the difficulties he will ex­ perience in defending his own e­ pawn. The most dangerous line of p l ay for Black is undoubtedly 4 c4 followed by 5 f4. dxe5 4 5 dxe5 lbc6 i.f5! 6 i.bS Black is not concerned about the possibility of doubled pawns. If 7 i.xc6+, the possession of his two bishops, the open b-file and his better

52 Budapest 1921 development would constitute ex­ cellent compensation for the slight weakness on c6. lLlb4! 7 ffi The win of a pawn by this last move required a minute examination of all its consequences. 'ifxdl + 8 lLla3 9 l:.xdl! The best reply, for after 9 'ixd i 0-0-0+ 1 0 'ic l f6 Black's position would be distinctly superior. 9 lLlxc2+ �xc2 10 lLlxc2 �e4 11 l:.c1 12 lLld4 If 1 2 e6, Black would have an­ swered simply 12 . . . f6 ! followed by 1 3 . . . 0-0-0. 12 ... �xg2 13 l:.gl 0-0-0 The point of the manoeuvre initi­ ated on the 7th move. Nevertheless, the material advantage of a pawn, which Black has succeeded in secur­ ing, seems very difficult to utilise, because of his poor development. �xc6 14 lLlxc6 bxc6 15 �xc6 l:.d5 16 l:.xc6 e6 17 �f4 18 'ie2 (D) How ought Black to strengthen his position now? For example, here are two plausible suggestions which give no satisfactory result against a correct defence: 1 ) 1 8 . . . g6 1 9 l:.gc l l:.d7 20 �e3 'ib7 2 1 l:.6c3 �g7 22 l:.b3+ 'ia8 23 �xa7 ! �xe5 24 l:.c4 with the better game for White.

2) 1 8 ... g5 19 l:.xg5 ! �h6 20 l:.g4 �xf4 2 1 l:.xf4 l:.xe5+ 22 'if1 'ib7 23 l:.c3, and Black has no chance of winning. �c5! 18 . . . whereas this move, which at first sight does not seem better than the above-mentioned moves, is the only one enabling Black to maintain his advantage. 19 b4! Theright reply, permitting White to force a favourable exchange. It is clear that Black's g-pawn cannot be taken at once, owing to . . . 'ib7. 19 �xb4 20 l:.xg7 l:.d7 21 �e3 Black is once again faced with a very difficult problem. How is he to secure the defence of his weak pawns on both wings? His lone bishop is insufficient for this task, since if it be brought to b6 via a5 , thereby adequately protecting his queenside, White would transfer his attack to the opposite wing and would eventually win at least a pawn by l:.c4 followed by l:.h4. On the other hand, if Black withdraws his ..•

Steiner - Alekhine 53 bishop to f8, in order to secure the protection of his kingside, White would take the queenside as his ob­ jective and would obtain a strong at­ tack by J:tg4 followed by J:ta4. Black must therefore avoid com­ mitting his bishop, in order to be able to utilise it for the defence of which­ ever wing is threatened. His follow­ ing moves are dictated by the above considerations. 21 as! 2 2 J:tc4 hS i.c3! 23 J:th4 J:tdS 24 J:tgS f6! 25 f4 Definitely maintaining his mate­ rial advantage, which the following exchanges help him to exploit. 26 J:tgxhS J:txhS 27 J:txhS fxeS i.xeS 28 fxeS 29 J:th7 29 h4 would leave White some hope of a draw, but after the text move Black forces the exchange of this dangerous pawn. J:tbS! 29 J:tb2 30 o 31 J:thS Forced, since after 3 1 h4 J:txa2 B lack's passed a-pawn would be at least as dangerous as White's passed h-pawn. i.xh2 31 i.d6 32 ':'xaS The ensuing endgame, although won for Black, nevertheless offers several technical difficulties, and is not devoid of interest. d7 33 e4 •••

34 i.d4 (D) Temporarily preventing 34 ... e5 , which Black now prepares by the following rook manoeuvre.

J:td2! 34 Hindering d3-c4. 35 i.e3 J:te2 36 d3 J:tel! 37 i.d4 J:tel 37 . .. e5 would still be premature, on account of 38 i.c3 . 3 8 i.e3 J:tdl+ J:tel 39 e4 40 d3 eS At last it is playable ! 41 i.f2 J:tO 42 i.e3 e6 43 e4 J:thl J:th2 44 .if2 45 i.e3 J:th4+ 46 d3 i.b4 Thereby securing for his king ac­ cess to the square d5, which is of great importance. 47 J:ta7 Or 47 l:ta4 d5 48 a3 e4+ 49 c2 i.d6. cS 47 48 a3 c4+ •••

54 The Hague 1921 .i.d6 49 �e2 50 l:1a8 In order to pin the Black's bishop by l:1d8, after . . .�d5 . 50 l:1h2+ 5 1 �dl l:1h3! �d5 52 �d2 53 l:1d8 c3+! The coup de grdce. 54 �e2 If 54 �d3 Black had foreseen the following pretty finish: 54 ... c2 55 l:1c8 .i.e7 ! 56 l:1xc2 .i. g5 57 l:1e2 e4+ 58 �d2 l:1xe3 59 l:1xe3 �d4 and wins. �e4 54 l:1xe3+ 55 l:1xd6 l:1d3 56 � l:1d2+ 57 l:1c6 �d3 58 �el 59 l:1d6+ �c2 l:1d5 60 l:1e6 �b3 61 �e2 c2 62 l:1c6 0-1 Game 20 Alekhine - Rubinstein The Hague 1921 Queen's Gambit Declined d5 1 d4 e6 2 lbf3 a6 3 c4 A move of Janowski's, which has been quite frequently played by Ru­ binstein in recent tournaments, but without appreciable success. Neces­ sary in the greater number of the variations of the Queen's Gambit Accepted, 3 . . . a6 is here merely a

loss of time, and in addition creates weaknesses on the queenside when White continues by 4 cxd5 or even 4 c5, as in the present game. 4 c5 4 cxd5 is quite sufficient to secure a slight superiority, as was shown by Johner-Rubinstein and Kostic-Ru­ binstein from the Teplitz-SchOnau Tournament of 1 922, among others. The former game continued 4 cxd5 exd5 5 lbc3 lbf6 6 .i.g5 .i.e7 7 e3 0-0 8 .i.d3 b6 (a little better, but also insufficient to equalise the game, was 8 ... lbbd7 9 'ifc2 ! ) 9 .i.xf6 ! .i.xf6 1 0 'ifc2 h6, and Johner could ha ve obtained a very strong attack against Black 's weakened kingside by 1 1 h4, followed by 1 2 0-0-0 and g4. In his game against Kostic, Ru­ binstein tried 5 . . . .i.e7 in place of 5 ...lb f6, a nd the continuation wa s 6 .i.f4 lbf6 7 e3 0-0 8 .i.d3 lbbd7 9 0-0 l:1e8 1 0 l:1c 1 b6, after which White could have obtained a distinctly su­ perior game by 1 1 h3 (in order to conserve his dark-squared bishop against the threat of exchange by . . . lbh5). In the present game, the first that I played against Rubinstein after a seven-year interval, I voluntarily adopted a new line of play in order to avoid the variations resulting from 4 cxd5 (because I rightly thought them very familiar to Rubinstein), resol v­ ing that I would do or die ! lbc6 4 Wishing to play 5 . . .e5 , which White must oppose by every means at his disposal. •••

Alekhine - Rubinstein 55 5 .i.f4 0.ge7 6 0.c3 0.g6 7 .i.e3! A move rather out of the ordinary ! White, while preventing 7 . . . e5 , also avoids the exchange of his dark­ squared bishop. I learnt, some time after the game ended, that Rubin­ stein, in Collijn's Uirobok, ami ned 7 e3, a variation leading to equality. b6 7 ... Black, giving up hope of breaking through in the centre, at least elimi­ nates the cramping white c-pawn, and reckons to secure an advantage in development, by reason of the un­ usual position of White's bishop at e3. cxb6 8 cxb6 9 h4! The only means of weakening the dark squares of the enemy's posi­ tion, and thus obtaining a future for his e3-bishop. .i.d6 9 ... If 9 . . . h5 then 10 .i.g5 f6 1 1 t!i'c2 followed by .i.d2, e3, a3 and .i.d3 , with the better game for White. 10 h5 0.ge7 Not 1O . . .0.f4? 1 1 g3. n h6! The point! If Black captures the h­ pawn, he weakens his own h-pawn without the slightest compensation. After other moves, White's dark­ squared bishop will occupy the di­ agonal h4-d8, where it exercises a very embarrassing pressure. n g6 0-0 12 .i.g5

More prudent was first 12 ... f5, af­ ter which Black would not have had to fear the threat of mate at g7, al­ though in any case White's game would have been preferable. 13 .i.f6 (D)

B

An extraordinary position after the 1 3th move of a Queen's Gambit! During the first thirteen moves White has played his c-pawn thrice, his h-pawn thrice and his dark­ squared bishop four times, after which he has obtained a position in sight of a win, if not actually a win­ ning one. It is especially with re­ spect to the original opening of this game that people often speak of a 'hyper-modern technique' , a 'neo­ romantic school' , etc. The question is, in reality, much simpler. Black has given himself over to several eccentricities in the opening (3 . . . a6; 5 . . . 0.ge7; 6 . . .0.g6) which, without the reaction of his opponent (for example, 7 e3 instead of 7 .i.e3 or 9 g3 instead of 9 h4) would in the end have given him a good game. It is, therefore, as a ne­ cessity, and not with a preconceived

56 The Hague 1921 idea, that I decided upon the advance of the h-pawn, preventing Black from securing an advantage in the centre. But, as a rule, in the opening stages of a game such eccentricities are in accordance neither with my temperament nor my style, as the reader can see from the perusal of this book. b5 13 14 e3 .td7 ':'c8 15 .td3 Black dreams only of the possibil­ ity of an immediate attack by White (commencing by tDg5 or tDe5 fol­ lowed by 'i!i'f3), which he hopes to thwart by a demonstration on the queenside ( ... 'i!i'a5, ... .tb4). With this idea, the preparatory move 15 ... .:.c8 would have been very useful. But as White is not com­ pelled to bestir himself as long as the opponent does not trouble him seriously, it would have been better for Black to play at once 15 . . . tDa5, followed by 1 6 ... .tb4, and thus force White, by this semblance of a counter-attack, to take some defen­ sive measures. 16 a4! (D) Whereas it is now White who seizes the initiative on the queenside, forcing Black to block this part of the board, and thereby allowing White to post his c3 -knight in a dominating position without loss of time. b4 16 17 tDe2 'i!i'b6 18 tDc1! Preventing 1 8 . . . b3 .

18 l:tc7 19 tDb3 tDaS Too late ! 20 tDc5! By this manoeuvre White trans­ forms his positional advantage into a gain of material, Black being unable to capture the knight, for example 20 . . . .txc5 2 1 dxc5 'i!i'xc5 22 .td4 'i!i'c6 23 tDe5 'i!i'b7 24 tDg4, winning the exchange. If 20 ... .tc8, then 2 1 tDe5, with similar variations. 20 tDc4 (D) This move is not a whit better than those given above. It allows White the pleasant choice between two very good variations, but it hap­ pens that White chose the less deci­ sive one. ...

w

Alekhine - Rubinstein 57 21 J.xe4 dxe4 22 tDeS 22 tDe4 would force the win of the exchange, and also maintain the at­ tack, in view of the double threat of 23 tDxd6 followed by 24 J. e5, and 23 J.g7 followed by 24 tDf6# I . 22 J.xeS J.d6! 23 J.xe7! 2 With his clear judgement of posi­ tion, Rubinstein at once recognises that the sacrifice of the exchange of­ fers him the best chance. Indeed, af­ ter 2 3 . . . :'e8 24 dxe5 :'xe7 25 tDe4 ! (not 25 'fi'f3 f5 26 exf6 lIn with de­ fensive chances), Black would have lost more speedily than in the actual game, e.g. : 1 ) 25 . . .f5 26 'fi'd6 J. c6 27 tDf6+ �f7 28 'fi'd8 ! J. e8 29 tDxh7 and White wins. 2) 25 ...J.e8 26 tDf6+ �h8 27 'fi'd8 nb7 28 lId l 'fi'c6 29 0-0, winning. 24 J.xf8 J.xf8 lIxd7 25 tDxd7 26 as! Preventing the consolidation of Black's pawn structure by 26 ... a5 . 26 'ie6 lIdS 27 'if3 28 lIet! This move, which forces the ad­ vance of the c4-pawn, is intended to clear up the position on the queen­ side, so that White is able to commit •••

1 2

his pieces to the most favourable squares. 28 'ie7 29 'ie2 e3 30 bxc3 bxc3 3 1 'ixa6 lIxaS 32 'iYd3 J.a3 If 32 . . . lIa3 White would have continued 33 �e2 followed by 34 lIat . 3 3 lIe2 J.b2 (D)

34 �e2! Not 34 0-0 because of 34 . . . lIh5 winning the h-pawn, when Black has good drawing chances. 34 'ie6 35 f3 rs 'id6 36 lIbl If 36 . . . 'fi'd5, then 37 �f2 threat­ ening 3 8 lIxc3 J. xc3 39 'fi'xc3 lIa8 40 'fi'c7 and wins. 37 'ie4 38 'iYe8

It isn' t clear that 22 1L1e4 is better than the game after 22 . . .lLI f5 . White could have played 23 .i. xe5 1h7 24 1L1e4 lL1dS 25 .i.d6, followed by .i.c5, which would have won the exchange while eliminating B lack' s potentially dangerous dark-squared bishop, and this would probably have been the most accurate line of all.

58 Pistyan 1 922 The exchange of queens is forced, as White threatens 39 'l'h8. 39 'ifxa6 l:1xa6 40 e4 g5 ..t>g6 41 ..t>d3 42 d5! Thus obtaining a passed pawn, which decides the game in a few moves. Black's desperate attempts to obtain a last chance on the kingside merely succeed in leading his king into a cul-de-sac. fxe4+ 42 43 fxe4 exd5 44 exd5 l:1a4 45 l:1dl! Indirectly supporting the d-pawn. ..t>xh6 45 46 d6 ..t>h5 l:1a8 47 d7 l:1d8 48 ..t>e4 ..t>h4 49 ..tf5 ..t>g3 50 l:1hl+ 51 l:1h3# Game 2 1 Tarrasch - Alekhine Pistyan 1922 Brilliancy Prize Queen's Pawn Game �6 1 d4 e6 2 tDf3 3 c4 c5 With the intention of investigat­ ing, on the next move, the gambit discovered by the Moscow amateur Blumenfeld. Since then it has been shown that this gambit is not favour­ able for Black if White should de­ cline it.

b5 4 d5 5 dxe6 The acceptance of the gambit yields Black a formidable position in the centre. The right move was 5 J. g5 ! . Equally possible, although less strong, is 5 e4, played by Rubin­ stein against Tartakower at Teplitz­ Schonau 1922. An instructive game, Griinfeld­ B ogoljubow, from the Vienna Tour­ nament of 1 922, continued 5 J. g5 h6 6 J. xf6 'ifxf6 7 tDc3 b4 8 tDb5 tDa6 9 e4 ! 'ifxb2 10 J. d3 ! 'iff6 1 1 e5 'ifd8 12 dxe6 dxe6 13 J. e4 ! 'ifxd l + 14 l:1xd l l:1b8 1 5 J. c6+ h l l:th2+ 40 c;t;> gl l:t h l#. Against the plausible move 34 c;t;> h l the sacrifice of the e6-bishop wins at once. 34 'iti'hl (D) i.xh3! 34 35 gxh3 l:tf3 36 �g3 h4 ! The point of 2 8 . . .h 5 ! i s now re­ vealed.

B

•••

37 i.f6 Ingenious but doomed to failure, like all other attempts. 'ixf6 37 :xh3+ 38 tt)xe4 If now 39 c;t;>g l i.h2+ and Black wins the queen, or if 39 'iti'g2 �f3 + and mates next move. 0-1 •••

Game 22 Johner - Alekhine Pistyan 1922 Queen's Pawn Game tDi'6 1 d4 e6 2 W c5 3 c4 It has been shown subsequently that this move is not quite correct (see the previous game). The right move here was 3 ... d5 or 3 ... b6. 4 �c3 This answer is insufficient to se­ cure White an advantage. He must play 4 d5 and if 4 . . . b5 5 i.g5 ! with the better game. But my opponent still had fresh in his memory my game against Dr. Tarrasch, played in the first round of this tournament

Johner - Alekhine 61 (again, see the previous game), in which White, having adopted the continuation 4 d5 , sustained a classic defeat. He therefore preferred the move in the text, which is more con­ servative, but also more dull. cxd4 4 d5 5 tDxd4 This move allows White, should he so desire, to simplify the position, with an almost certain draw in view. 5 ... �b4 was more energetic, leading to a complicated game not without chances for Black. 6 cxd5 tDxd5 7 tDdb5! Threatening to win a pawn: 8 tDxd5 exd5 9 'Wxd5 ! . 7 �d7 In order to answer 8 tDxd5 with 8 ... �xb5 . 8 e4 tDxc3 9 bxc3! Much better than 9 tDxc3, after which Black could have obtained a positional edge by 9 ... �c5 . 'ia5 9 10 Abl! This is more energetic than the defensive move 10 'ib3. For the sac­ rificed c-pawn White, thanks to his two bishops, obtains a position full of promise, and Black will be com­ pelled to return the pawn in order to complete his development. 10 a6 If any other move, White would defend his pawn by l:tb3, or he could play 1 1 tDd6+ in any case. 1 1 tDd6+ �xd6 'ixc3+ 12 'ixd6 •••

'ic6 13 �d2 14 'if4 (D) White overestimates his attack­ ing prospects, forgetting that his own king is not safe. He ought to have been content to regain his pawn, with a good game, by 14 'Wb4 a5 ! 15 'Wxb7 0-0. The text move, on the contrary, speedily allows Black to seize the initiative.

.••

...

.••

0-0 14 e5 15 �d3 By this sacrifice Black opens up new lines for his pieces, and taking advantage of the fact that White has still not castled, undertakes a direct attack against the position of the hostile king. Against any other move White would himself have obtained a powerful attack by the advance 1 6 e5 ! . Ae8 16 'ixe5 17 'id4 Instead 17 'i g3 l:txe4+ and 17 'if4 �e6, followed by 18 . . .tDd7 and 1 9 . . . tDc5 , are both advantageous to Black. 'ig6! 17 18 f3 .••

62 Pistyan 1922 White already finds himself in a very difficult position, since he cannot castle on account of 18 . . . .i.h3 winning the exchange. On the other hand, if 1 8 f4 Black would have avoided the dangerous variation re­ sulting from 1 8 . . . 'iVxg2 1 9 11g1 �c6 20 'iVe3 'iVxh2 2 1 .i.c3, and would have made certain of an advantage by 1 8 . . .�c6 ! 19 'iV12 (or 19 'iVxd7 li'xg2 20 lln llad8) 19 . . ..i.f5 !. 18 'iVxg2 ! (D) This move, at first sight hazard­ ous, was the result of a long and de­ tailed calculation. •••

w

�c6 19 llg l 'i xh2 20 'ie3 2 1 .i.c3 g6! Not 2 1 . ..�e5 on account of the re­ ply 22 11xg7+ ! 'ilitxg7 23 'iVg5+ cli'h8 (if 23 . . . c;t;> f8 ? 24 .i.b4+ !) 24 f4 ! and Black would have been compelled to satisfy himself with a draw. 22 llxb7 llad8! The preparation for the final ac­ tion.

23 .i.f6 is manifest that with a pawn less and an exposed king, other moves would not save White. The move chosen allows Black to conclude en­ ergetically and rapidly. �e5! 23 Threatening 24 . . . �xf3+. 24 .i.e2 .i.b5! Practically ending the game, for if 25 .i.xd8 , then 25 . . ..i.xe2 wins at once, due to the threat 26. . . �xf3+1 . White is therefore forced into a gen­ eral liquidation, after which his po­ sition remains absolutely without the slightest hope. 25 .i.xe5 :xe5 llxb5 26 .i.xb5 27 llxb5 axb5 Threatening to force a winning pawn ending by 28 . . . 11d2 ! ' If 28 lin , then 28 .. :i'c2 wins. 0-1 It

•••

Game 23 Alekhine - Wolf Pistyan 1922 Brilliancy Prize Queen's Gambit Declined d5 1 d4 c5 2 00 cxd4 3 c4 The usual move is 3 . . . e6 transpos­ ing into the Tarrasch Defence. After the exchange of pawns in the centre we reach a symmetrical position in which the advantage of the move

And i f 25 .i.xd8 .i.xe2 26 .i.e? then 26 ... .i.xf3.

Alekhine always secures for White a slight po­ sitional advantage. If in this game he obtains a better result, that is solely due to the fact that his oppo­ nent allows himself to go in for an innovation- especially risky when his development is already retarded. 4 cxd5 1Dr6 a6 5 li:)xd4 Black wished to avoid the vari­ ation 5 . . . li:)xd5 6 e4 li:)f6 7 �b5+ �d7 8 e5 ! �xb5 9 li:)xb5 'ili'xd l + 10 �x d l li:)d5 l l li:) l c3, which is to the advantage of White, as mentioned in the latest edition of Collijn's Lim­ bok. But this variation, like many others indicated in that work, is in­ deed interesting but scarcely accu­ rate, as it can be improved by 6 . . . li:)b4 ! in place of 6 . . . li:)f6, after which White's advantage would be difficult to demonstrate. The text move does not seem risky, as Black intends to capture the d-pawn on the next move. Its refuta­ tion is therefore the more instructive. 6 e4! ! S acrificing the e-pawn to retain the d-pawn which, as will be seen in the sequel, exercises very strong pressure on Black's position. li:)xe4 6 7 'ili'a4+! In order to provoke the obstruc­ tion of the d-file by a black piece, which cuts off the attack of Black's queen on White's d5-pawn. �d7 7 ... Not 7 . . . 'iIi'd7 on account of the re­ ply 8 �b5 . li:)c5 (D) 8 "'3 ...

-

Woif 63

This square is hardly indicated for the knight, but on the other hand Black must defend his b7-pawn. 8 ... 'iIi'c7 or 8 ... 'iIi'c8 is scarcely any better, seeing that Black's queen would soon be dislodged from this file by White's rook.

w

9 'ili'e3! Much stronger than the plausi­ ble move 9 'ili'f3 , upon which Black could have freed himself by 9 . . . e5 , for Black wins in the event of 1 0 dxe6 li:)xe6 1 1 li:)xe6 �xe6 ! 1 2 'ili'xb7? �d5 ! ' After the text move, in contrast, the advance of Black's e­ pawn would give White the opportu­ nity of exercising strong pressure on the e-file. Black therefore resigns himself to the development of his bishop on g7, but equally without success. g6 9 10 li:)O! This gain of time allows White to prevent 1O . . . �g7, followed by 1 1 . ..0-0. By keeping Black's king in the centre, White ' s attack will be facilitated, thanks to his superior development. The opening of this •••

64 Pistyan 1922 game offers some analogies with the game against Rubinstein, played at The Hague (game 20). In the one, as in the other, the advantage won re­ sults from repeated movements of the same pieces (here the first eleven moves contain four displacements of the queen and three of the king's knight). But the possibility of similar ma­ noeuvres in the opening phase is solely attributable, I must reiterate, to the fact that the opponent has adopted faulty tactics, which must from the first be refuted by an ener­ getic demonstration. It is clear, on the contrary, that in face of correct development, similar anomal ous treatment would be disastrous. It cannot therefore be any question of a 'Modern System' , but just simply of exploiting in a rational manner the opponent's mistakes. I cannot conceive why there is such an ardent desire to discover in a game of chess anything more subtle than it has to offer, for I am of opin­ ion that the real beauty which it pos­ sesses should be more than sufficient for all possible demands. 'iIc7 10 l:tg8 1 1 'ilc3 b6 12 �e3 13 lDbd2 1 3 b4 would be an error of judge­ ment, because Black would then save his piece by 1 3 . . . �g7 1 4 lDd4

'tWa7 ! . White therefore prefers to complete his development before undertaking decisive action. 13 �g7 14 �d4 �xd4 15 'iIxd4 Now that White has rid himself of the enemy dark-squared bishop, the only piece which could inconven­ ience him, Black's position will very soon become desperate. 15 �b5 It would be difficult to suggest another means of developing his queenside. 1 5 . . . �f5 16 �e2 lDbd7 would be impossible, on account of 1 7 g4 1 �c2 1 8 l:tc l . 1 6 �xb5+ axb5 17 0-0 l:ta4 This skirmish comes to nothing. To tell the truth, it is difficult to point out a rational move. 18 b4 'iId8 19 a3! White has no reason to hurry him­ self, considering B lack's lack of resources. 19 lDbd7 20 l:teel c;t;>rs (D) 21 d6! A preparation for the following sacrifice. If B lack replies to this move with 21 . . . e6, the continuation would be 22 'tWe3 lDb7 23 'iId3 l:ta8 24 lDe4, winning the b-pawn to start with. 21 lDe6 •••

•••

1 7 g4 can be met by 1 7 . eS !, with just an edge for White, so 17 0-0 may be a better try. . .

Torres - Alekhine 65 This desperate capture conceals a last trap. 36 'ie8+ cJ:;g7 37 lte7+ cJ:;h6 'iti>h 5 38 'if8+ 'iti>g4 39 lte5+ 40 ltg5+! 1-0 Avoiding the trap - not 40 f3+? cJ:;g3 4 1 ltg5+ 'ft'xg5 ! 42 hxg5 ltal #.

w

22 ltxe6! By this combination, based on a precise calculation of all its possi­ bilities, White demolishes the last defences of the enemy. He regains the sacrificed exchange in a few moves, with a mating attack. fxe6 22 'ib8 23 ll:)g5 Or 23 ... e5 24 'iVd5 'iVe8 25 ll:)e6+ cJ:;f7 26 ll:)c7+ e6 27 'ft'f3+ and wins. rJ; 24 ll:)xe6+ If 24 . . . cJ:;e8, 25 ll:)e4. cJ:;f8 25 ll:)g5+ If now 25 . . . cJ:;e8 , then White re­ plies 26 lte l ! . ltg7 2 6 'id5! Clearly forced. 27 ll:)e6+ cJ:;g8 cJ:;xg7 28 ll:)xg7+ �6 29 dxe7 l:a7 30 'ixb5 31 ltel 'id6 32 e8ll:)+ The simplest method of securing the win. 32 ll:)xe8 33 'ixe8 'ixd2 q;f7 34 'ie5+ 35 h4 ltxa3 •••

Game 24 Torres Alekhine Exhibition Game, Seville 1922 Ruy Lopez -

1 e4 e5 2 ll:)f3 ll:)c6 3 �b5 a6 �6 4 �a4 5 0-0 d6 This move, endorsed by Rubin­ stein, seems to me less sound than 5 . . . �e7 as White has at his disposal several good continuations; more­ over, he can obtain a draw by a forced variation (see the following note). 6 �xc6+ This exchange, however, is not to be recommended. White would do better to adopt one of the following continuations : 1 ) 6 c3 and if 6 ... ll:)xe4, then 7 d4 with a fme attack. 2) 6 'ft'e2. 3) 6 d4 and if 6 ... b5, 7 �b3 exd4 8 c3 !, sacrificing a pawn in return for the attack. This line of play was suc­ cessfully played by Yates against Rubinstein on two occasions (Lon­ don 1 922 and Karlsbad 1 923).

66 Exhibition Game, Seville 1 922 4) 6 Ael b5 7 i.b3 lDa5 . A game Aurbach-Alekhine, played in Paris during October 1 922, continued thus: 8 d4 �xb3 9 axb3 i.b7 10 dxe5 �xe4 1 1 exd6 i.xd6 12 'Wd4 ! 'We7 1 3 �c3 ! (not 1 3 'Wxg7? 0-0-0 14 i.g5 �xg5 ! and wins l ) 13 ... f5 14 i.g5 1i'd7 (if 14 ... 1i'f7 , as given in Collijn's Iirobok, 15 �xe4 fxe4 1 6 Axe4+ ! i.xe4 1 7 1i'xe4+ �d7 1 8 Ad l and White wins) 1 5 �xe4 fxe4 1 6 Axe4+ ! i.xe4 1 7 1i' xe4+ 'it>f7 1 8 Ael ! Aae8 ! 1 9 1i'd5+ 'it> f8 (D)

20 Ae5 ! l:txe5 21 �xe5 "iWe8 22 "iW f3+ �g8 23 "iWd5+ and White draws by perpetual check2 . bxe6 6 7 d4 �xe4! S Ael f5 d5 9 dxe5 Now Black undoubtedly has the better game, with his two bishops and his strongly-posted knight in the centre.

2

i.e5 10 �d4 1 1 e3 Sooner or later necessary in order to develop the queen's knight at d2, without leaving the d4-knight en prise to Black's bishop. 0-0 11 12 f4 It would have been rather better to dislodge the black knight by 12 f3 and then to play 13 f4 . Nevertheless, in this blocked position the gain of a tempo is hardly capable of improv­ ing White's game sufficiently. 12 'WeS i.b6 13 i.e3 14 �d2 i.b7 In perfect safety Black prepares the advance of his centre pawns, thus enabling his bishops to exercise pressure on the hostile king. AdS 15 �f3 e5 (D) 16 'ilVe2 •••

17 �b3

Since 1 S l:xe7 .!tlxf3+ 1 6 gxf3 .i.xe7 1 7 'ifl l:hg8 1 8 "i!kxh7 l:dl+ 1 9 'ie2 l:gg l gives Black a winning attack. 23 i.e7 ! ? is an interesting winning attempt-23 . . . h6 24 i.xd6 cxd6 2S 'idS+ 'ih7 26 'id3+ g6 27 'ixd6 gives White an edge.

Alekhine - Yates 67 17 llJe2 at once was preferable, upon which Black would probably have continued 17 . . . h6 followed by 1 8 . . . ¢>h8 and 19 . . . :g8, preparing to open the g-file by . . . g5 . The text move allows Black to increase his pressure on the centre still more. c4! 17 Profiting by the fact that White cannot play 18 .ixb6 on account of 1 8 . . . cxb3 . 18 llJbd4 c5 19 llJe2 1Wc6 h6 ! 20 :adl Continuing with the above-men­ tioned plan. h8! 21 :n In order that, in the event of . . .d4, the c4-pawn shall not be captured by White's queen with check, a precau­ tion whose purpose will appear later on. 1Wg6 22 �hl Black intends to occupy h5 with his queen, which would make the ad­ vance of the g-pawn still more effec­ tive. 23 llJegl By attempting to prevent this stra­ tegically decisive advance White allows his opponent to conclude the game with a pretty combination, based upon the hidden action of his light-squared bishop on the long di­ agonal. 23 'l'h5 24 llJh3 (D) d4! 24 Allowing the queen sacrifice on the 28th move, as a result of which Black wins a piece or forces mate.

B

•••

25 26 27 28 29 30

cxd4 .ixd4 :xd4 llJxd4 gxh3 g l

cxd4 .ixd4 lbd4 'ixh3! llJf2+ llJxh3#

Game 25 AIekhine - Yates London 1922 Queen's Gambit Declined I d4 llJr6 2 c4 e6 3 llJf3 d5 4 llJc3 .ie7 5 .ig5 0-0 6 e3 llJbd7 7 :c1 c6 :e8 8 1Wc2 This move is inferior to 8 . . . a6 because after 9 .i d 3 ! Black can no longer transpose into the system of defence that offers the best chances. 9 .id3 dxc4 Reverting to Capablanca's de­ fence with the sole difference that his rook is at e8 instead of fS, which is not of much importance. If 9 . . . a6 White could now advantageously

68 London 1922 reply 10 cxd5 ! taking advantage of the fact thatB lack cannot now recap­ ture the pawn with his knight. On the other hand, after 9 ... h6 1 0 � f4 ! a6, the exchange a t d 5 would be entirely to White's advantage, e.g. 1 1 cxd5 ! (but not 1 1 c5 �xc5 ! 12 dxc5 e5, threatening 13 ... e4, and thus regaining the piece with a fine position-compare the game Euwe­ Spielmann, Mahri sch-Ostrau 1 923) 1 1 .. .tOxd5 1 2 tOxd5 exd5 13 0-0 tOf6 14 h3, etc. , and White will be able to undertake an attack on the queenside by l:b l , b4, a4 and b5 leaving hi s opponent without appre­ ciable counter-chances. tOd5 10 �xe4 1 1 tOe4 The right move here was 1 1 �xe7. It should be noticed that in the variation 1 1 tOe4 'ia5+, the position of the rook at e8 is rather an advan­ tage for Black. f5 11 Among the various replies to be considered by Black this is undoubt­ edly the least worthy of commenda­ tion. Quite apart from the fact that it in no way obstructs White's castling, it also yields the splendid square at e5 to the enemy knight without the slightest compensation. From this point Black's game may be consid­ ered strategically lost, which is not to say that the realisation of victory will be an easy matter. 12 �xe7 'ixe7 (D) b5 13 tOed2 This move, which aims at the lib­ eration of the useless c8-bishop, is •••

w

worse than the disadvantage that it seeks to mitigate, forWhite will now seize control of the c-file and espe­ cially the square c5, which Black has just gi ven up. Black would have done better to occupy Whi te with the following diversion: 1 3 ... t05b6 1 4 � d 3 g6, preparing . . . e5 , or 1 4 �b3 a5 1 5 a4 tOd5 and . . . tOb4, although in these cases too his prospects would be doubtful. exd5 14 �xd5 15 0-0 White's next moves are based upon simple but indisputable logic. By occupying the square c5 with one of his knights, he will force its ex­ change against the opposing knight, after which he will be able to settle his other knight on the same square without fear of interference. as 15 16 tOb3 a4 tOxc5 17 tOeS 'ixe5 18 'ixe5! The exchange of queens would ultimately have become inevitable. Now Black is entirely at the mercy of his opponent, who will be free to choose the best road to victory.

Alekhine - Yates 69 b4 19 l:1xe5 .i.a6 20 mel 21 lbe5! The knight arrives at the right mo­ ment to prevent B lack opposing his rooks on the c-file, e.g. 2 1 . . .l:1ecS 22 l:1xcS+ l:1xcS 23 l:1xcS+ .i.xcs 24 lbc6, with the double threat 25 lbe7+ and 25 lbxb4, making the win cer­ tain for White. l:1eb8 21 22 f3 ! Preparing the decisive advance of the white king. b3 22 h6 23 a3 24 'it>tl! The starting-point of a mating manoeuvre based on the following considerations: because Black must avoid the exchange of rooks and as his pieces are needed on the queen­ side to defend his pawns, the black king must sooner or later succumb to the combined assault of the four white pieces, including the king. 'it>h7 24 25 h4! Hindering . . . g5, after 'it>g3 and 'it>f4 l . l:118 25 l:1tb8 26 'it>g3 Black has to resign himself to complete inactivity. 27 l:1e7 Threatening among other things 2S lbd7 followed by 29 lbc5 or lbb6. •••

•••

•••

.i.b5 27 28 l:11e5! In order to double rooks on the 7th rank by 29 l:1e7 ! l:1eS 30 l:1f7 and 3 1 l:1cc7. 28 .i.a6 29 l:15e6 l:1e8 30 'it>r4 The doubling of the rooks on the 7th rank by l:1f7 being now assured, White brings his king towards the centre. 30 'it>g8 31 h5! Foreseeing the final manoeuvre, for whose success it is essential to prevent Black's king from emerging at g6 after 35 lbd7 ! . 31 .i.n It is curious to observe that the bishop, despite having full freedom, cannot take part in the defence. 32 g3 A waiting move. 32 l:1f7 would now be premature, because of the re­ ply 32 ... l:1acS. 32 .i.a6 If 32 . .. .i.e2 White would have continued his attack by 3 3 lbg6 fol­ lowed by 34 lbh4 and 35 'it>e5 . 33 l:117 'it>h7 Black is quite unable to forestall the mating attack by 33 . . .l:1fS, since White would have very speedily concluded the game by capturing the e-pawn. 34 l:1ee7 l:1g8 •••

•••

•••

•••

This note was completely garbled in the original English edition of Alekhine's Best Games.

70 Hastings 1922 3S lbd7! This threat to win the exchange forces the following reply. �h8 (D) 3S .••

w

ltgf8 36 lbf6! In the hope of bringing about the exchange of one rook at least 37 ltxg7! This sacrificial combination leads to mate in at most seven moves. 37 ... lhf6 1-0 38 �e5! The point of the combination ! The black rook can neither retire, nor can it be defended by the other rook, without allowing a mate in two moves. But even after its capture by the white king, mate can only be de­ layed by desperate moves. Game 26 Bogoljubow - Alekhine Hastings 1 922 Dutch Defence fS 1 d4 A risky defence, which up to the present I have adopted only very infrequently in serious games.

But in the present game I had positively to play for a win in order to make sure of first prize, whereas a draw was sufficient for my opponent to secure third prize, and hence I found myself forced to run some risks which were, after all, justified by the result lbf6 2 c4 3 g3 It is better to prepare the flank development of the light-squared bishop in the Dutch Defence before playing c4, because now Black can advantageously exchange his dark­ squared bishop, which has only a very limited range of action in this opening. e6 3 R.b4+ 4 R.g2 R.xd2+ S R.d2 6 lbxd2 The recapture with the queen, followed by 7 lbc3, is a little better. 6 lbc6 7 lbgf3 0-0 8 0-0 d6 9 'iWb3 This manoeuvre does not prevent Black from realising his plan, but it is already difficult to suggest a satis­ factory line of play for White. 'ih8 9 e5! 10 'iWc3 11 e3 If 11 dxe5 dxe5 1 2 lbxe5 ? lbxe5 1 3 'iWxe5 White's knight would be en prise to Black's queen. as ! 11 I t was very important t o prevent b4 temporarily, as will be seen later. . ..

Bogoljubow - Alekhine 71 12 b3 Not 1 2 a3 on account of 1 2 ... a4. 'ife8! 12 'ifh5! (D) 13 a3 Now Black has secured an attack­ ing position, for White cannot an­ swer 14 dxe5 dxe5 15 lLlxe5 lLlxe5 1 6 'ifxe5 on account of 1 6 ... lLlg4, winning outright; nor can he play 14 b4? e4 1 5 lLlel axb4. •••

w

17 f4 Already compulsory, in view of the threatened 17 ... f4 ! . 17 e4 1 8 nedl In order to protect the g-pawn (which was threatened by 1 8 . . . 'ifg4 and 1 9 . ..lLlh5 ) by lLln. However, the preliminary advance 1 8 d5 ! , pre­ venting B lack from forming a cen­ tre, would have yielded White more chances of a successful defence. 18 h6 19 lLlh3 d5! By this move Black completely wrecks his opponent's hopes in the centre, and shortly seizes the initia­ tive on the queenside in quite unex­ pected fashion. lLle7 20 lLln Preparing 2 1 . .. a4 ! . lLlc6! 2 1 a4 Now this knight can penetrate right into the hostile camp via b4 and d3. 22 l:td2 lLlb4 23 .i.hl The fact that White had to conjure up this complicated manoeuvre in order to create faint chances on the kingside shows clearly the inferior­ ity of his position. 'ife8! 23 This strong move yields Black a new advantage in every case : either control of the square d5 after 24 cxd5 , or the opening of a file on the queenside after 24 c5 b5 ! , or lastly, as in the actual game, the win of a pawn. 24 l:tg2 •••

•••

14 h4

A good defensive move, which secures new squares for his f3-

knight and revives the threat of 15 dxe5 . 14 lLlg4 15 lLlg5 White seeks to dislodge B lack's knight at once by 1 6 f3, which, how­ ever, weakens his pawn position still further. Possibly 15 b4 would now be preferable. 15 .i.d7 16 f3 If 1 6 .i.xc6 .i.xc6 1 7 f3, then 17 . ..exd4 ! 18 fxg4 dxc3 19 gxh5 cxd2 leading to the better endgame for B lack. 16 lLlf6 •••

•••

•••

•••

72

Hastings 1 922

White is still trying for 25 g4, but even this weak counter-chance will not be vouchsafed him. dxe4 24 i.xa4 25 bxe4 26 lLlf2 i.d7 b5! 27 lLld2 The renewal of the struggle for the centre squares, a struggle whose vi­ cissitudes will culminate in a stirring and original finish. lLld3! 28 lLldl Preparing the ensuing combina­ tion. 28 ... bxc4 would have been weak, for White's knight would later have secured a good square at e5 . 29 l:1xa5 In the event of 29 cxb5 .i.xb5 30 l:ba5 lLld5 3 1 'tWa3 l:ba5 32 'tWxa5 'tWc6 B lack has a winning attack. b4! 29 30 l:xa8 If 30 'tWal l:xa5 3 1 'i'xa5, then af­ ter 3 1 . ..'tWa8 ! 32 'tWxa8 l:xa8 Black's rook penetrates into White's game with decisive efect. bxe3! 30 As will be seen, this continuation is much stronger than 30 . . . 'tWxa8 3 1 'tWb3 .i.a4 3 2 'tWb l , after which White could still defend himselfl . 31 l:xe8 (D) e2l! 31 The point! White cannot prevent this pawn from queening. �h7 32 l:xf8+ •••

•••

•••

B

33 lLlf2 It is clear that this is the only pos­ sible move. 33 eHW+ lLlel! 34 m Threatening an unexpected and original 'Smothered Mate'. 35 l:h2 'ixe4 Creating a new threat of mate in a few moves, starting with 36 ... .i.b5, which compels White to sacrifice the exchange. 36 l:b8 i.b5 37 l:xb5 'ixb5 38 g4 The only chance for White to pro­ long his resistance, but Black retorts with a fresh surprise move. lLlf3+! 38 39 i.xf3 exf3 40 gxf5 Forced, for if 40 g5 Black would have obtained two united passed pawns after 40... lLlg4. "e2 ! ! 40 •••

•••

30 . . .'if'xa8 3 1 'if'b3 "al 3 2 lLl n lla8 33 lLlb2 lla3 i s a simple technical win since White' s position is a total wreck, so Alekhine's winning combination, while spectacular, wasn't strictly necessary.

Alekhine - Reti 73 This move leads to a problem-like position, in which White is unable to move any piece without exposing himself to immediate loss, for exam­ ple 4 1 tbh3 tbg4 ! , 4 1 tbg4 tbxg4 or 4 1 lth3 (or h I ) 4 1 ...tbg4 and wins. Hence, after two unimportant moves, he must play e4, which leads to an immediate liquidation, with a won endgame for Black. 41 dS '.ig8! Not, however, the plausible move 4 1 . . .h5 upon which White could have saved himself by 42 tbh3 fol­ lowed by 43 tbg5+. 42 hS �h7 tbxe4 43 e4 'ixe4 44 tbxe4 45 d6 Being unable to defend his pawns White endeavours to dislocate those of his opponent, but his game is hopelessly lost. cxd6 45 gxf6 46 f6 'ie2! (D) 47 l:td2

• • • • w • • • •• • • • • . . . .� • • B • • R BAR • a"R • B • BttJ= A pretty finish, worthy o f this fine game. Black forces a winning pawn endgame.

48 49 SO 51 52 53

l:txe2 �f2 '.ixf1 �f2 �e3 �e4

fxe2 exfl'i+ '.ig7 '.irT �e6 dS+ 0-1

Game 27 Alekhine - Reti Vienna 1922 Ruy Lopez 1 e4 eS 2 tbf3 tbc6 3 i.bS a6 lbf6 4 i.a4 5 tbc3 bS 6 i.b3 i.cs If it was Black's intention to de­ velop his bishop at c5, he should have done so before playing ... b5, for after 5 . . . b5 he has nothing better than 6 . . . i.e7 which, however, gives him a satisfactory game. The text move, on the contrary, needlessly exposes him to grave perils. 7 tbxeS! The correct reply, yielding White an extremely dangerous attack in every variation. tbxeS 7 i.d6 8 d4 i.xeS 9 dxeS 10 f4! This move, which would be bad if Black's b-pawn were still at b7 and White's bishop on a4 (because of 10 . . . i.xc3+ and 1 1 . . .tbxe4), shows the error of Black's 6th move. 10 i.xc3+ •••

74 Vienna 1922 1 1 bxc3 0-0 Here forced, for if 1 1 .. . tDxe4, 1 2 �d5. 1 2 e5 (D)

B

If now 12 ... tDe8 1 3 0-0 d6 14 f5 with an irresistible attack for White. White appears to have secured a de­ cisive positional advantage, for the withdrawal of the knight to eS seems compulsory ( 1 2 ... tDe4 1 3 'ikd5 ! and wins), but my ingenious opponent succeeds in finding the only move to give him defensive chances, and in the sequel he shows in exemplary manner how to make the most of them. c5! 12 The text move threatens, should White capture the knight, to shut off the hostile bishop by 1 3 ... c4, thereby leading into an endgame with bish­ ops of opposite colours. What is White to play to keep his advantage? The following variations, considered during the actual game, seemed to me quite inadequate: 1 ) 1 3 exf6 lleS+ 14 c3 61 lbf7! More energetic than the plausible move 6 1 lbxe6. White now goes straight for mate. %:ta8 61 6 2 lbd6 %:teb8 63 %:thl ! lbd7 1-0 6 4 %:tal l ! •••

Game 33 Alekhine - Reti New York 1924 King 's Indian Defence 1 d4 lbf6 g6 2 c4 3 g3 Nowadays 3 lbc3 d5 4 .i.f4, fol­ lowed by e3, is considered a promis­ ing line. .i.g7 3 0-0 4 .i.g2 d6 5 lbc3 lbc6 6 lbf3 If Black has nothing better (and this seems to be the case) than to in­ duce the advance of White's pawn to d5-where, to be sure, it shortens for the time being the diagonal of the bishop, but, on the other hand, brings considerable pressure upon B lack's position-then his plan of development surely is not to be rec­ ommended. lbb8 7 d5 .i.g4 8 0-0 The exchange of this bishop is not reasonable and merely lessens the power of resistance in Black's posi­ tion. Also unsatisfactory would be 8 . . . e5 on account of 9 dxe6 fxe6 1 0 .i.g5, as played i n m y game against S ir G. Thomas in Karlsbad 1 923 . O n the other hand, the move 8 . . . a5 comes into consideration in order to tern porarily secure the square c5 for the knight; but in this case also White would maintain his superior position, by means of h3, .i.e3, 'it'c2, b3, a3 and, finally, b4.

Alekhine - Reti 93 9 h3 It was important to clarify the situation before the opponent com­ pleted his development. 9 �xf3 10 exf3 Much better than to recapture with the bishop, when either the e2pawn would have remained inactive a long time or, if advanced, would have restricted the action of White's own pieces. After the text move, however, the pawn takes over guard­ ing the important square eS, and, moreover, B lack must reckon with an eventual hostile action on the e­ file opened by this move. 10 e6 The e-pawn had to be exchanged, but it would have been relatively bet­ ter for Black to have done so through 10 . . . eS . Then White would have had only one good reply ( 1 1 dxe6), in as much as 1 1 f4 exf4 1 2 � xf4 tbbd7 clearly would have been quite tol­ erable for Black. Mter the actual move, on the other hand, White has the pleasant choice between two good continuations. 1 1 f4 Even more favourable than 1 1 dxe6 fxe6 1 2 .:tel 1fid7, when it would have been by no means easy to profit from the weaknesses of Black's cen­ tre. 11 exd5 12 cxd5 (D) Now, however, Black must make a choice between three distinct evils: 1 ) A weakness on c7 if he allows the pawn position to remain intact; ..•

•••

•••

2) A weakness on c6 if, after the sequence . . . cS ; dxc6, he should re­ capture with the pawn and later on be forced to play ...dS; 3) And, finally, the line actually selected by him, through which he obtains an isolated d-pawn, the protection of which, made difficult through the powerful co-operation of the hostile bishops, will soon re­ sult in a decisive weakening of his queenside. c5 12 13 dxc6 tbxc6 'ifd7 14 �e3 15 'ifa4 A most effective square for the queen, from which it will exert trou­ blesome pressure against Black's queenside. .:tac8 15 ... 16 .:tad! B oth players act out the same idea, namely that the b-pawn must be removed beyond the reach of the opponent's bishop. Incidentally, 1 6 �xa7 would not do here, of course, on account of 16 ... .:ta8. 16 b6 17 b3

94 New York 1924 This move has the additional pur­ pose of further protecting the queen in anticipation of the subsequent complications. How important this is will soon become apparent. Afd8 17 18 Ad3 It would have been premature to play tDb5 at once, on account of 18 ... d5. Now, however, White threat­ ens to make this move after doubling rooks and therefore Black endeav­ ours, through an exchange, to relieve the pressure exerted by the white queen. tDe7? 18 In this way, indeed, it cannot be done and Black immediately finds himself at a material disadvantage. Somewhat better would have been 1 8 ... tDa5 19 �a3 �f8 20 Afd l , with a difficult game for Black, to be sure, but yet making defence possible. d5 19 tDb5! Clearly forced. 20 tDxa7 This line was made possible by White's 1 7th move. Aa8 20 �xa4 21 �xb6 B lack has nothing better, because after 2 1 . . .Adb8 White would have continued simply with 22 �xd7 tDxd7 23 �e3 Ab7 24 �xd5 tDxd5 25 Axd5 Aaxa7 26 �xa7 Axa7 27 Afd l , with a decisive advantage. Ad7 22 bxa4 Axa4 23 tDb5 Threatening to play 24 . . . Ab4 25 Ab3 Axb3 26 axb3 Ab7. Aa6 24 tDc3

25 Abl 26 �c5 27 tDxbl

Ab7 Axbl+ tDc6 (D )

• ••

•••

•••

The position is now clarified, White having maintained his passed pawn while Black's d-pawn remains weak 28 tDc3! The quickest method of winning. While he relinquishes the a-pawn, White in return is forces an entrance for his rook into the enemy camp, whereby the decisive pawn attack is made possible. The tame 28 a3 would have permitted the opponent a more stubborn resistance after 28 ... Aa5 29 �e3 Ab5. AaS 28 tDb4 29 �e3 After 29 . . . d4 there would follow not 30 �xd4 tDxd4 3 1 Axd4 tDd5 !, with drawing chances, but 30 �xc6 ! dxc3 3 1 a4, winning. 30 Ad2 h6 If at once 30 ... .!LIe4 then 3 1 tDxe4 dxe4 32 Ad8+ �f8 33 f5 and wins. 31 a4! Threatening 3 2 �b6 and thereby forcing Black's next move. •••

Alekhine - Janowski 95 31 lbe4 dxe4 32 lbxe4 33 nd8+ �h7 34 J.xe4 nxa4 (D) If 34 . . . fS then 3S nd7 ! 1 'iPh8 (or 3S .. .fxe4 36 J. d4 lIdS 37 lhg7+ 'iPh8 38 nd7+, followed by the ex­ change of rooks, and wins) 36 J.d4 J.xd4 37 nxd4 fxe42 38 nxb4 and wins.

w

3S fS ! The start of the decisive pawn charge. For the present, 36 fxg6+ fxg6 37 lId6 is threatened. 3S na6 hS 36 h4 Forced on account of the threat 37 hS. 37 g4! naS Or 37 ... hxg4 38 hS and wins. 38 txg6+ fxg6 39 gxhS lIxhS 40 J.gS! Winning at least the exchange. •.•

1 2

40 J.c3 41 lId7+ �g8 42 J.xg6 1-0 Since, after 42 ... lIh8, White wins immediately by the advance of the h-pawn. Game 34 Alekhine Janowski New York 1924 Irregular Defence -

lbf6 1 d4 2 c4 d6 3 lbc3 J.fS? This move would be reasonable if White had already developed his knight to 0, after which the control of e4 would temporarily remain in Black's hands. But in the actual situ­ ation, the bishop, after White's e2e4, will have no future whatsoever. The late Janowski certainly had a very fine feeling for handling the pair of bishops-but was never a great openings connoisseur, as his contemporaries sometimes liked to represent him. 4 g3 Even 4 0 and S e4 would have strategically refuted Black's bishop move. c6 4 S J.g2 lbbd7 J.g6 6 e4 eS 7 lbge2

3 5 lIa8 is much simpler. O r 37 . . . :'xa4 38 .1 b l ! sPg7 39 sPg2, followed by 40 1Ic4 and 4 1 .1c2, winning as 4 1 . .':a2 can be met by 42 .1b3.

96 New York 1 924 8 h3 Preparing �e3. From now on Black has only the choice between more or less unsatisfactory moves. 8 ... 'iWb6 9 0-0 0-0-0 (D) This supplies White with an ob­ jective for a direct attack, which, ow­ ing to the unfortunate position of the black pieces, will have catastrophic consequences. Instead, 9 . . �e7 1 0 �e3 'iWc7 would have permitted a steadier resistance. .

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10 ds! Demolishing all Black's hopes for eventual delivery by means of . . . d5. The temporary release of the square c5 is, in comparison with this main motive, altogether immaterial. lDcs 10 1 1 �e3 cxds 12 cxds 'iWa6 Acceptance of the pawn sacrifice would have led to a clearly losing position-for instance, 12 ... 'iWxb2 1 3 �xc5 dxc5 14 'iWa4 'iWb6 15 f4 exf4 1 6 gxf4, but the continuation in the text is likewise without pros­ pects.

13 f3 Simple and decisive-B lack no longer has a defence against b4. If, for instance, 1 3 ... 'iWd3, the White re­ plies 14 'iWc l . 13 b8 14 b4 lDcd7 15 a4 'iWc4 16 'iWd2 Good enough, but considering White's tremendous positional ad­ vantage, there was no need for com­ bining. The simple 1 6 nbl, followed by 'iWd2 and nfc 1 , would have won without the slightest effort. 'iWxb4 16 ... In such a position one may 'eat' anything ! 17 �xa7+ a8 18 nfb1 'iWas 19 �e3 lDcs 20 nbS 'iWc7 21 as lDfd7 B l ack has weathered the first onslaughtmore or less successfully, but in as much as White can attack the hostile king with all his seven pieces, while Black's kingside is still undeveloped and his g6-bishop has long since forgotten that it is able to move, White's win is merely a matter of time. nc8 (D) 22 lDc1 lDa6 23 lDb3 If 23 . . . lDxb3 then 24 a6 ! forcing 24 . . . b6 (taking on d2 or al would al­ low mate after 25 axb7+), and only then 25 nxb3. 24 lDa4 �e7 Black makes up his mind to give up the exchange, knowing that, if

Alekhine - Opo�ensky 97

w

24 . . . �b8 White, with 25 l:tc l 'ifid8 26 l:tc6, would have proceeded to in­ stitute a decisive attack. 25 lLlb6+ The crisis. Mter 25 . . . lLlxb6 26 axb6 followed by 27 l%xa6+, White would win immediately. 25 'it>b8 26 l:tel lLldc5 dxc5 27 lLlxc5 28 lLlxc8 The first material gains. Ibc8 28 'ikd7 29 .i.n 30 l:tb6 c4 Or 30 ... .i.d8 3 1 l:tb2 still winning the pawn. l:txc4 31 l:txc4 'ixh3 32 .i.xc4 33 'ikg2 Technically simpler than 3 3 .i.xa6, which would have won also. 'ikxg2+ 33 34 �g2 .i.d8 'it>c8 35 l:tb2 36 .i.xa6 bxa6 37 .i.b6 .i.g5 g8 b5 47 a5 48 d5! This pawn sacrifice, in order to permit the victorious entrance of the king into the enemy 's camp, is the absolutely logical conclusion of the whole procedure. exd5 48 Or 48 . . . cxdS 49 l:tc8 followed by l:ta8. h8 16 17 a4?! (D) White simply has no time for this counter-attack. His only chance of a successful defence was 1 7 g3 fol­ lowed by 1 8 �h2. Mter White has missed this defensive opportunity, B lack gradually develops crushing pressure. .••

•.•

B

•.•

17 18 'iVd2

I:tg8 gxf4!

1 14 Dresden 1926 At the right time, since White can­ not retake with the pawn on account of 1 9 .. .'I'h4 with the double threat 20. . .'ixh3 or 20. . .lbg2+ ! . \!kg5 19 lhf4 \!kg3! 20 �fl Forcing the following king move and thus preparing the win of a tempo at the 23rd move. \!kg7 21 hI �a6! 22 \!kd4 23 l:ln White obviously has no choice. \!kg3! 23 Compare the note to Black's 20th move. �xfl 24 l:le2 25 lhfl l:lac8 Still working with gain of tempo, as he now threatens 26 . . . l:lc4. l:le7 26 b3 l:leg7 27 l:le2 l:lg6! (DJ 28 l:lf4 ••.

3 1 . . .l:lxh3+. If White tries to parry this by playing 29 \!kd 1 , B l ack still answers with 29 ... l:lh6 ! , thus putting the opponent in a position of a com­ plete zugzwang. As a matter of fact: 1 ) The f4-rook could not move because of 30 . . .'ilhe5. 2) The e2-rook is tied by the de­ fence of the squares e3 and g2. 3 ) The king could not move be­ cause Black could take on h3. 4) The queen could move neither along the first rank (due to the reply 30 . . . \!kg7 I), nor along the d-file (be­ cause of 30 . . .l:lxh3 + ! ) . 5 ) Finally, in the event of 3 0 c4 Black would win by 30 . . . d 4 ! , and in the event of 30 b4 by 30 ... \!kg7 3 1 \!kd4 l:lc8! followed b y 3 2. . .l:lc4. Therefore White offers a pawn in the hope of exchanging a pair of rooks and thus weakening the en­ emy attack. l:lh6 29 'ib4 30 h4 N ow this move is absolutely com­ pulsory. \!kg7! 30 Much better than the rather pro­ saic 30 . . . l:lxh4+. If now 3 1 \!kd6, then 3 1 . . .l:lg6 32 l:lff2 f4 ! 33 exf4 e3 ! and wins. l:lg6 31 e4 32 1Wd2 l:lg3! Threatening 33 . . . l:lh3+ 34 gl 'ig3 and, if immediately 3 3 �g l , then 3 3 . . .d4 ! 3 4 exd4 e3 ! 3 5 'ic2 (or 'ib2) 35 . . . l:lh3 followed by . . . 'ig3 and wins. White is helpless. 33 1We1 :'xg2 0-1 •••

After this move a highly original position is obtained, the outstanding features of which are the following: Black's immediate threat is 29 ... l:lh6 30 \!kd 1 \!k g7 winning the e5-pawn, as 3 1 \!kd4 would be answered by

Euwe - Alekhine 1 1 5 Game 44 Euwe - Alekhine Second Exhibition Game, Amsterdam 1926 Nimzo-Indian Defence 1 d4 �6 e6 2 c4 3 lbc3 .i.b4 b6 4 lbf3 5 g3 In the second exhibition game, played after our match in 1 937, Dr. Euwe played 5 .i.g5 but after the right answer (5 ...h6 6 .i.xf6 .i.xc3+ 7 bxc3 'fixf6), had to play very exactly in order to avoid being at a disad­ vantage. But also the fianchetto de­ velopment in the text is perfectly harmless. .i.b7 5 0-0 6 .i.g2 .i.xc3 7 0-0 8 bxc3 d6?! Mter this, White profits by the fact that Black's b7-bishop is unpro­ tected, and forces an advantageous transaction in the centre. Had B lack made the right move (8 ... 'fic8), he would have come out of the opening stage with rather the better pros­ pects. 9 d5! exd5 Although this pawn cannot be kept, it is nevertheless better to start an open middle-game fight than to allow, after 9 . . . e5, the formation 1 0 lbh4 followed b y e4, f4, and s o on, which is clearly advantageous for White. lbe4 10 lbh4

After 1 0 . . . c6 1 1 cxd5 lbxd5 1 2 c4 lbb4 1 3 a3 ltJ4a6 1 4 .i.b2 White would dominate the board. 11 cxd5 l:Ie8 (D) If 1 1 . ..lbxc3, then 1 2 'fid3 lba4 1 3 .t.e4 ! h6 14 'ili'd4 lbc5 1 5 �5 f6 1 6 .i.d2 with a decisive positional advantage.

12 .i.b2 I don't agree here with Dr. Euwe, who in the Dutch booklet devoted to these games rather severely criti­ cises his 12th and 1 3th moves. In any case, the pawn sacrifice sug­ gested by him instead of the text move is anything but convincing, as after 1 2 'id3 lbc5 1 3 'fic2 b5 14 c4 B lack would have an adequate de­ fence by continuing 14 . . . bxc4 1 5 .i.b2 lbbd7 1 6 �5 lbf6. b5 12 As 12 ... 'ili'f6 (or 12 . . .'i g5) would be inferior, because ofthe answer 1 3 'iVa4, Black has practically no other way to prevent c3-c4. 13 a4 Natural and good. Mter 1 3 'fid4, recommended by Dr. Euwe, B lack would have the choice between: •••

1 1 6 Second Exhibition Game, Amsterdam 1926 a) the sacrifice of a pawn, in or­ der to keep control over c4: 1 3 . .. c5 1 4 dxc6 tDxc6 15 'Wd3 tD e5 1 6 'Wxb5 'Wb6 ! 1 7 a4 .i.c6; b) the exchange of queens, which would offer fair defensive possibili­ ties: 1 3 . . . 'Wf6 1 4 f3 'Wxd4+ 15 cxd4 tDd2 1 6 1112 tDc4 17 e4 tDd7. 'ig5! 13 Correctly deciding to eliminate White's d-pawn at the cost of a fur­ ther delay in the development of the queenside. 'ixd5 14 axb5 15 'ia4? But here White over-estimates his chances. He should, instead, by ex­ changing queens, force a favourable endgame which, however, would have been far from hopeless for Bl ack. For instance, 15 'Wxd5 .i.xd5 1 6 l1a4 ! tDf6 1 7 e3 .i.xg2 1 8 c;t;>xg2 tDbd7 19 l1 fal l1eb8 20 c4 l1b7 2 1 .i.d4 tDb6 22 11 M tDfd7 2 3 tDf5 (at last ! ) 23 . . . g6 24 tDe7 + g 1 1 .

29 l:Ih1 He could resistlonger-but with­ out any real hope-by giving up the exchange immediately : 29 l:Ixel l:Ixel 30 tDxd6. 29 tDd3 30 tDe7+ � 31 Jla3 The last convulsions! 31 tDxf2+ 32 'it>g2 tDxh1 33 Jlxd6 l:Ie6 34 Jlc5 Or 34 tDc6+ l:Ixd6 35 tDxb8 l:Id l , winning. 34 l:Ie8! 35 tDf5+ �g8 (D)

...

•••

1

2

36 tDe7+ If 36 tDd6 then 36 . . . Jld3 ! 37 'it>xhl l:Iel + 38 �g2 l:I8e2+ 39 'it>h3 h6 40 l:Ixf7 l:Ic22 4 1 Jlf2 l:Ie6 and wins. 'it>h8 36 •••

28 'ig I 11eS 29 f4 ! offers White defensive chances, so Black might be better off retracing his steps by 28 'i g i tDf3+ 29 'ig2 lleS ! , whereupon he wins the exchange. I don't understand this move, which allows White to fight on by 41 .i.d4!, whereas the alternative 40 ... 11h I 41 11f2 11xf2 42 .i.xf2 .i.f I + wins at once.

1 1 8 Third Exhibition Game, Amsterdam 1926 37 38 39 40

�xhl �g2 �f3 h4 0-1

.i.d3 h6 �h7 hS

Game 45 Alekhine - Euwe Third Exhibition Game. Amsterdam 1926 King's Indian Defence lDf6 1 d4 2 c4 g6 3 lbc3 .i.g7 At the period when this game was played, the Griinfeld variation was somewhat out of fashion. Nowadays thanks to B otvinnik, Flohr, Keres and other masters of the younger generation, it is played more often, although without any remarkable success. 0-0 4 e4 S .i.e3 If 5 f4 d6 6 lbf3, then 6 . . .c5 ! with a good game for Black. d6 S 6 f3 eS 7 dS Better is 7 lbge2 and only after 7 . . . lbc6 (or 7 . . . .i.e6), 8 d5 winning tempi. Black would in that case have to face awkward development prob­ lems. c6 7 cxdS 8 'id2 lbe8 9 cxdS Preparing the counter-attack ... f5 and preventing at the same time White 's attempt to open the h-file

(since 10 h4 may be met by 1O ... f5 1 1 h5 f4 followed by .. g5). 10 0-0-0 fS n �bl It is obvious enough that the king must be removed as soon as possible from the open file. n ... lbd7?! Giving White the welcome op­ portunity to create-without taking many chances-interesting com­ plications by temporarily sacrific­ ing some material. By continuing 1 1 ...a6 12 .i.d3 b5 1 3 lbge2 f4 1 4 .i.f2 lbd7 followed by ...lb b 6 Black would have obtained a perfectly sat­ isfactory position. 12 lbh3! In order to answer both 12 ... lbdf6 and 12 . . . lbb6 by 1 3 lbg5, for in­ stance 12 ... lbb6 1 3 lbg5 f4 14 .i.xb6 'ixg5 15 .i.f2 .i.d7 16 l:tcl lbc7 (or 1 6 . . . a6 17 .i.b6) 17 g4 ! , with excel­ lent prospects on account of the open c-file. a6 12 ... Also if B lack had prevented the following manoeuvre by 1 2 .. .f4, White's prospects would have re­ mained decidedly the more favour­ able. 13 exfS gxfS (D) 14 g4! The point of his 1 2th move, by which he obtains the key square, e4, for his pieces. fxg4 14 ... Relatively better than 1 4 . . .f4 1 5 .i.f2, which offers absolutely no counter-chances for B lack. M6 IS lbgS .

Alekhine - Euwe 1 1 9

w

way to protect his numerous weak­ nesses sufficiently. tLJxe4 18 19 tLJxe4 Now forced as 19 �xe4? is im­ possible because of 19 . . .�xc3. 19 �f5 20 tLJg3 B lockading the g-pawn in order to play h3 at the first opportunity. After 20 tLJg5 B lack would protect e6 by means of ... tLJc7. 20 �xd3+ 21 'fIxd3 'fIf6 A refined tactical manoeuvre, very much in Dr. Euwe's style; he provokes White's l:td2 in order to deprive (after h3 gxh3; l:txh3) the first rank of its natural protection. But against the correct reply all this refinement would prove useless. 22 l:.d2 'fin Because of the threat 23 tLJh5 . 23 h3 gxh3 24 l:.xh3 'fIg6 25 f5? ! Only after this second inaccuracy does Black suddenly get a kind of counter-attack. Very strong here was 25 tLJe4 ! and after 25 . . . tLJf6 simply 26 tLJxd6 l:.ad8 27 �c5 ; other replies would allow White to strengthen his position further by means of l:.g3 or l:.dh2. 'fIg4 25 l:.c8! 26 l:.dh2 In case of 26 ... tLJf6 (which seem­ ingly protects everything) White would play 27 �c l ! with the strong threat 28 l:.h4. The occupation of the c-file gives Black new opportunities. •••

••.

'fIe7 16 �d3 In case of 1 6 . . . gxf3 I should have continued the attack by 17 l:tdfl ! and if 17 ...h6, then 1 8 tLJe6 �xe6 19 dxe6 tLJg4 20 tLJd5 with enough threats to frighten an elephant to death. 17 f4 Both 1 7 l:tdfl and 1 7 l:thgl were also considered. But the prospects connected with the move selected (the eventual opening of the f-file, or f5 followed by tLJe6) were extremely tempting. e4 17 By this counter-sacrifice Dr. Euwe secures the diagonal h8-al for his bishop, and at the same time dimin­ ishes the danger threatening his king by forcing the exchange of a couple of minor pieces. Still, even so White retains the better chances after recap­ turing the sacrificed pawn. 18 tLJgxe4 But this is not the most energetic method. White should have played 1 8 tLJcxe4, and if in that case 18 . . .tLJxe4 19 �xe4 h6, then 20 tLJe6 ±; or 1 8 ... h6 1 9 tLJe6 �xe6 20 dxe6 1i' xe6 2 1 tLJg3 threatening 22 f5 . B lack would hardly have found a •••

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120 Third Exhibition Game, Amsterdam 1926 27 f6! The main idea of this transaction is shown by the following variation: 27 . . . �xf6 28 �f5 'iWc4 ! 29 �e7+ cj;f7 30 'iWf5 ! rJi;xe7 3 1 'fie6+ rJi;d8 32 i.b6+ l1c7 33 l1c3 'fin + 34 rJi;c2 and wins. 27 l1xf6! 28 'fixh7+ rJi;f8 29 l1h1 (D) This rather sad necessity is the di­ rect consequence of Black's fine 2 1st move. But in spite of this partial success, the position of the second player is still full of danger. If, for in­ stance, 29 . . . 'iWb4, then simply 30 a3 and 30 . . . l1n + '! would be refuted by 3 1 l1xn +. And 29 . . . l1f3 is also not satisfactory because of 30 i.h6 ! (with the point 30 . . . l1xg3? 3 1 l1xg3 'fixg3 3 2 'fif5+). Therefore B lack decides to simplify matters.

29 'iWg6+ It would have been slightly better to delay this exchange by playing first 29 . . . l1c7 in which case White, by continuing 30 �h5 ! 'fif5+ 3 1 'fixf5 l1xf5 3 2 �f4, would maintain strong pressure I . After the text move h e has a direct win. l1xg6 30 'ifxg6 31 �f5 (D)

B

S imply threatening 32 �xg7. If now 3 1 . . .l1c7 then 3 2 i.d4 ! i.xd4 33 �xd4 and B lack is without re­ source2. i.e5 31 �6 32 l10! Or 32 ...l1f6 33 i.g5 l1n 34 i.e7+! l1xe7 35 �xd6+ and wins. llgS 33 l1hS+ 34 llxg8+ cj;xgS 1-0 35 �e7+ .••

2

After 32 ... :cf7 33 �e6+ �e7 I see no real advantage for White-the d5-pawn is weak and Black can liquidate by ...:fl+. Moreover. 30 ...Wxh3 3 1 lLlxf6 Wxh7 32 ltJxh7+ �g8 offers excellent drawing chances. After 33 . . . lLlg7 B lack still has good drawing chances since 34 lLle6+ lLlxe6 35 dxe6 fails to 35 ... :tcg7 ! . followed by . . . �e7. After the move played Black is really lost.

Alekhine - Nimzowitsch 121 Game 46 Alekhine - Nimzowitsch New York 1927 Nimzo-Indian Defence tbf6 1 d4 2 c4 e6 ;'b4 3 tbc3 4 'ic2 d6 The only fashionable move nowa­ days (see, for instance, my second match with Dr. Euwe) is 4 . . .d5. tbbd7 5 ;'g5 b6 6 e3 7 ;'d3 ;'b7 S f3 By retaining control of e4, White makes it very difficult for the oppo­ nentto form a suitable plan of further development. S ;'xc3+ 9 'ixc3 c5 10 %3! Black expected here either 1 0 tbe2 o r 1 0 l:td l , both permitting him to simplify matters by means of 1O . . . tbd5 ! . The move selected per­ mits White to make effective use of his bishops. h6 10 1 1 ;'f4 And not 1 1 b4 because of the possibility of . . . g5-g4. 'ie7 11 12 ;'g3! Black threatened 12 . . . e5 eventu­ ally followed by . . .e4.

12 e5? This not too unnatural attempt to clarify the situation in the centre is probably already the decisive error. After the straightforward 1 2 ... 0-0, White would not ha ve found it very easy to exploit Black's unmistakable dark-squared weaknesses. dxe5 13 dxe5 14 0-0-0 g6 14 . . . e4 15 .i.e2 would be useless, and the immediate 14 . . . 0-0-0 would have been met by 15 ;'f5 g6 1 6 ;'xe5 ! gxf5 1 7 l:txd7 followed b y 1 8 ;'xf6 o r 1 8 ;'xh8, with a decisive advantage! . 1 5 ;'c2 This bishop will prove very use­ ful on the diagonal a4-e8. 15 0-0-0 16 ;'a4 (D) •••

B

•••

•••

l:theS 16 17 tbn 1We6 B lack wants to dislodge the omi­ nous bishop on a4, but this plan costs •••

This is a simple oversight, since after 17 ... tDxd7 18 .txh8 f6 the bishop is trapped and B lack wins a piece.

122 New York 1927 a lot of time which White will utilise to decisively strengthen his pressure on the d-file. A slightly better chance of salvation was offered by 17 . . . �h5 and if 1 8 l:td2 then 1 8 . .. �xg3 1 9 hxg3 l:th8 ! 2 0 l:thdl �b8 1 . 1 8 �d3 l:te7 19 l:td2 l:tde8 20 l:thdl If now 20 . . . �h5 then simply 2 1 .i.xd7+ l:txd7 2 2 �xc5 and White wins. 20 .i.c6 21 .i.c2! �h5 (D) In this rather harmless-looking position-with only one pawn ex­ changed and none of White's pieces further than his third rank-Black is already completely helpless against the threats of 22 �xc5 followed by 23 l:td6, or alternatively 22 b4. If, for instance, 2 1 . . .�c7 (in order to pro­ tect d6), then 22 b4 ! cxb4 23 �xb4 �c5 24 �d5+ .i.xd5 25 cxd5 1i'd6 26 f4 ! and wins. After the text move Black loses a queen and a pawn for a rook and knight, after which the rest is merely a matter of technique. Although this game is one of my happiest achievements in the domain of opening strategy, it has passed al­ most unnoticed, merely because of its length and the predilection of most of the chess journalists for short 'brilliancies' . Yet it was certainly not my fault that Nimzowitsch (whose hopes for the second prize were

more than strongly compromised by this loss) decided tofigh t a desperate struggle to the bitter end.

w

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22 �xc5! �xc5 23 l:td6 �xg3 24 hxg3 1i'xd6 25 l:txd6 l:tc7 26 b4 �b7 27 l:txc6 It is obvious that from now on every reduction of material will be in White's favour. l:txc6 27 l:tee6 28 .i.a4 l:txc6 29 .i.xc6 30 1i'xe5 This particular exchange opens new fields of action for both White's queen and king. l:txc4+ 30 h5 31 �d2 32 a3 White's next object will be to tie up B lack's rook and knight. He suc­ ceeds in this aim by bringing his

However, in this line 20 �g4! f6 21 1!fd3 tOb8 22 1!fxg6 l:[xd2 23 CiPxd2 destroys Black ' s position.

Alekhine - Nimzowitsch 123 queen into a very strong position in the middle of the board (see 43rd move). 32 l:tc7 33 1i"e8+ tDd8 34 e4 l:td7+ l:tc7 35 'ie3 36 <M4 Also good was 36 'if2 followed by 'igl -h2 and eventually f4-f5 . But White wants his king to participate in the final battle. 36 l:tc3 l:tc2 37 a4 38 1i"e7 l:tc7 39 1i"C6 l:tc2 l:tc7 40 1i"e7 tDe6+ 41 1i"d6 42 'ie5 Or 42 'ie3, followed by 'if2- g 1 , as mentioned in the previous note. tDd8 42 43 1i"d5! l:tc6 44 �4 Now White decides to provoke the move . . . a5, which will create a new weakness on b6. 44 l:tc3+ 45 �e3 l:tc7 46 'ie2 tDd8 47 C4 l:tc3+ 48 'ie3 l:tc7 (D) 49 'id4 as 50 'ie5! Now practically forced, as after 50. . .l:tc6 5 1 f5 ! , there would not be a satisfactory move left 'id7 5 1 1i"a8+ 'ie7 52 b5 Instead 52 . . . l:tb7 53 'if6 would have been perfectly useless.

53 C5! And not 53 'i!i'b8? due to the reply 53 . . . tDe6 ! winning the queen be­ cause of the mating threat at c5. 53 C6+ 54 'id4 l:td7+ 55 'ie3 gxC5 56 exf5 After this Black's h-pawn will in­ evitably fall. 56 tDf7 tDe5 57 1i"f3 This knight's position, though good, is insufficient compensation for the further material loss. 58 1i"xh5 l:td3+ l:td2+ 59 'ia 60 � l:td4 61 1i'h7+ �d6 If 61 ... tDf7 then 62 'i!i'g8 followed by 'i!i'b8 winning the black pawn on b6. tDd7 62 'i!i'b7 63 'i!i'c6+ 'ie7 64 1i"e6+ 'id8 65 'i!i'b3 l:tb4 66 1i"dl 'ie7 'id8 67 1i"e2+ 68 'i!i'a2 r;e7 69 'ie2! l:te4+ •••

124 New York 1927 Or 69 . . .'ili'd8 70 1i'g8+ followed by g4-g5 . 70 �f3 7 1 �e3 72 �g8 73 g4! This now brings a prompt decision. 73 l:txa4 74 g5 fxg5 75 �xg5+ �d6 76 �g6+ �c7 77 �c6+ �d8 lIal 78 f6 79 g4 :n lIf5 80 g5 8 1 �a8+ h1 Or 30 l:txd4 'fixd4+ 31 'it>f1 'fif4+ 32 �el 'fixb4. 'ifc1+ 30 0-1 •••

•••

Game 50 Capablanca - Alekhine Buenos Aires Wch (J) 1927 French Defence 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 lbc3 .i.b4 exd5 4 exd5 5 .i.d3 lbc6 6 lbe2 lbge7 .i.r5 7 0-0 8 .i.xf5 Other moves like 8 a3 or 8 lbg3 would also prove perfectly harmless. This game shows once more that, if White has any fighting ambitions in this variation, he must avoid the pawn exchange at the 4th move. lbxf5 8 'ifd7 9 'ifd3 10 lbd1 The beginning of a long series of slightly inferior moves. The natural developing move 10 .i.f4, which Black intended to meet by 1 0 . . . 0-0-0, would have led to a more lively struggle. 0-0 10 •••

11 lbe3 lbxe3 12 .i.xe3 White's minor pieces are now ob­ structing the vital e-file. This is a convincing proof of the inexactitude of his opening strategy. l:tfe8 12 13 lbr4 As the answer proves, the knight has no future on this square. 13 .i.f4 followed by c3 was natural and good enough for a draw. 13 .i.d6 (D) •.•

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Thus Black proposes a transac­ tion whose results would be very satisfactory for himself. If, namely, 14 lbxd5 .i.xh2+ 15 'it>xh2 'fixd5 1 6 c4, then 1 6. . .'fih5+ 1 7 'it> g l l:tad8 1 8 d5 l:td6 and White's king position would be in danger. 14 mel White continues to play superfi­ cially. Indicated was first 14 c3. lbb4 14 15 'ft'b3? After this he will be obliged at least to spoil his pawn position in a rather ugly way. The lesser evil was 15 'fid2 'fif5 1 6 l:tecl h 5 ! (Black is •••

130 Buenos Aires Wch (1) 1927 threatening . . .l:e4 followed by .. .h4) with some positional advantage for Black. 'irs 15 16 l:ac1? (D) After this further error, the game can hardly be saved as Black now wins a pawn, with a fairly good posi­ tion. Necessary was 1 6 lbd3 after which Black, it is true, would have obtained a far superior endgame by continuing 16 . . .lDxd3 17 'ixd3 'ixd3 18 cxd3 i.b4 1 9 l:ec I c6, eventually followed by . . . a5 ! , etc. •••

lDxe2! 16 'ixf4 17 l:xe2 This is the possibility overlooked by Capablanca at his 1 6th move. He expected only 1 7 ...i.xf4 after which he would have re-established the bal­ ance by 18 l:c5. 18 g3 It is merely a matter of taste whether this or 1 8 'ixd5 'ixh2+ 1 9 ..w I c 6 i s preferable. 18 'irs Tempting was al so 18 . 'if3 1 9 'ixb7 h5 2 0 'ib5 h4 2 1 'ie2 'if5, with a good attack. But the decision •••

.

.

to keep the material advantage can certainly not be blamed. 19 l:ee2 b6 hS 20 'is 21 h4 l:e4 Threatening 22. . .l:xh4. 22 i.d2(!) This temporary sacrifice of a sec· ond pawn offers comparatively the best saving chances-in case Black accepts it. Perfectly hopeless would have been 22 'id3 l:ae8 23 i.d2 'ie6. 22 l:xd4 This acceptance-which had to be calculated very carefully-was by no means necessary. Simple and convincing was instead 22 ... l%ae8 as after the exchange of the white queen for two rooks by 23 "i!Vxe8+ l%xe8 24 l:xe8+ �h7 Black, owing to his considerable positional advan­ tage, would have but little difficulty in forcing the win. 23 i.e3 l:d3 Also after 23 . . .l:g4 (23 ...l:c4? 24 l:te5 ! ) 24 i.e5 White would have finally won back one of his minus pawns. l:d8 24 i.eS l:txd6 25 i.xd6 This is technically simpler than the unaesthetic 25 . . . cxd6 26 "i!Vc6 ! . 26 l:teS 'if3 O f course not 26 . . ."i!V g6 27 ltg5 . 27 l:txhS 'l'xhS And here 27 ... l:te6 would be another method of suicide (28 "i!Ve8+ I). 28 l:te8+ Cih7 'ig6 29 'iVxd3+ 30 'ifdl (D) •••

Capablanca - Alekhine 131

l1e6! 30 An interesting conception. B lack gives back his plus pawn in order to combine the advance of the passed d-pawn with a mating attack. 30 ... d4 would be much less convincing be­ cause of the answer 3 1 1W f3 threaten­ ing both 32 1Wa8 and 32 h5. l1e5! 31 l1a8 Intending to place the queen be­ hind the rook and at the same time preparing the formation of the pawn chain b6-c5-d4. c5 32 l1xa7 33 l1d7 ? ! Shortens the agony. I expected, instead, 33 �g2 d4 34 l1a3 1We6 ! 35 .f3 c4 followed by the decisive ad­ vance of the d-pawn. "ili'e6 33 g6 34 'id3+ d4 35 l1d8 36 a4 Despair! l1el+ 36 ... This direct attack is convincing enough. But Black could also have taken immediate advantage of the exposed position of the adventurous rook-for instance, 36 . . . 1We7 ! 37 •••

l1b8 "ili'c7 3 8 "ili'b3 l1e6 3 9 l1a8 "ili'b7 and the rook would be lost because of the threat 40 . . .l1el + . 3 7 �g2 "ili'c6+ 38 f3 l1e3 39 "ili'dl "i e6 40 g4 l1e2+ 41 h6? 49 f5 ! even wins for White) 49 'iff6+. 2) 45 .. . 'it'c7 46 'ifxc7 ':xc7 47 ':d l . 3 ) 4 5 . . .':c7 4 6 -.b8 c2 4 7 ':d8 'ifxf6 ! 48 ':h8 + ! ! (this is the move I had overlooked when I started the combination by playing 43 . . . 'iWc6) 48 ... 'iWxh8 49 'ifxc7, with salvation in all cases. 46 'fie7 If now 46 ... c2 then 47 ':d8+ ':xd8 48 'ifxd8+ c;i;>h7 49 'ife7 'ife6 50 'it'c7, forcing a draw. •••

•••

46

.••

'i6 (D)

47 'fid7? Capablanca does not take full ad· vantage of the opportunity given to him by my 43rd move, and the game again takes its natural course. By playing 47 ':d7 ! he could have ob­ tained a draw, as after 47 ... 'it'xf2+ (if 47 . . . ':f8, then 48 a5 'it'xa5 49 :a7 'it'd5 50 ':d7 'it'a5 and the white rook, because of the threat 'ifxf8+!, would eternally persecute the enemy queen) 48 c;i;>h l ! (48 c;i;>h3 would lose, since in the main variation the black queen would reach the square e6 with check) 48 . . . 'iWa2 49 ':d8+ ':xd8 50 'it'xd8+ c;i;>h7 5 1 'it'fS and there would not be anything better than perpetual check, White's f6pawn remaining invulnerable. A most unusual escape! 47 'fic5! 48 ':e4 This is now the only way to par 48 ...c2. 'fixf2+ 48 'fif1+ 49 c;i;>h3 'if2+ 50 h2 IUS 51 c;i;>h3 •••

Capablanca - Alekhine 135 52 'ifc6 Again the only move. 52 'iffl+ 53 �h2 'iff2+ 'iffl + 54 �h3 �h7! 55 �h2 56 'ifc4 If 56 'ifxc3 then 56 . . . 'iff2+ 57 �h I ndS 5S 'ife I 'iff3+ 59 �h2 ndl and winsl . 56 'l'f2+ 57 �h3 'l'gl! The decisive manoeuvre. As an alternative 57 . . . c2 would be insuffi­ cient because of 5S l1f4 ! followed by nn2• 58 ne2 (D) Instead, 5S g4 would have led to a pretty win: 5S ... c2! 59 'ifxc2 neS ! ! . •••

B

2

3

58 For the second time B lack over­ looks an easy win! The correct se­ quence of moves (which I actually intended when playing 57 . . . 'ifg l ! ) was 5S ... 'ifh l + 59 nh2 'iff3 ! after which White could not play 60 nc2 due to 60 . . .'iff5+ and he would be helpless against the threat 60 ... 'ifxf6 (if 60 'iff4, then 60 ... 'ifdl ! )3 . 5 9 �h2 'ifxf6 60 a5? Instead of securing the draw by 60 nc2 neS 6 1 c.t>g2! (threatening either 62 nxc3 or 62 nf2) Capa­ blanca commits another error and should now lose instantly. nd8? 60 An immediate decision could be obtained by 60 . . .'ifn ! 6 1 'ife4 ndS (or . . . nbS). After the text move the win should again become quite a problem. 61 a6? After 61 c.t>g2 B lack could only obtain a queen ending with three pawns against two which, with the right defence, should most probably end in a draw. Now at last, it is the end! •••

•••

At the end of this line White can fight on by 60 l:.f4! "it'd3 61 "it'e4 and there is no immediate win for Black. In view of this, Black should prefer 57 ... l:.b8 ! 58 l:.b4 l:.e8, which really does finish White off. In fact 58 l:.f4 "it'd2 59 l:tfl fails straight away after 59 ... 1i"d7+ 60 'ili>h2 l:tc8 6 1 1i"f4 "it'd 1 , but White can defend b y means o f 5 8 l:.e7 ! 1i"xf6 59 l:.c7 and B lack cannot win. There remains the question as to whether or not Black can win after 60 l:te2 1i"xf6 61 'ili>g2! l:tb8 (6 L..l:.d8 62 l:.f2 l:.d2 63 l:.xd2 cxd2 64 1i"dS draws) 62 as, when White threatens to advance his pawn and force the exchange of the queenside pawns.

136 Buenos A ires Wch (21) 1927 'iWfi ! 61 nd2 62 'iWe4 cxd2 63 nxd2 dl'iW 64 a7 'iWgl+ 65 a8'iW 'iWdfi+ 66 �h3 If now 67 'iWg2 then the reply is 67 ...'iWhl#. 0-1 In my opinion this game has been praised too much, the whole world over. It was doubtless very exciting both for the players, who were con­ tinuously short of time, and the pub­ lic. But its final part represents a true comedy of errors in which my oppo­ nent several times missed a draw and I missed about the same number of winning opportunities . In short, but for its outstanding sporting impor­ tance (it became, in fact, the crucial point of the match) I would hardly have included it in this collection. Game 52 Capablanca - Alekhine Buenos Aires Wch (21) 1927 Queen's Gambit Declined d5 1 d4 e6 2 c4 lbf6 3 lbc3 lbbd7 4 .i.g5 .i.e7 5 e3 0-0 6 lbf3 a6 7 :tel Although with this less usual de­ fence I obtained quite a success in this match (+ 1 , =7, -0), I now con­ sider it as unsatisfactory because of the possible answer 8 cxd5, adopted

by Capablanca in the 23rd, 25th and 27th games. 8 a3?! This tame rejoinder will be con­ vincingly refuted (as a winning at­ tempt, of course) in the present game. It has since completely disappeared from master practice. 8 h6 dxc4 9 .i.h4 10 .i.xc4 b5 ! More natural and a better move than 1 O . . . b6 which, however, in the 1 3th, 15th, 17th, and 1 9th games proved sufficient for maintaining the balance of the position. 1 1 .i.e2 .i.b7 12 0-0 In the event of 1 2 b4 B lack would have obtained the initiative by play­ ing 1 2 ... a5 ! 1 3 'iWb3 axb4 14 axb4 g5 15 .i.g3 lbd5 . c5 12 lbxc5 13 dxcS 14 lbd4 As White has not an atom of ad­ vantage, the logical course for him was to simplify matters by means of 14 'iWxd8 nfxd8 1 5 nfd l . Entirely wrong would be, instead of the text move, 14 .i. xf6 .i.xf6 1 5 lbxb5, be­ cause of 1 5 . . . 'iWxdl 1 6 Itfxdl lbb3 1 7 nc7 .i.xf3 1 8 .i.xf3 axb5 1 9 .i.xa8 nxa8 + . nc8 14 Preventing liJxb5 once and for all. 15 b4 Weakening, without any neces­ sity, the square c4. S impler was 15 .i.f3 'iWb6 1 6 'iWe2. 15 lbcd7! (D) .••

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Capablanca - Alekhine 137

16 i.g3 the event of 16 i.f3, I intended to play 1 6 ... 1i'b6 17 lOe4 l:xcl 1 8 1i'xc 1 l:c8 after which the white queen would have had no good square at her disposal, for instance: 19 'tli'bl ? (or 19 1i'd2?) 19 ... lOxe4, 1 9 1i'b2 g5 20 lOxf6+ i.xf6, or 1 9 1i'd I (or 1 9 1i'e l ) 1 9 . . . g5-all to Black's advantage. The text move is there­ fore comparatively the best! . lOb6 16 17 'tli'b3 In order to answer 17 ... lOc4 by 1 8 l:dl 1i'b6 1 9 a4. lOrdS 17 A good move connected with the positional threat 1 8 . . . lOxc3 1 9 l:xc3 .id5 20 1i'b2 l:xc3 2 1 1i'xc3 1i'a8, followed by . . . l:c8, with advantage to Black. White's answer is practi­ cally forced lic4! 18 i.f3 19 lOe4 'tli'c8 20 lixc4 In

..•

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I am inclined to consider this ex­ change the decisive positional error, as from now o n B l ack, taking ad­ vantage of the formidable position of his knight at c4, will gradually concentrate all his pieces for action in the centre. White's correct move was 20 1i'b I threatening both 2 1 lOd6 and 2 1 i.d6; i f in that case 20 . . . l:d8 then 21 lOd2 l:xcl 22 l:xc l 1i'a8 23 i.c7 and White would succeed in exchanging some further material without further compro­ mising his position. Still, the text move can by no means be considered an actual blun­ der and Capablanca lost this game only because he did not realise in time the dangers of his position and was, in the issue, regularly out­ played. lOxc4 20 'ita8! 21 l:el Threatening either 22 . . .lOxb4 or 22 . . . lOdxe3, and thus forcing White to abandon control of the central light squares. 22 lOc3 If22 lOc5 then 22 . . . i.xc5 23 bxc5 l:c8 24 i.e2 l:xc5 25 i.xc4 1i'c8, winning a pawn. lic8 22 Threatening 23 . . .lOd2. 23 lOxd5 i.xd5 24 i.xd5 'itxd5 25 a4 •.•

.••

A curious note, because the lines given after 19 'f2 and 19 'lWdll el are hardly clear-cut. Instead Black should reply with 19 . . i.xe4 and only then ... g5, which simply wins a piece. .

138 Buenos A ires Wch (32) 1927 The wish to reduce the number of pawns on the queenside is natural, but White's position still remains compromised, inasmuch as his b­ pawn will become a welcome object of attack in the endgame. i.f6 25 26 tiJrJ Of course not 26 l:tdl because of 26 . . . bxa4 27 'i!i'xa4 tiJb2 28 'i!i'xa6 l:ta8 and wins. i.b2! (D) 26 •••

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29 e5 30 JIbl e4! The beginning of the end. 31 tiJd4 Or: 1 ) 3 1 tiJe1 'i!i'd2 32 'i!i'c2 (32 �f1 l:ta8 33 l:td l l:ta3 and B lack wins) 32 . . . 'i!i'xc2 33 tiJxc2 l:td2 34 lDel tiJa3 and wins. 2) 3 1 tiJh2 'i!i'd3 ! 32 l:txb2! 'i!i'xb3 33 l:txb3 l:td 1 + 34 tiJf1 tiJd2 35 l%a3 tiJxfl and White is helpless. 31 i.xd4 32 l:td1 Loses immediately. But also after 32 exd4 'i!i'xd4 the game could not have lasted long. 32 tiJxe3! 0-1 This and the 34th game are, in my opinion, the most valuable of the match. ••.

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•••

In order to play . . .e5 without re­ stricting the activity of the bishop. The tactical justification of this move is shown by the following variations: 1) 27 l:tdl bxa4 ! 28 'i!i'xa4 tiJb6 29 l:txd5 tiJxa4 30 l:td 1 tiJc3 3 1 l:te1 l:tc4 32 i.d6 tiJe4 33 i.e7 f6 34 l:tb1 c:j;f7 35 c:j;fl iLc3, with an easy win in the endgame. 2) 27 l:tb1 tiJa3 ! 28 'i!i'xb2 tiJxbl 29 'i!i'xb1 'i!i'b3 30 'i!i'fl bxa4 3 1 h3 a3 and wins. l:td8 27 l:te1 28 axb5 axb5 29 h3 This emergency exit is absolutely necessary.

Game 53 Alekhine - CapabJanca Buenos Aires Wch (32) 1927 Queen's Gambit Declined 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

d4 d5 c4 e6 tiJc3 tiJf6 i.g5 tiJbd7 c6 e3 exd5 cxd5 i.d3 i.e7 tiJge2 This knight development was played here for the first time. Be­ cause of White's success in the pre­ sent game, it became fashionable in the following years. In my opinion it

Alekhine - Capablanca 139 is neither better nor worse than the usual tLJf3, but if White elects to cas­ tle on the queenside, he has to be particularly careful because Black's counter-attack on this wing rna y eas­ ily become more dangerous than his own initiative on the kingside. 8 0-0 In this kind of position . . . h6 is generally played before castling in order not to allow White to answer this pawn move by h4. If Black had done this, my answer would have been not 9 .th4 but 9 .tf4. 9 tLJg3 tLJe8 There is hardly another method of emancipation, as 9 .. .ne8 would have been very strongly met by 1 0 tLJf5 . 10 h4 The natural consequence of the whole opening plan. tLJdf6 10 11 �c2 .te6 .txf5 12 tLJr5 13 .txf5 tLJd6 14 .td3 Of course not 14 .txf6 tLJxf5 with equality. This text move forces Black to weaken his king position. 14 ... h6 15 .tf4 In case of 1 5 0-0-0 B lack would have been able to try a counter-attack starting with 1 5 . . .b5. nc8 (D) 15 Black intends, as soon as his op­ ponent castles queenside, to generate activity on the c-file, and thereby overlooks the combinative reply. A more logical course was 1 5 . . . ne8 intending ... tLJfe4. •••

•••

16 g4! This advance, made possible by the fact that 16 . . . tLJxg4? 17 .txd6 followed by 1 8 .tf5 would lose the exchange for Black, considerably strengthens White' s position and leaves Black but little choice. 16 tLJfe4 h5 17 g5 18 .txe4 White decides to accept Black's (forced) pawn sacrifice, although he realises that the ensuing ending will be extremely difficult to win-if it is possible at all, considering the very effective position of the black rook on White's second rank. A promis­ ing alternative was 1 8 .txd6 tLJxd6 1 9 0-0-0 (not 19 g6 immediately, be­ cause of 1 9 . . . .txh4 with counter­ play) 1 9 . . . tLJb5 20 �bl tLJxc3+ 2 1 �xc3 and, i n spite o f the opposite­ coloured bishops, Black would not have found it easy to obtain a draw. tLJxe4 18 19 tLJxe4 dxe4 'ia5+ 20 'ixe4 21 'it>f1 White cannot risk the variation 2 1 �e2 �b5+ 22 'it>f3 nfe8.

140 Buenos Aires Wch (32) 1927 'iWd5! 21 The point of B lack's counterplay: after the forced exchange of queens the only open file will become a very important factor in his favour. 22 'ti'xd5 exd5 23 'ig2 l1e2 24 l1hel It is obviously of importance to eliminate one pair of rooks. If now 24 . . . l1xb2, White would secure a strong endgame advantage by means of 25 l1cb l ! . 24 l1feS l1xe2 25 l1xe2 26 l1bl c,tw>h7 Black prepares to take advantage of the fact that the light squares in White's position are insufficiently protected. White's following moves show the only appropriate defence against this plan. 27 c,tw>g3 c,tw>g6 f6! 28 f3 And not 28 . . .c,tw>f5? because of 29 e4+. Both sides, so far, are treating the difficult endgame in the correct manner. �xf6 29 gxf6 30 a4 Preparing to relieve the rook from the defence of the queenside pawns. 30 rM5 l1e2 ( D ) 31 as B lack is threatening now (in the event of 32 b4 for instance) 32 . . . g5 ! 33 hxg5 �xg5 34 �xg5 q.,xg5 after which 35 f4+ 'if5 36 Wf3 l1h2 37 l1 g 1 l1h3+ 3 8 l1g3 l1xg3 + ! would only lead to a drawn king and pawn ending. .•.

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32 l1el If White wants to play for a win he is compelled to give back (at least temporarily) the extra pawn. But a more efficient and, taking into con­ sideration his two last moves, logi­ cal, method of doing it, was 32 a6!. After 32 ... bxa6 (32...b6 33 �b8) the reply 33 l1al ! would have prevented 33 ... g5 because of 34 hxg5 �xg5 35 e4+ ! , while after 33 ... l1xb2 34 l1xa6 l1b7 35 l1a5 White's positional ad­ vantage would become decisive. After the move selected, Black will be able to put up a long and not alto­ gether hopeless resistance. 32 l1xb2 c,tw>e6 33 l1e5 34 e4 �xd4 Here, as on several future occa­ sions in this game, Black could have played differently, but it is doubtful if it would have altered the final re­ sult. If, for instance, 34 . . .dxe4, then 35 d5+ �5 36 d6+ c,tw>e6 37 fxe4 l1b3+ 3 8 'iPg2 �xh4 39 l1xh5 fol­ lowed by 40 l1h7 and Black's fight against the central passed pawns would prove extremely difficult. 35 l1xd5 �e3

Alekhine - Capablanca 141 46 l:le2 l:le4 47 .i.b6 This facilitates White's task, as it enables his king to give effective support to the central pawns. B etter was 47 . . . .i.g3 after which White would have tried to win by means of 48 l:le5+ �d6 (48 ... �f7 49 h5 ! ) 49 l:lg5. 48 �g2! By this move White at last obtains a clearly won position. It is obvious that after 48 . . . l:lxe4? 49 �f3 B lack would lose immediately. 48 g6 �d7 49 l:le5+ 50 h5! gxh5 h4 51 � 5 1 .. .l:lc3+ 52 �e2 .i.g3 53 .i.e3 h4 54 l:lh5, would not be any better. l:le3+ 52 l:lh5 53 �g4 l:le4 54 �5! Apparently falling into the trap, but in reality selecting the surest and quickest way to make use of the passed pawns. .i.xa5 54 55 l:lh7+ Of course not 55 .i.xa5 l:lc5+ 56 �g4? because of the reply 56 ... l:lxh5 followed by 57 ... h3 winning. �e6 55 l:le5+ 56 .i.xa5 57 �e6! l:lxa5 58 f5 1:[a3 1:[f3 59 f6

By playing 35 . . . .i.f2+ 36 �h3 Ilb3 37 l:le5+ �7 he could tempo­ rarily save the pawn, but his position after 38 .i.g5 ! would still look very compromised 1 . a6 36 l:lxh5 1f36 . . . .i.el + 37 �h3 l:lf2 then 3 8 lle5+ ! followed b y 39 l:lf5+, o r 3 9 1ld5+ and l:ld3, maintaining the plus pawn. .i.el+ 37 .i.e7 Or 37 ... l:lb5 38 l:lg5 ! . l:lg2+ 38 �g4 39 �h3 Of course not 39 �4 �.d2#! l:lfl 39 l:lg2+ 40 �g4 l:lfl 41 �h3 l:lf3+ 42 f4! 43 �g2 Another method of suicide could have occurred here: 43 �g4 l:lg3#. l:lfl+ 43 l:lf3+ 44 �h3 l:lfl+ 45 �g2 46 �gl (D)

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I find this hard to believe; after 38 . b5 ! Black obtains a passed pawn on the queenside, which should provide enough counterplay to draw. ..

142 Buenos Aires Wch (34) 1927 bS 60 f7 61 AhS! The neat final point of this colourful ending. 61 h3 lhfs 62 lUs 1-0 63 exfS As if now 63 ... h2 64 f8'iW hI 'iW, then 65 'iWa8+ wins . Game 54 Alekhine - Capablanca Buenos Aires Wch (34) 1927 Queen's Gambit Declined 1 d4 dS 2 c4 e6 3 lLlc3 lilf6 4 i.gS lLlbd7 5 e3 c6 6 a3 The main object of this quiet move is to avoid the Cambridge Springs Defence, but it should hardly prom­ ise White more than a comfortable equality. I selected it here merely in order to leave book variations as rapidly as possible. 6 i.e7 0-0 7 lLlfJ 8 i.d3 dxc4 A sound alternative was 8 . . . h6 9 i.h4 c5. 9 i.xc4 lLldS 'ifxe7 10 i.xe7 Another possibility was the sim­ plifying 1 0. . . lLlxc3. lLlSf6 11 lLle4 c5 12 lLlg3 1 2 . . b6 followed by ... i.b7, as played by Maroczy against me at .

San Remo in 1 930, is worth consid­ eration. The text manoeuvre has the slight drawback of not yet solving the problem of developing the c8bishop. 13 0-0 lLlb6 14 i.a2 cxd4 15 lLlxd4 g6 In order to be able to answer e4 by ...e5 without ceding the square f5 to the white knights. 16 Act Threatening eventually to play lLlb5 . 16 i.d7 17 'iWe2 Aac8 18 e4 eS (D)

w

19 lLlfJ rJ;g7 B lack should here exchange both rooks, as after 1 9 . . .Axcl 20 I'txc1 :c8 21 Axc8+ lLlxc8 the move 22 lLlg5 could have been sufficiently met by 22 ... i.e8. The text move, and especially the next one, suddenly brings his position into danger. 20 h3 h6? 21 'iWd2! This harmless-looking move is in reality very hard to meet. White's

Alekhine - Capablanca 143 main threat is 22 'if as, and if Black should try to parry this by 2 1 . . . .i.c6 (or 2 l . ...i.bS), then an unexpected diversion on the kings ide would lead to a rapid end: 22 lLlh4 ! lLlxe4 (22 ... .i.xe4 23 'ife3 ! or 22 ... .i.d7 23 ti'aS) 23 liJhfS+ gxfS 24 lLlxfS+ �f6 2S ti'xh6+ WxfS 26 g4# ! The only move which offers some chance of a successful defence is that suggested by Dr. Lasker, 2 1 . ..lLla4 ! . In that case, White would simply strengthen his position-for in­ stance, by means of 22 IUd 1 . 21 .i.e6? The position has proved too diffi­ cult for Black; he now loses a pawn and, after a desperate struggle, the game and the match. The following sharp combinations, as well as the subsequent queen and rook ending, are both exciting and instructive. 'ixe6 22 .i.xe6 lLlc4 23 'iaS Or 23 . . . 'ib3 24 'ixeS lLlc4 2S Wd4 ±. lLlxb2 24 "fixa7 llxc8 2S llxc8 lLlc4 26 "fixb7 lla8 27 "fib4 "fic6! 28 llal Threatening to blockade the a­ pawn by 29 ... 11a4, and also (at least apparently) to win the e-pawn. But White's next two moves put the situ­ ation in a true light. lLlxe4 29 a4! 30 lLlxeS Thus White avoids the pitfall 30 �e4 'ixe4 3 1 11c l llc8 32 lLlxeS ? ! lbe3 ! 3 3 11i'xe4 11xc l + 34 Wh2 lLlf1 +

followed by . . . lLlg3+ and . . .lLlxe4, after which Black would even win. "fid6! 30 In the circumstances compara­ tively best, as both pairs of knights will soon disappear from the board. 31 "fixc4 "fixeS 32 llet lLld6 "fif6 33 "fi el! lLlxe4 34 lLle4 3S llxe4 (D) •••

B

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The winning procedure which follows is a rather elaborate one, and consists of combining threats using the passed pawn with an attack against the somewhat exposed black king. First and foremost, White will succeed in controlling the important diagonal, al-h8. 3S lla8 36 lle2 llaS 37 lla2 "fia6 38 "fic7! Obviously, the only way to pre­ vent the advance of White's passed pawn. 39 "fic3+ 'it>h7 40 lld2 With the deadly threat 4 1 11d8.

144 Buenos A ires Wch (34) 1927 'ib6 40 41 nd7 The sealed move. Black's next manoeuvres offer the only chance, if not to save the game, at least to per­ mit a longer resistance. 41 'ibl+ 42 'iPh2 'ib8+ llf5 43 g3 44 'id4 Threatening 45 as ! followed by l:IdS. 'ie8 44 no 45 nd5 The queen ending would be, of course, tantamount to resignation. 46 h4 White does not need to stop the black queen's following manoeuvre, which finally leads to an easily won rook ending. 46 'ih8 47 'ib6! At this moment the exchange would be premature, as it would al­ low Black to bring his rook behind the passed pawn. 'ial 47 llf6 48 'iPg2 If 48 . . . na3, then White wins as follows: 49 lld7 'iPgS (49 ... 'iPg7 50 'it'e6 ! or 49 ... 1i'a2 50 'if6) 50 'it'dS+ 'iPg7 5 1 'fie7 'fia2 52 'fie5+ 'iPh7 5 3 'if6. 49 'id4 Now the right moment to ex­ change has come, as it is the white rook that will get behind the passed pawn. 'it'xd4 49 'iPg7 50 nxd4 •••

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Instead 50 . . . na6 would have lost immediately after 5 1 'iPf3 followed by 'iPe4-d5. 51 as lIa6 52 nd5 lIf6 lla6 53 nd4 <M6 54 lIa4 55 <M3 'iPe5 56 'iPe3 h5 57 'iPd3 'iPd5 58 'iPe3 'iPe5 59 lIa2 'iPb5 60 'iPb3 White makes use of every oppor­ tunity, by repetition of moves, to gain time with the clock, so as to avoid a slip just before the capture of the title. 60 'iPeS �b5 61 'iPe3 62 'iPd4 If now 62 . . . 'iPb4, then White plays 63 lIal ! . nd6+ 62 ne6+ 63 'iPe5 �a6 64 <M4 lIeS+ 65 'iPg5 llf5 (D) 66 'iPh6

67 f4

Marshall - Alekhine 145 The simplest method to force ca­ pitulation was 67 1ilg7 l:tf3 68 1ilg8 :t"6 69 1ilf8 ! l:tf3 (or 69 ... l:tfS 70 f4) 70 q;g7 l:tfs 71 f4. l:tc5! 67 68 l:ta3 l:tc7 69 1ilg7 l:td7 70 f5 Another inexact move. A more di­ rect way was first 70 1ilf6 and only after 70 . . . l:tc7, 7 1 fS gxfS 72 1ilxfS AcS+ 73 1ilf6 l:tc7 74 l:tf3 1ilxaS 7S 1:f5+ and wins. 70 gxf5 7 1 1ilh6 f4 72 gxf4 l:td5 73 1ilg7 l:tf5 74 l:ta4 1ilb5 75 l:te4! c;.\;>a6 76 1ilh6 l:txa5 Alternatively, 76 . . . 1ilb7 77 l:teS l:txf4 78 1ilgS ! l:tfl 79 1ilxhS fS 80 c;.\;>gS f4 8 1 l:tfS f3 82 1ilg4 and White wins. 77 l:te5 l:ta1 78 �xh5 l:tg1 79 l:t g5 l:th1 1ilb6 80 l:tf5 81 l:txt7 1ilc6 82 l:te7 1·0 Game SS Marshall - Alekhine Exhibition Game, New York 1929 Queen's Indian Defence 1 2 3 4 5

d4 c4 tbf3 .i.d2 e3

tbf6 e6 .i.b4+ "tIe7

Here White can obtain control of e4 by playing S iic2, but in that case B lack would select another system: S . . . .i.xd2+ 6 tbbxd2 d6 followed by ... eS. 5 b6 6 .i.d3 .i.b7 7 'ic2 .i.xd2+ In order to advance a pawn to the centre and thus indirectly prevent White's e4. 8 tbbxd2 c5 If now 9 e4, then 9 . . .tbc6 +. 9 0·0 tLlc6 10 a3 0·0 1 1 l:tad1 g6 Preventing dS, which, especially after White's last rook move, could eventually be disagreeable. 12 l:tfe1 A refined preparation for tbe4, which at this moment would not be satisfactory because of 1 2 ... tbxe4 1 3 .i.xe4 dS ! 1 4 cxdS exdS I S .i.xdS tDxd4 +. l:tac8 12 13 tbe4 l:tfd8 (D) 1 3 .. . l:tfe8 was technically sim­ pler since after 14 dS exdS White himself would have been obliged to exchange knights. But the move se­ lected is at least good enough to maintain the balance qf position. 14 d5 Very bold and quite in Marshall's style; he cedes B lack a queenside pawn majority without getting any real compensation elsewhere, since his pieces are not sufficiently co-or­ dinated to support an effective ac­ tion in the centre. One must admit, •••

146 Exhibition Game, New York 1929

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however, that White's position, owing to the elasticity of Black's pawn-structure, was already slightly inferior. Black threatened-after some further preparation, such as . . . d6-to start an action on the c-file by . . .cxd4 followed by . . .�a5. 14 exd5 �xe4 15 cxd5! 1 5 . . . �xd5 would have had unfor­ tunate consequences, e.g. 1 6 i.c4 0db4 17 'ilc3 ! 'i!kxe4 18 i.xf7 + 'oif8 1 9 axb4 ± . �a5 16 i.xe4 Of course not 16 ...�e5 because of 17 d6. 17 �d2 Black threatened 17 .. . f5. 17 c4! Profiting by the fact that d5-d6 is still not good. It becomes obvious that the transaction initiated by White 's 14th move was rather fa­ vourable to his opponent 'i!ke5 18 i.f3 Threatening 1 9 ... c3. 19 �e4 d6 B lack could also prevent the fol­ lowing rook move by 19 ... �b3, af­ ter which White would have hardly •.•

anything better than 20 'i!kc3 , but he did not think this was necessary since, owing to his advantage in space, the middlegame complica­ ti ons shou ld normally end to his advantage. 20 l:td4 It would not be like Marshall to exchange queens by 20 'iIl'c3 in order to obtain a distinctly inferior end­ game. Looking at this rook one can­ not believe that, in the prime of its existence, it intends to commit sui­ cide soon-and yet it is so ! 20 b5 Now threatening to continue with 2 l .. .�b3 . 21 �d2 i.a6 In order to leave a square for the knight in case of 'i!kc 3. 22 l:te4 'fIg7 23 l:te7 The road to death. �b7! (D) 23 .••

•.•

.••

24 �e4 Most probably a difficult deci­ sion-but under the circumstances the wisest course, for the alternative 24 i.g4 l:tc5 ! (24 ... c3 25 i.xc8 cxd2

Marshall - Alekhine 147 26 :d I ±) 25 e4 1 'i'f6 26 l:td7 l:txd7 27 .i.xd7 'i'e7 (threatening ... l:txd5) 28 .i.c6 1Oa5 would lead to material losses without any hope of a counter­ attack. 'it>f8! 24 A mistake would be 24 ...'i'f8 25 ll6+ �g7 because of 26 'i'c3, with advantage for White. .i.xb7 25 l:txb7 26 l:tdl Although B lack is now a clear exchange ahead and his queenside majority is as threatening as ever, the win is by no means as easy or as rapid as one would imagine. White is in a position-in case of 26 . . . 'i'e5 , for instance-to build a good defen­ sive position with possibilities of a pawn counter-attack on the kingside by means of27 1Oc3 a6 28 l:td4. Still, by that line Black, with further cir­ cumspection and patience, would most likely have increased his ad­ vantage in a decisive way, without having to suffer from the melodra­ matic complications arising from his risky next move. 26 ... as? Preventing 27 lOc3 (because of 27 ... b4) and looking for a quick vic­ tory. From now on, Marshall takes advantage of the hidden possibilities of his position in a really remarkable fashion, reminding one of his most glorious performances. 27 .i.g4! :C7 •••

Of course not 27 .. .f5 because of 28 lOg5 but also not, for instance, 27 . . . l:ta8, because of 28 a4 ! . 28 'i'd2! After this the situation begins to look dangerous for Black, since the a-pawn cannot be defended in a di­ rect way. h6! 28 This is the temporary salvation, for by preventing lOg5 Black threat­ ens 29 ... f5. l:tcc8 29 .i.f3 And after this 30 'i'xa5 can be simply answered by 30 ... 'i'xb2. 30 h4! The next attacking wave, which Black tries to meet in an equally en­ ergetic way. 'i'eS 30 If instead, 30 ... f5 then 3 1 1Oc3 b4 32 axb4 axb4 3 3 lOe2 c3 34 bxc3 bxc3 35 'i'c2 followed by the prom­ ising manoeuvre lDd4 (or lOf4)-e6. gxhS 31 hS! Also after 3 1 . . .g5 32 g4 followed by lOg3-f5, or .i.g2 and f4, Black's defence would remain difficult. c3 32 lOg3 'i'xc3 33 bxc3 33 .. 1hc3 would be met by 34 e4 ! . b4 3 4 'i'e2 axb4 3S axb4 At last Black has succeeded in ob­ taining the ' winning' passed pawn, but in the meantime the white forces have been concentrating against the .••

•••

White has a forced win here by 25 .te6! llfS 26 liJe4, so Black should have met 24 .tg4 by 24 . . . 'I'f6 ! , with a roughly equal position.

148 Exhibition Game, New York 1929 hostile king, which can be defended only by the queen, the other black pieces being, at the moment, simply onlookers. 36 ..te4! (D)

..tf3 the response 39 ... 'ife7 would now offer an adequate defence, since 40 �2 is met by 40 ... 'ifxe3+. 'iWh3! 39 Possible and good because 40 .i.g2 can be met by 40 ... .i.a6 ! . 40 .i.f3! l:1c3! (D) •••

B

C overing the diagonal b 1 -h7 and opening prospects to the queen. In this second half of the game Mar­ shall always finds the best moves, and he is somewhat unlucky that Black's resources finally prove suffi­ cient to meet his furious assault. 'i'e5! 36 Hereafter begins a very difficult queen manoeuvre, whose object is to provoke white pawn moves so as to enable at least one rook to participate in a counter-attack. 37 f4 �f6 Otherwise White plays 3 8 'ifxh5 with tempo. 38 tLlxh5 �4! And not 38 . . .'i'e7 39 'ifb2 ! �xe4 40 'ifh8+ 'i;e7 4 1 'iff6+ 'i;e8 42 �h8+ 'i;d7 43 tLlf6+ followed by 44 �xd8+ and tLlxe4. 39 g3 The weakening of the second rank will finally prove fatal-but if 39 •••

An unexpected defence against White's two main threats (4 1 .i.g4 and 4 1 'ifb2) and one that involves, in the first case, an eventual sacrifice of two exchanges : to 4 1 .i.g4 Black would reply 4 1 . . .l:1xe3 ! 42 'ifxe3 'i!fxg4 43 l:1e l 'i!fxh5 ! 44 'i'e7 + 'itig7 45 'i!fxd8 (or 45 'i!i'xb7 'iVf3 and wins) 45 . . . \!ixd5 winning. With his next move the then American Champion plays out a new trump, which, how­ ever, will prove the last. 41 �d2! How now to meet the threat 42 �d4 without losing the passed pawn? My lucky star-or Marshall's un­ lucky one-helped me to find the right answer-but it took no less than half an hour. l:1e8! 41 ... The value of this sealed rejoinder is well illustrated by comparing its

Alekhine - Steiner 149 consequences with the possible re­ sults of another plausible move: 4 l . . .�a6 42 'fid4 Ac2 ! 43 'fih8+ �7 44 'fif6+ �d7 (44 ... �e8 45 lbg7+) 45 'fixf7+ �c8 46 'fie6+ Wbe6 47 dxe6 b3 48 �e4 and, to say the least, White would not lose. 42 'id4 Instead 42 'fib2 would not help either, because of 42 . . . �a6. 42 ... Ae2 43 Ad2 Simplification is nearly always sad for the materially weaker party, but there was no choice, as is shown by the variation 43 'fih8+ �e7 44 .f6+ �d7 45 �g4+ ! 'fixg4 46 .xf7+ �d8 47 'fixe8+ �xe8 48 lbf6+ �e7 49 tDxg4 b3 and wins. 43 Axd2 44 'ixd2 �a6! 45 'iel Practically resignation. Almost an hour's reflection persuaded Marshall that the intended 45 'fixb4 leads to a forced loss as follows: 45 . . . 'fifl + 46 �h2 'fif2+ ! (but not 46 ... 'fxf3 47 .xd6+ �g8 48 tDf6+ �h8 49 'fixa6! and Black would not win) 47 �h3 (or 47 �g2 �fl 48 'fixd6+ �g8 49 lbf6+ �h8 and wins) 47 . . . �c8+ 48 ,tg4 .txg4+ 49 �xg4 'fie2+ 50 �h4 'fih2+ 5 1 �g4 f5+ ! and wins. 45 b3 The passed pawn's holiday ! 46 �dl b2 47 1i'b4 Leads to a similar finish to that mentioned above. 'fif1+ 47 48 �h2 'ff2+ •••

49 50 51 52 53 54

�h3 �e8+ f5 �xf5+ �g4 �xg4+ �xg4 'fie2+ �h4 'fih2+ �g4 f5+ 0-1 In this kind of game the loser cer­ tainly deserves as much credit as the winner. Game 5 6 Alekhine - Steiner Bradley-Beach 1929 Brilliancy Prize Queen's Gambit Accepted

1 d4 d5 dxe4 2 e4 tDf6 3 tDfJ 4 e3 e6 e5 5 �xe4 a6 6 0-0 7 'fe2 tDbd7 If 7 . . . tDc6, the best answer ac­ cording to the latest practice (Euwe­ Alekhine, 5th match-game, 1 937, and Alekhine-Book, Margate 1938) would still be 8 tDc3 ! . 'ie7 8 tDe3 If Black did not want to risk the ' fianchetto' development which, in fact, is hardly recommendable, (for instance, 8 . . . b5 9 �b3 �b7 10 Ad l �e7 1 1 e4! b4 12 e5 bxc3 13 exf6 ±, as in the game Alekhine-Letelier, Montevideo 1938), he should sim­ ply play 8 . . . �e7, since the position of the queen on c7, in case of the fol­ lowing d-pawn advance, will prove a very unfortunate one.

150 Bradley-Beach 1929 9 dS! exdS 10 i.xdS One of Black's troubles will con­ sist of the fact that if he exchanges this bishop, White would always re­ capture with tempo. 10 i.d6 0-0 11 e4 12 i.gS tbg4 In order to develop his queenside pieces, Black is forced to lose time with this knight, and, moreover, fa­ cilitate the dangerous advance of White's f-pawn. 13 h3 tbgeS (D)

e 5 would have left White-strange as it may seem-with but an insig­ nificant positional advantage after 1 6. . .i.e7. tbe5 16 17 'inIs l:te8 Parrying the threat I S f6 which now would be met by I S . . . g6 19 \liM i.fS. 18 l:tf4 i.e7 This will be refuted by a pretty combination, but, as Black was still unable to take the powerful bishop ( I S . . . tbxd5? loses to 19 tbxd5 W'c6 20 tbf6+ gxf6 21 i. xf6) there was no longer an adequate defence. 19 f6! (D) •••

w

14 tbh4! In view of B lack's cramped posi­ tion the right policy is to avoid ex­ changes. Besides, Black is now forced to prevent the move tbf5, and consequently has even less choice than before. tbb6 14 tbc6 15 f4 16 fS! A paradoxical, but most effective, continuation of the attack, by which White ' sacrifices' the central square e5. Instead, the 'natural' advance 1 6

Because of Black's last move, White is permitted to effect this ad­ vance in spite of the possible de­ fence 19 . . . g6 20 'ih6 i.f8-and this because of the following combina­ tion: 1 9 . . . g6 20 tbxg6 ! ! hxg6 (or 20 . . . lLlxg6 21 i.xf7 + ! 1;xf7 22 Wxh7+ 1;e6 23 'ixg6 and wins) 2 1 i.xf7+ ! 1;xf7 2 2 fxe7+ 1;e6 (or 22 ... 'igS 2 3 l:tfS+ l:txfS 24 exfSW+ 'it'xfS 25 WhS+ cj;f7 26 Wh7+, win­ ning the queen) 23 l:tf6+ 1i;xe7 (or

Alekhine - Bogoljubow 151 23 ... �d7 24 l:d l +) 24 'fih7+ �d8 25 l%d6#. Mter the following retreat, which permits the opening of the f-file, the game is also practically over. J.f8 19 20 fxg7 J.xg7 21 l:an J.e6 22 lLlfS Threatening also l:h4. J.xdS 22 lLlg6 23 lLlxg7! l:xeS 24 lLlxeS 2S lLlxdS 1-0 Game 57 Alekhine Bogoljubow Wiesbaden Wch ( 1) 1 929 Slav Defence -

1 d4 dS 2 c4 c6 3 lLlo lLlf6 dxc4 4 lLlc3 S a4 e6 It has been my peculiar luck that this illogical move, instead of the natural 5 . . . J.f5, has been adopted against me, with a disastrous effect, no less than four times, namely (be­ sides the present game) by BogoI­ jubow again (Nottingham 1 936), by Dr. Euwe ( 1 9th match-game, 1935), and by the late German master, Helling, in Dresden 1 936. 6 e4 J.b4 7 eS lLldS In the three other games men­ tioned the reply was 7 . . . lLle4 which is at least as bad as the text move. S J.d2 J.xc3

If, instead, 8 ... b5 then 9 lLle4 J.e7 b3 !, winning back the pawn with decidedly the better position. 9 bxc3 bS 10 lLlgS! An important move with many objects, one of which, and not the least important, is to prevent Black's to . . . O-O, because of the answer 1 1 'fibl ! followed by 12 axb5 ±. f6 10 Prevents the manoeuvre lLle4d6+, but at the cost of seriously com­ promising Black's central position. 11 exf6 lLlxf6 Or 1 1 . . .'fixf6 1 2 axb5 cxb5 1 3 lLle4 'fie7 14 J. g 5 , followed by 'fih5+ ±. 12 J.e2 a6 1 2 . . . 0-0 1 3 axb5 h6 (if 1 3 . . . cxb5, then 14 J.f3 lLld5 15 'fib l ) 14 b6 ! 'fixb6 15 lLlf3 would prove position­ ally hopeless in the long run. 13 J.O! (D) to

•••

With the threat 14 axb5, which is by no means easy to parry. If, for in­ stance, 1 3 . . . lLld5, then 14 'i'b I ! g6 15 lLlxh7 l:xh7 1 6 'fixg6+ l:f7 1 7 J.h5 followed b y 1 8 'fi g8+ and wins.

152 Wiesbaden Wch (5) 1929 Or 1 3 . . . l:ta7 14 � f4 l:tb7 15 axb5 axb5 16 l:ta8 1 , also with a winning attack. h6 13 Already mere desperation. �xhS 14 �hS+ IS 'ilVxhS+ �d7 'ilVe8 16 �f7 l:tg8 17 'ilVg6 18 �4 �b7 Or 18 . . . l:tf8 19 �e5+ 'id8 20 'ie4. 19 �g3 �e7 20 �d6+ A bit of cat-and-mouse play. 20 �d7 cS 21 0-0 �dS 22 dxcS 23 axbS axbS 24 l:txa8 �xa8 2S l:tal �c6 1-0 26 �eS+! Since if now 26 . . . �xe5 27 l:ta7+ �c6, then 28 'ilVe4#. •••

A simple and good move, but by making it here (and in the third match game, in which I adopted the less logical answer 7 f3), B ogol­ jubow, as the following shows, did not fully understand its real value. 7 �gS �e7 Decidedly too passive: the right continuation is 7 . . . �b4 (introduced by me in a consultation game, played against Bogoljubow and Dr. Seitz immediately after the match) 8 f3 h 6 ! (as in my eleventh match game against Dr. Euwe, Groningen 1 937) obtaining at least an even game. 8 f3 h6 9 e4! This move, which, in the position with Black's king's bishop at b4 would have been met by 9 . . . hxg5 1 0 exf5 b5 ! 1 1 fxe6 fxe6 1 2 'ic2 0-01 +, in the actual position virtually shuts out Black's light-squared bishop for the rest of the game. 9 �h7 Or 9 ... hxg5 10 exf5 exf5 1 1 �xc4 0-0 1 2 h4 ! , with advantage to White. 10 �e3 �bd7 1 1 �xc4 0-0 12 �e2 cS The following exchanges are de­ cidedly in White's favour as they do not eliminate the main defect of Black's position-the awkward po­ sition of his light-squared bishop. �xcS 13 dxcS •••

Game 58 Alekhine Bogoljubow -

Wiesbaden Wch (5) 1 929 Slav Defence

1 2 3 4 S 6

d4 c4 �f3 �c3 a4 �eS

dS c6 �6 dxc4 �S e6

This allows some sort of defence by 1 6 ... ltld5, so 1 6 �xbS llxbS 1 7 �xc6+ 'iPfS ( 1 7 ... �d7 I S itJxe6 'fIe7 1 9 �xd7+ 'iVxd7 20 0-0 wins) IS 'iVe2 is stronger, with a massive advantage for White.

Alekhine lLlxc5 14 �xc5 15 b4 lLla6 15 . . . 'iVxd l + was also unsatisfac­ tory after 16 llxd l lLlxa4 17 lLlxa4 b5 18 lLlcb6! axb6 1 9 �xb5 with ad­ vantage to White. 16 'fixd8 llfxd8 (D)

-

Bogoljubow 153

strengthening of his pressure on the queenside. From now on the game develops in a perfectly logical man� nero 21 �n lLle8 22 llc3 A strong alternative here was 22 lLla5, for instance 22 . . . llab8 23 lLlc3 b6 24 llxd4 ! llxd4 25 lLlc6 llbd8 26 rrt;e3 ll4d6 27 lLlxd8 llxd8 28 lLlb5 or 22 . . . b6 23 lLlb7 lld7 24 �b5 ! llxb7 25 llxd4, with a tremendous positional advantage in both cases. 22 f6 llab8 (D) 23 lLla5 This natural-looking reply gives White the opportunity for the fol­ lowing combination, which wins a pawn straight away. B etter was 23 . . . b6 24 lLlb7 lld7 25 �b5 llxb7 26 llxd4 llc7 27 lLle2 llxc l 28 lLlxcl llc8 29 lLld3, with some pos­ sibilities of defence in spite of White's indisputable advantage. •••

17 lLla2! The only way to keep the posi­ tional advantage, as 17 b5 would cede the important square c5, and 17 llbl would have permitted Black a promising counter-attack starting by 17 ... lLld5 ! ' 17 lLlb8 White threatened 18 lLla5 llab8 19 lLlxb7. 18 'it;lf2 lLlc6 19 llhdl lLl d4 Instead, 19 . . . llxd l 20 llxd l lld8 would have been rapidly fatal: 21 b5 llxdl 22 �xdl lLld8 23 lLld6, fol­ lowed by 24 lLl b4 and 25 lLlc8 ! . 2 0 llac1 �f8 The first step towards the emanci­ pation of the h7-bishop by means of . . .�g8, . . . lLle8, . . . f6, etc. But this plan will obviously take a long time, which White will use for a decisive •••

24 lLlb5! Eliminating the enemy's central knight just at the right moment: if Black could have found time for a further consolidation by means of

154 Wiesbaden Wch (8) 1929 . . . eS, there would be very little left of White's pressure on the queenside. tLJxbs 24 Obviously forced. :xd8 25 l:xd8 26 tLJxb7! :b8 Or 26 . . . :d2+ 27 'it>e3 tLJbd6 28 r.Pxd2 tLJxb7 29 :c8, followed by 30 :a8 and :xa7, winning. �e7 27 tLJcs Because of the threat 28 tLlrl7+ the knight was still unable to move. The following endgame, with an extra pawn and a far better position, is ac­ tually a walk-over for White. 28 axbs! Much more effective than 28 i.xbS because now B lack's a-pawn becomes extremely weak. 28 tLJd6 29 :al tLJc8 i.g8 30 i.c4 After 30 . . . eS White would win immediately by 3 1 i.e6. 3 1 f4 i.f7 32 es All Black's pieces will be gradu­ ally stalemated, and the white king will soon be in a position to pay a significant visit to the adversary's knight in its very residence. fxes 32 33 fxes :b6 34 �e3 i.e8 35 :a3 i.d7 36 �d4 i.e8 B l ack has nothing left but to wait patiently for the execution. 37 h4 i.d7 38 i.e2 :b8 39 tLJxd7 �xd7 •••

40 i.f3! Preventing the manoeuvre ...:b7 c7, which would allow Black to pro­ long the agony. 40 :b6 41 �cs :b8 42 hs �d8 43 i.c6 �e7 44 :h3 �rT 45 i.e4 �e7 46 �c6! Now the enemy knight must per­ ish. �d8 46 47 :d3+ �e7 1-0 48 �c7 Game S9 Bogoljubow - Alekhine Wiesbaden Wch (8) 1929 Queen's Indian Defence

1 d4 tLJf6 2 c4 b6 Although this system of develop­ ment is by no means easy to refute, it can hardly be considered absolutely correct as it allows White at an early stage of the game to get full control of the central squares; and the fact that Black c an attack the pawn cen­ tre by means of ... cS should not offer him full compensation for the lack of space he will have to suffer over the next 1 O- 1 S moves. Undoubtedly sounder is therefore 2 . . .e6. 3 tLJc3 i.b7 ds 4 f3 5 cxds lbxds lZlxc3 6 e4 7 bxc3

Bogoljubow - Alekhine 155 White's position now looks rather promising, but he spoils it in a very few moves by adopting a totally wrong middlegame plan. 7 e6 8 ..tbS+ Neither better nor worse than the immediate 8 ..td3, as Black's . . . a6 wil not prove weakening to his posi­ tion. 8 lDd7 9 lDe2 ..te7 10 0-0 a6 eS 1 1 ..td3 12 ..tb2? A really bad move which shows an entire misconception of the needs of the position. Instead, White had the choice between at least two good bishop moves-1 2 ..te3 and 12 ..tf4 . Also 12 a4 (in order to fix Black's slight weakness at b6) came into consideration. From now on Black gradually gets the initiative. 'fIie7 12 13 f4 This allows B lack to win a couple of tempi by attacking the insuffi­ ciently protected central pawns. A lesser evil was 1 3 e5, temporarily re­ stricting B lack's knight. 13 lDf6 hS! (D) 1 4 lDg3 By his last aimless moves White has provoked an immediate kingside attack. 15 'fIie2 h4 16 lDhl lDhS 1 7 'ig4 In spite of his previous indifferent play White probably could still have

w

•••

•••

•••

held the game if he had recognised his mistake at the 1 2th move and had returned his bishop to c 1 . The seemingly more aggressive move that White actually played, in reality relieves Black from the worry about his a-pawn, and thus permits him to castle queenside with an overpower­ ing position. 0-0-0 17 18 l:tael If 1 8 f5 then 1 8 . . .lDf6 ( 1 9 1ifxg7 l:th7), followed by 19 . . . e5 with ad­ vantage. 18 �b8 19 fS This attempt to blockade the cen­ tre proves unsuccessful as Black can secure strong diagonals for both his bishops. But the game was already strategically lost. eS 19 e4! 20 dS S ecuring the future of the e7bishop. .teS+ 21 ..te2 g6! 22 lDf2 And after this the b7-bishop will also develop a deadly activity on the diagonal c8-h3. .••

•••

•••

156 Amsterdam Wch (22) 1929 l:tdg8 23 fxg6 24 J.c1 A much too belated sign of remorse! J.c8 24 l:txg6 25 'i'fJ 26 'iti>h l White i s anxious t 0 save his queen (which B lack threatened to win by 26 . . . J.g4) and overlooks the follow­ ing mating combination. However, his position was hopeless any­ how-if, for instance, 26 J.e3 then 26 . . . J.xe3 27 l:txe3 tDf4 28 g3 hxg3 29 hxg3 f5 followed by 30 ... 'i'h7 and mate I . tDg3+! 26 hxg3+ 27 hxg3 28 tDh3 J.xh3 l:txh3+ 29 gxh3 l:th2# 30 'iti>g2 Game 60 Bogoljubow - Alekhine Amsterdam Wch (22) 1929 Ruy Lopez

e5 1 e4 tDc6 2 tDfJ a6 3 J.b5 d6 4 J.a4 5 c3 The fashionable move here--es­ pecially after Keres's win against me in Margate 1 937-is 5 c4. But for how long? Black seems to be able to

obtain quite a satisfactory position by continuing 5 . . . J.d7 6 tDc3 tDi6 1 d4 tDxd4 8 J.xd7+ 'i'xd7 9 tDxd4 exd4 1 0 'i'xd4 J.e7 and . . . 0-0. 5 J.d7 6 d4 g6 7 J.g5 As the following shows, White has no means of exploiting the di­ agonal b3-g8, and, on the other hand, f7 will prove a suitable square for Black's g8-knight. It looks as though, after 5 c3, White's opening advantage is bound to vanish within a few moves and that, therefore, the usual 5 J.xc6+ followed by 6 d4 of­ fers him more fighting chances. f6 7 8 J.e3 tDh6 J. g7 9 0-0 10 h3 In order to prevent . . . tDg4 in case of tDbd2. tDf7 10 0-0 11 tDbd2 12 dxe5 White rightly recognises that a further maintaining of the tension in the centre would be rather to Black's advantage, and aims at simplifica­ tion. The problem of the defence has been solved in this game in quite a satisfactory way. 12 dxe5 Also 12 . . . fxe5-hoping to exploit the f-file-could be played. White •••

After 30 exf5 tin? 31 ltb I , not only is there no mate, but Black has wrecked his own position. However, Alekhine's assessment can be vindicated by substituting 29 . . . ..CS 30 :re I .i.h3 ! , threatening both 3 l . ...i.g2 and 3 l ...�g2.

Bogoljubow Alekhine 157 -

would in that case probably try to bring a knight to d5 after the moves 13 i.b3 h6 14 a4 followed by lLln , J.d2, tbe3, etc. I preferred the text move because of the tempting possi­ bility of quickly attacking White's centre by means of .. .f5 . 13 i.c5 In order to provoke . . . b6, which slightly weakens B lack's queenside pawn structure. l:te8 13 14 i.b3 b6 15 i.e3 'ie7 16 'ie2 Or 1 6 i.d5 l:tad8 1 7 iie2 lLlb8, followed by ... i.e6. 16 lLld8 (D) •••

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17 i.d5 Still playing for simplification, which Black cannot well avoid as 17 . . . c6 would lose a pawn after 1 8 i.xn+ followed b y 1 9 i.xb6. i.c6 17 18 c4? But this is certainly not in accord­ ance with the requirements of the po­ sition, as the pawn at d5 will become very weak after . . . f5 . 18 i.xc6 lLlxc6 •••

19 l:tfd 1 was necessary, with only a slight advantage for Black because of the possibility (after due prepara­ tion) of ... f5. 18 i.xd5 19 cxd5 Even worse would be 19 exd5 f5 . 19 f5 20 lLlc4 lLlb7 Black is by no means in a hurry to play .. .f4 as the combined threat of this advance and an eventual . . . fxe4 will limit White ' s choice of moves much more than any direct action. l:tad8! 21 l1ac1 Deliberately allowing the follow­ ing transaction, which only appar­ ently relieves White of his troubles in the centre. Instead, 2 1 .. .l:ted8 would have left the queen unpro­ tected and thus have allowed the counter-action 22 exf5 gxf5 23 i.d4! l:txd5 24 l:tfe l e4 25 i.xg7 rj;xg7 26 lLle3 ! . lLlbxd6 22 d6 ltxd6 23 lLlxd6 'id7! 24 'ixa6 An important intermediate move securing with tempo (the threat .. .f4) control of the open file. c5 25 l:tc2 26 a4 f4! (D) N ow the time has come, as the following advance of the g-pawn will be connected with the formida­ ble threat 28 . . . g4 29 hxg4 'i'xg4, with a mating attack. g5 27 i.d2 28 'ib5 Although practically forced, this move actually brings but little help, •.•

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158 San Remo 1930

w

as, after the queen exchange pro­ posed here, B lack not only obtains a far superior endgame, but also a very rare case--considering the reduced material-of a direct attack against the enemy king. 28 'it'xb5 29 axb5 l:d3! Freeing the important square d6 for the knight. 30 l:al lDd6 l:b8 3 1 l:a6 If now 32 lDxg5, then simply 32 . . . i.f6 33 lDf3 lDxe4, with suffi­ cient positional advantage. And if 32 l:c3, then 32 . . . c4 ! 3 3 l:xd3 cxd3 34 l:a3 lDxe4 35 l:xd3 l:a8 ! 36 l:a3 l:d8, winning. 32 i.e3 As useless as the rest. lDxe4 32 33 i.xe5 i.xe5 34 lDxe5 l:dl + lDd2! (D) 35 'ifilh2 This sudden stroke, which threat­ ens mate in three by 36 ...lDn +, should have won at least the exchange. But B ogoljubow, as so often, prefers sui­ cide to a long agony. l:e8 36 h4 •.•

37 lDf3 Or 37 lDg4 l:eel 38 Wh3 l:hl+ 39 lDh2 h5 ! 40 hxg5 lDn followed by mate. 37 lDxf3+ l:eel 38 gxf3 h5! 39 'ifilh3 0-1 Game 6 1 Alekhine - Nimzowifseh San Remo 1 930 French Defence e6 1 e4 d5 2 d4 i.b4 3 lDe3 e5 4 e5 5 i.d2 This rather tame move, in con­ nection with the following knight manoeuvre, should not cause Black much trouble. A more promising idea-perhaps only because less ex­ plored-seems to be 5 'it'g4 or even 5 dxc5. lDe7 5 i.xd2+ 6 lDb5 0-0 7 'it'xd2 b6 8 e3

Alekhine - Nimzowitsch 159 The second player's wish to solve rapidly the problem of the c8-bishop in the French Defence is quite legiti­ mate, but in this particular position the attempt will prove a failure as Black cannot succeed in exchanging that piece against White's fl-bishop. Good-and natural enough-was, instead of this, 8 . . . tbfS ! (preventing itJd6), as played with success by the same Nimzowitsch against Dr. Lasker in Zurich 1934. 9 f4 �a6 Trying to force a4 in order to play afterwards . . . tbc6-aS. But, as will be se the second part of this plan cannot be executed. "iVd7 10 tbf3 tbbc6 (D) 1 1 a4

w

12 b4! Strangely enough, this more or less conventional move (by which White prevents . . . tbaS and at the same time clarifies the situation in the centre) created at the time a kind of small sensation; the late Dr. Tar­ rasch, for instance, called it in his comments 'highly original' . To my mind, more surprising than the move

itself is the fact that a player of Nimzowitsch's class, when adopting the plan started by 8 . . . b6, did not take this possibility into serious con­ sideration. cxb4 12 .. Comparatively better than 1 2 . . . c4 after which White would not have much technical difficulty in exploit­ ing, in a decisive manner, his advan­ tage in space on the kingside. 13 cxb4 �b7 f5? 14 tbd6 The decisive strategic error in an. already compromised situation. In view of the threatened advance of White's a-pawn, the only chance of obtaining some more space lay in 14 . . . aS IS �bS (better than IS bS tbb4) IS . . . axb4 1 6 0-0 after which White's initiative-since he would have to spend some time regaining the b-pawn-would not develop s o rapidly. B y moving his f-pawn, Nimzowitsch was obviously afraid of an attack against his king, yet that was the one thing he did not have to worry about in the present game ! 15 a5! As IS ... bxaS 16 bS ! followed by 17 l:baS is obviously bad for Black, this advance secures for the white bishop the important square bS. tbc8 15 ... The elimination of the terrible knight at d6-which under other circumstances would signify the be­ ginning of a complete emancipa­ tion-does not in fact bring B lack any relief. 16 tbxb7 "iVxb7 .

1 60 San Remo 1930 'fIrT 17 a6 To his misfortune, 17 . . .'fIe7 does not work, because of 18 .tb5 ! fbxb4? 19 nbl . 1 8 .tb5 From now on Black may play what he likes-he will be unable to protect adequately the squares c6 and c7. The following hopeless tie­ up is merely the unavoidable conse­ quence of that organic evil. tD8e7 18 19 0-0 h6 Although fbg5 was not yet a threat, it could become one in the near future. Besides, the immediate 19 . . .nfc8 would not change the situ­ ation a bit: B lack loses not because of lack of time, but because of lack of space. nfc8 20 nfc1 21 nc2 If now 2 1 . . .tDd8, then 22 nac l nxc2 23 nxc2 nc8 24 nxc8 ttJxc8 25 11'c3 followed by 'fIc7, and wins. 'iVe8 21 22 nac1 This and the next move are not the most exact ones, as the winning for­ mation with 'fIc 1 , nc2 and nc3 could have been reached in three moves instead of five by 22 na3 ! fol­ lowed by llac3 and 'ifc l . 22 nab8 23 "ilie3 nc7 (D) 24 nc3! From now on, White wins in the shortest number of moves. "ilid7 24 In order to give the king the possi­ bility of protecting the rook at c7-a •••

•••

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desperate idea in a desperate posi­ tion! �f8 25 lUc2 26 "i c1 nbc8 27 .ta4! The last link of the positional at tack started by 15 a5. In order to save the piece threatened by 28 b5 Black must sacrifice the b-pawn. After this he succeeds in protecting the impor­ tant squares with the king, but must still resign as a consequence of com­ plete zugzwang. An instructive fin­ ish! 27 b5 �e8 28 .txb5 29 .ta4 �d8 1-0 30 h4! After a couple of irrelevant pawn moves Black will be obliged to play ... 'We8, after which b5 wins immedi­ ately. Game 62 Alekhine Maroczy San Remo 1930 Queen's Gambit Declined -

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1 d4 2 c4

d5 e6

Alekhine - Maroczy 161 lbr6 3 M i.e7 4 i. g5 ltJbd7 5 e3 0-0 6 ltJf3 c6 7 l:tc1 Recent praxis seems to show that the intermediate move 7 . . . h6 gives Black more chances of solving the problem of the centre than this old­ fashioned, so-called 'Capablanc a ' s freeing manoeuvre' (although i t had already been played, for instance, by Mason at Hanover 1902). dxc4 8 i.d3 9 i.xc4 ltJ d5 �xe7 10 i.xe7 11 ltJe4 b6 An attempt to solve the problem of the c8-bishop immediately. Al­ though it is rewarded in the present game by a partial success (at least in the opening stage), it can hardly be recomended, as White could play the following moves more ener­ getically. Instead, Dr. Lasker's idea l l .. .llI5f6 1 2 ltJg3 eS ! (see Game 86) se to be sufficient for equality. 12 0-0 i.b7 c5 13 ltJg3 14 e4 (D) 14 .tbS was an interesting alter­ native, in order to answer 14 . . .cxd4? by IS e4! followed by l:tc7. In that case Black would face the usual IToblems caused by an insufficiently {repared advance of the c-pawn.

14 ltJ5f6 15 l:te1 White's previous move would have found its logical justification if he had continued here with IS dS, for instance IS ... exdS 16 exdS 'iWd6 17 liJfS 'iWf4 1 8 ltJe7+ 'it>h8 19 i.bS ! , after which the d-pawn would re­ main an important factor in White's favour. By the selected quiet con­ tinuation (due chiefly to the fact that having started the tournament with five straight wins I did not want, in the sixth round, to take any chances), White still keeps a slight positional advantage-but against an endgame specialist like Maroczy, White's winning prospects become rather problematical. cxd4 15 16 i.b5! If instead 1 6 eS then 16 ... ltJg4! 17 'iWxd4 i.xf3 18 gxf3 ltJgxeS ! 19 :XeS ltJxeS 20 'iWxeS l:tac8, to Black's ad­ vantage 1 . •••

•••

At the end of this line White can force immediate resignation by 2 l liJh5 f6 22 'ixe6+, so Black should prefer 20 ...ltfc8 21 liJh5 WCS, intending to continue 22 ... ltc5. although after 22 b4, followed by 'ihi and ltg l , one cannot talk about an advantage for B lack.

162 San Remo 1 930 16 lUeS l:te5 1 7 'iWxd4 lDxd7 IS .i.xd7 l:txc1 1 9 b4 l:teS 20 l:txc1 21 l:txeS+ .i.xeS 22 'iWe3 The position is not quite as dead a draw as one might think at first glance. Here, for instance, Black will have to lose time in order to parry White's threats on the c-file. 'iWdS 22 23 lDd4 .i.b7 24 f3 One of White's advantages is that Black's bishop, owing to the general pawn structure, has but very poor prospects. lDf6 24 ... In order to oppose the queen at c7-doubtless the correct scheme. 25 lDn This knight obviously had noth­ ing more to do at g3. 25 lDeS (D) •••

26 lDe3 a6 Maroczy seems not to be in a mood to play the purely passive endgame

which he could obtain by the other· wise logical 26 . . . 'fIc7 27 'fIxc7 lDxc7 28 lLIc4 lDe8 ! . White's advantage in space in this variation would be evi· dent, but as the direct threat 29 lDb5 could be parried by 29 . . . .i.a6, the draw would still be probable. Mter the move played, Black on the other hand will hardly be able to offer the exchange of queens because of the weakness at b6. 27 a4! The intended a4-a5 will fulfil a double object: to fix Black's weak­ ness at a6, and secure the strong c5square for a knight. 27 h6 2S h3 Not in order to give White's king a loophole, which is unnecessary in this position, but simply planning to move the king, eventually, to the centre, and therefore putting the h­ pawn on a protected square. h5? 2S Black's 26th move, although not very logical (avoiding the exchange of queens and creating a weakness on the queenside), was hardly suffi­ cient to compromise the situation seriously. But this peculiar pawn move-the significance of which will not be explained by Black's fur­ ther play-procures White unmis­ takable winning chances by creating a new (although, one must admit, for the moment hardly perceptible) weak spot at g5. bxa5 29 as 'id6 30 bxa5 .i.e6 31 lDb3 •••

•••

Alekhine - Maroczy 163 The desire to bring the bishop on to a more active square (b5) is rea­ sonable, but White seizes at once the opportunity to advance his central pawns, and thus limit the action of the hostile knight. 'fie7 32 e5! 33 lLlc5 �b5 34 f4 The slight weakening of the light squares occasioned by this advance does not matter any longer, as the bishop is already tied down to the apawn. 'fid8 34 35 f5 The only winning possibility for White consists of combining the pressure on the queenside with direct threats against the black king. 35 exf5 36 lLlxf5 'figS 37 lLld4! An important tactical detail (if 37 ... 'Wxe5, then 3 8 lLlxb5). 37 lLlc7 38 lLlf3 From now on B lack will realise that he erred by playing . . .h5. 38 'fif4

39 � Thus showing that he is already willing to exchange queens. As a matter of fact the endgame arising after 39 . . .lLld5 40 'Wd4 'fixd4+ 4 1 lLlxd4 �c4 42 lLlf5 ! followed by lLld6, would be extremely critical, if not hopeless, for Black. 39 'if5 (D) •••

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•••

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�h7 40 'fid2 Instead, 40 . . . lLle6 4 1 lLlb7 ! fol­ lowed by lLld6 ± would have enabled him to resist longer. The following winning procedure is instructive l . 4 1 lLle4! If now 4 1 . . .lLle8 then 42 lLlg3 'if g6 43 'fid8 , with gradual strangu­ lation. B lack prefers, therefore, to

In my opinion, Alekhine's comments throughout this game show a breathtaking lack of objectivity. Up to this moment I cannot see that B lack has made any error, and indeed after 4O ... lOe6 4 1 4:Jb7 Wb I 42 4:Jd6 'i' fl + 43 �g3 .i.c6 White would be slightly worse due to two factors; firstly, that he has two weak pawns (on a5 and e5) While B lack only has one (on a6), and secondly that his king is more exposed than Black ' s . It seems very likely that Maroczy, who was a great endgame specialist, spumed the earlier straightforward draws because he was Gustifiably) playing for the win. The move played, 4O ... Wh7, is simply a serious tactical error, which not only allows the knight to reach d6 with gain of tempo, but also ensures that the f7-pawn is undefended when it does arrive.

164 San Remo 1930 sacrifice a pawn in order to get rid of at least one of the tedious knights. 41 lDe6 42 lDd6 'iVbl If 42 . . . 'ig6 White wins by 43 lDxb5 axb5 4 4 a6 since 4 4. . . lDc5 does not work because of 45 lDg5+ �xg5 46 �xg5 lDe4+ 47 �e3 lDxg5 48 a7. �c6 43 lDxf7 lDxg5 44 lD7g5+ 45 lDxg5+ 'It;g6 46 h4 Thus White has taken the maxi­ mum of advantage from the weak­ ness of g5 ! <M5 46 The threat was 47 'id6+ 'It;f5 48 'ie6+ 'it>f4 49 g3#. 47 e6 �b5 48 �c2+ The object of the following checks is to prevent with tempo Black's .. .'i!Vc5+ and thus make possible the further advance of the passed pawn. �e5 48 Wd6 49 1Wc3+ 50 1Wg3+ �d5 �e5 51 1Wf3+ 52 1W e3+ <M6 Or 52 . . . 'It;d6 53 1Wf4+ ! . 5 3 1W c3+ 'itJg6 54 e7 1Wf5+ 55 �e3 The king is here-for once-even safer than on the wing (55 �gl 1Wbl+). 55 .ie8 56 1Wd4 �b5 1Wf6 57 1Wd6+ 1-0 58 lDe4! •••

•••

Game 63 Alekhine - Tartakower San Remo 1 930 Dutch Defence

1 d4 e6 f5 2 c4 lDf6 3 g3 �b4+ 4 �g2 lDe4 5 tOd2 B lack is aiming to exchange the pieces he has just developed-a doubtful strategy, to say the least. More in the spirit of the opening chosen would be 5 . . .0-0 6 a3 �e7. lDxd2 6 a3 �xd2+ 7 �xd2 0-0 8 1Wxd2 9 lDb3 Chiefly in order to ensure control of d5 in case Black selects the de­ velopment . . .d6 and . . . e5. d5 9 After this the d ark squares in Black's position may sooner or later become very weak; and White, in or­ der to exploit that weakness, decides to liquidate the central pawns as rapidly as possible. Although it was very difficult to foresee at this mo­ ment that Black, after the transaction projected, would have adequate de­ fence against the many threats, a slower policy-such as 10 :I c l (in­ stead of 10 cxd5) 10 . . .c6 1 1 0-0 1We7 1 2 1We3 ! followed by lDf4-would have been more appropriate in order to take advantage of B lack's ma­ noeuvre of the 5th-7th moves. exd5 10 cxd5 1 1 lDf4 c6 .•.

Alekhine - Tartakower 165 12 0-0

fle7 (D)

13 b4! The real object of this move-be­ sides a 'minority' attack which, by means of a4 and b5, was also quite possible-is to open the queen's way to a2. The following will prove the importance of that diversion. 13 a6 14 f3 All in accordance with the plan inaugurated by his 1 0th move. But Black, by keeping a cool head, suc­ ceeds in emerging from the skirmish without much damage. �d7 14 rxe4 15 e4 16 fxe4 dxe4 17 fla2+ Sadly enough, the tempting move 17 .t.xe4 does not work-for in­ stance, 1 7 . . ...xe4 18 llae l flf5 1 9 fla2+ ( 1 9 �e6 fig 6 2 0 �xf8 �xf8 +) 1 9 . . . 11f7 ! 20 lle8+ (or 20 lle7) 20. . .�f8-and B lack escapes. �h8 17 18 �e6 Unconvincing is 1 8 fle6 11e8 ! . :xf1+ 18

19 :xn �6 h6 20 � g5 21 fin! This strong move, which forces the exchange of queens because of the threat 22 11xf6 ! , had to be fore­ seen when the central action was started, otherwise Black would have even obtained the better game. 21 flxn �h7 22 �xt7+ 23 �d6 (D) This menacing knight position secures White the recapture of the sacrificed pawn, but on the other hand, Black should, in the mean­ time, find the opportunity to finish his development and obtain equality.

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•..

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23 .t. e6 ? Obviously over-estimating the value of the central pawn. The right way was 23 . . . a5 ! 24 �xe4 (if 24 b5 then simply 24 . . .cxb5) 24 . . . axb4 25 �xf6+ (25 axb4 �d5) 25 . . . gxf6 26 axb4 rj;g7 with a probable draw. .t. d5 24 �xb7 25 llel ! Otherwise B lack, i n many cases, could play . . . e3 . •.•

166 San Remo 1930 :a7 2S as 26 lDcS Giving White a passed pawn; but the rook, naturally, cannot always remain tied down to the a-pawn. 27 bxaS :xaS 28 a4 :a8 With the object of occupying the b-file, or (as actually happens) of di­ minishing somewhat White's pres­ sure against the e-pawn. 29 :al :as 30 :a3! Still with the object of preventing . . . e3. �g6 30 Blac k hopes to have just time to execute the important manoeuvre . . . lDe8-d6, but is prevented from this by what Dr. Tartakower himself calls 'the combinative wonder' . �S 31 h3 32 � M (D) Everything runs according to the preconceived plan. Instead, 32 . . .h5 would have prevented the following surprise, but after 33 'it>e3 the tying down of all Black's pieces would in any case have led to material loss. .••

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33 i.xe4+! At first sight, having in view the (very poor) transaction 33 ... i.xe4 34 lDxe4 'itxe4 35 l:te3+ 'it>xd4 36 :xe8 :xa4, but in reality forcing a technically rather easily won rok endgame with an extra pawn. 33 i.xe4 34 g4+ The simple but very unkind point 34 . . .'it>{4 35 lDe6#! 34 �6 3S lDxe4+ �e6 lDd6 36 'it>e3 lDxe4 37 'it>d3 38 'it>xe4 hS B lack realises that 'quiet' play would leave him without any draw· ing chances-for instance, 38 . . .'it>d6 3 9 'it>d3 'it>d5 40 :al c5 4 1 dxc5 'it>xc5 42 'it>c3 would be similar to my last match game with Capa­ blanca. Therefore he tries to create attacking objects on the kingside but only hastens the end by accepting the following pawn sacrifice. :xgS 39 gS! After 39 . . . 'id6 40 h4 his situation would he even worse than before. :bS 40 as :b8 41 a6 :a8 42 a7 gS 43 h4! h4 44 hxgS 'it>t7 4S :a6 h3 46 �4 'it>g6 47 'ig3 �xgS 48 dS! �fS 49 dxc6 1-0 SO c7 •.•

Ahues - Alekhine 167 Game 64 Ahues - Alekhine San Remo 1 930 Queen's Indian Defence

1 d4 lOf6 2 lOO b6 3 e3 i.b7 4 lObd2 This system of development has been favoured by Rubinstein and the late Belgian Champion, Colle. It is not particularly aggressive, but is not without sting-especially if White succeeds in quickly opening a suit­ able diagonal for his dark-squared bishop. cS 4 5 i.d3 e6 6 c3 i.e7 7 1i"e2 White is over-cautious. More in the spirit of the variation selected would have been 7 e4, only playing 8 1i"e2 in reply to 7 . . . d6; after the move played Black succeeds in preventing the advance of the e-pawn by the following original answer. lOdS! 7 ... With by no means hidden inten­ tions: if 8 e4, then 8 . . . lOf4; if 8 c4, then 8 . lOM. S dxcS With this exchange White starts an elaborate manoeuvre, the ultimate object of which is to bring the dark­ squared bishop on to the diagonal a l -h8. As a matter of fact there is hardly a more promising line to be recommended for him. bxcS S ... . .

9 lOn He does not play this knight to c4 as he intends to dislodge Black's central knight by c3-c4. 1i"c 7 9 10 lOg3 lOc6 1 1 i.d2 gS! (D)

w

A bold idea, connected in one variation with the offer of a pawn and based on the following general considerations: Black possesses on the kings ide an elastic pawn mass, not obstructed by his own pieces; the natural thing for him to do is there­ fore to try to gain space by gradually advancing these pawns. But which pawn shall he start with? The move 1 1 ... hS would be met by 1 2 h4! stop­ ping any further action on that side; on the other hand 1 1 .. .fS would also have been premature as it would al­ low White to open the position by 1 2 e4 fxe4 1 3 1i'xe4 ! . There remains the text move, which, by the way, is more effective than the preparatory 1 1 . . .0-0-0, permitting White to an­ swer 12 a3 ! followed by c4. lOdb4 12 c4 13 i.c3

1 68 San Remo 1 930 One must admit that White plays at least logically-the diagonal a l ­ h 8 i s for the time being his only counter-chance. 13 tiJxd3+ tiJb4 14 "ili'xd3 15 "ili'e2 The main variation considered by Black when playing 1 1 ...g5 was 1 5 'ib 1 f 6 1 6 tiJxg5 (or 1 6 a 3 lDc6 1 7 lDxg5 lDe5 ! =F ) 1 6 . . . �xg2 1 7 l: g 1 �b7 1 8 lDxh7 O-O-O ! , with more than sufficient positional compensa­ tion for the material sacrificed. 15 l:gS lDc6 16 a3 lDe5 17 lDd2 18 "ili'h5 White, obviously dissatisfied with his position, is looking for complica­ tions. Of course Black's chances would also have remained superior (chiefly because of the possibilities offered by the pair of bishops) after the quiet 1 8 f3. 0-0-0 18 ... Even more forcible would have been 1 8 . . . � xg2 1 9 l:g 1 �c6 20 'tVxh7 0-0-0 +. After the text move White decides to renounce-at the cost of two tempi !-making that compromising transaction. f5 19 0·0 Threatening 20 . . . g4. h5! 20 "ili'e2 No reason to give the opponent even one moment's relief! 21 lDxh5 White is forced to take this pawn, as otherwise its advance would be too painful.

l1g6 21 Threatening 22 . . . l:h6 followed by .. J ldh8, with deadly effect. 22 f4 The exchange thus proposed will bring the knight into an excellentde­ fensive position-but, unfortunately for White, only for a very short time. However, as White did not have even a shade of counterplay, his king was in the long run indefensible anyhow. 22 gxf4 l1h6 23 lDxf4 l1g8 24 h3 With the strong threat 25 ... lDg6. 25 �xe5 "ili'xe5 "ili'g7 (D) 26 lDf3 •••

w

27 l1adl After this B lack wins the pawn back and at the same time demol­ ishes the last fortifications protect­ ing the enemy king. But also the protection of the h-pawn by means of 27 �h 1 would have led to an un­ tenable position after 27 . . . �d6 28 'ilkfl 'ilkg4! (threatening 29 . . .�xf4 30 exf4 l:xh3+ ! ) 29 � g l l:xh3 ! 30 lDxh3 'ixh3. e5! 27 •.•

Alekhine - Kmoch 1 69 28 29 30 31 32 33

�d5 "d2 cxd5 d6 l:txf3 dxe7 0-1

l:txh3 .i.xd5 e4 exf3 l:txf3 "xe7

10 l:txc3 cxd4 �c6! 1 1 exd4 Black does not hurry to play 1 1 . ..dxc4 since after 12 c5 he would be able to start a successful battle in the centre by answering 12 . . . e5 ! . 1 2 .i.e2 dxc4 13 .i.xc4 (D)

Game 65 Alekhine Kmoch San Remo 1 930 Nimzo-Indian Defence -

1 d4 lbf6 2 c4 e6 3 �c3 .i.b4 4 .i.d2 One of the most harmless answers to Black's 3rd move. The present game shows that Black, by making even the simplest moves, can obtain a middlegame with even prospects. 0-0 4 5 e3 d5 6 �f3 c5 7 a3 Again a passive move. In playing the opening of this game I was decid­ edly not in my happiest mood ! First 7 "ic2, and only after 7 . . . �c6 8 a3 .i.xc3 9 .i.xc3, leads to a more col­ ourful position. 7 .i.xc3 8 .i.xc3 �e4 Perfectly logical as further simpli­ fication can only be in the second player's favour. 9 l:tc1 Even now 9 "c2 was more promising. �xc3 9 •••

•••

It is not difficult to see that the opening play has concluded rather in Black's favour, as White's isolated pawn is decidedly not an ornament to his position and, on the other hand, the advantage in space which he still possesses has for the moment not much importance, because of the absence of vulnerable spots in the enemy position. White' s only chance, therefore, is to try to create a king­ side attack-and the reader will see how difficult this task proved to be against the author of Die Kunst der

Verteidigung. 13 14 0·0 15 l:td3 16 l:tel

"f6 l:td8 .i.d7

In spite of his scarcely brilliant prospects White still decides to play

1 70 San Remo 1930 for a win, and therefore does not try to exchange the isolated pawn. Oth­ erwise he would have played here 1 6 'iWd2, preparing d 5 , which was not good immediately because of the an­ swer 1 6 . . .tiJa5 ! . � e8 16 17 'iWd2 tiJe7 Now B lack also becomes ambi­ tious and prevents for a while d5. 1 8 tiJg5! tiJd5 But not 1 8 . . .tiJf5 due to 19 tiJxe6! fxe6 20 nxe6 winning. 'iWe7 19 no 20 ng3 White is anxious to provoke a weakening pawn move on Black's kingside, and therefore protects the knight in order to be able to play 'iWd3 . h6 2 0 ... 21 tiJo It was difficult to decide which knight retreat was best. I finally re­ jected 21 tiJe4 because of the possi­ ble reply 2 1 . . . 'iWh4. However, White would also have kept fairly good at­ tacking chances in that case after 22 h3 ! 'iWf4 23 'iWe2. 'iWf6 21 . 22 ne4 Defending d4 and f4, and intend­ ing to eventually threaten neg4. But B lack's following knight manoeuvre again protects everything. 22 tiJe7 23 tiJe5 ttJf5 24 nd3 24 nf3 would have been a mistake owing to 24 . . . �c6 25 tiJxc6 bxc6 +. ':ac8 24 .

25 h3! (D)

B

•••

..

.

.

White profits from the fact that the opponent does not threaten any­ thing of importance to secure an es­ cape for his king. The following part of the game will clearly show the significance of this quiet preparatory move. 25 tiJd6? Seizing the first opportunity for a further simplification which, how. ever, will this time prove perfectly welcome to White. As a matter of fact the knight was at this stage too important a defensive piece to be eliminated. Instead, 25 . . . �c6 ! of­ fered-temporarily at least-a quite sufficient defence; for instance, 26 tiJxc6 bxc6 (not 26 . . ..:xc6 because of 27 d5 !) or 26 nel �d5. tiJxc4 26 nr4 27 tiJxc4 1Wg5 This move has been generally criticised as time-wasting, but also after 27 . . .'iWe7 28 tiJe5 White would obtain the better fighting chances. If in that case 28 . . . f6, then 29 tiJg4 threatening eventually sacrifices at f6 or h6. Speaking in general, the ...

Stahlberg - Alekhine 1 71 black king is from now on quite in­ sufciently protected. 28 l:tg3 1i'd5 29 tDe3 1i'c6 An exchange of queens would, of course, be paradise for Black! 30 Wh2 This is the pleasant consequence of White's 25th move. 30 1i'c1 Black hopes for 3 1 "it'a5 "it'c7, but White selects the right square for his queen. 31 1i'b4! 1i'c7 (D) •••

w

32 as 33 1i'e4 Of course not 33 "it'd4 e5. 33 l:td6! 34 1i'e5 g6 35 1i'h5! Instead the tempting move 35 l:tc4 would have led to nothing after the reply 35 . . .l:tc6! and also 35 tDg4 would have brought, after 35 . . .exd5, only the exchange for a pawn! . 35 l:txd5 Instead of resigning. I should have preferred 35 .. .';Ph7 36 tDg4 ! ! gxh5 37 tDf6+ followed by mate. exd5 36 tDxd5 1-0 37 1i'xh6 •••

•••

Game 66 Stahlberg - Alekhine Hamburg tt 1 930 Brilliancy Prize Nimzo-Indian Defence

32 d5! Such an effective advance of the would-be weakling must have de­ lighted the greatest friend of the iso­ lated d-pawn, the late Dr. Tarrasch! It is obvious enough that in case of ...exd5 (here or on the next move) the answer "it'd4 would have led to a rapid debacle for Black. But also by the defence selected he will have to give up at least the exchange.

1 d4 tDr6 e6 2 c4 3 tDc3 .i.b4 c5 4 1i'b3 5 dxc5 tDc6 tDe4 6 tDf3 tDxc5 7 .i.d2 This move became fashionable after the game B ogoljubow-Nimzo­ witsch in the San Remo Tourna­ ment, brilliantly won by Black. It is doubtless more logical than the for­ mer 7 ... tDxd2 8 tDxd2 after which

Actually 35 lOg4 wins as well, since 35 ... exd5 36 lOxh6+ �f8 37 l:c3 l:c6 38 irh8+ �e7 39 lOg8+ �d8 40 irh4+ f6 41 l:xc6 is devastating.

1 72 Hamburg tt 1 930 White, by castling queenside, will soon obtain strong pressure on the d-file. f5 8 'ikc2 9 a3 Thus White obtains-at least tem­ porarily-the pair of bishops. Oddly enough, Bogoljubow, in the above­ mentioned game, delayed this move until it actually became a mistake and by making it at that moment gave his opponent the game out of hand ! It came about this way: 9 e3 0-0 1 0 �e2 b6 1 1 0-0-0 as ! 1 2 a3 a4 ! ! =F. 9 �xc3 10 �xc3 0-0 1 1 b4 tDe4 12 e3 b6 13 �d3 He could play also 1 3 �b2 but would not have obtained any real advantage, for instance 1 3 . . . .*.b7 14 �d3 'ie7 ! and then 1 5 �xe4 fxe4 1 6 'ixe4 would be to Black's advantage after 1 6 ... tDxb4 17 'ixb7 tDd3+. tDxc3 13 �b7 14 'ikxc3 tDe7 15 0-0 It certainly looks risky to leave the central dark squares without ade­ quate defence, but I judged that something had to be done in order to prevent White increasing his pres­ sure in the centre by means of cS. 16 �e2 Threatening to bring a rook and the queen on the open d-file with un­ pleasant consequences for Black. 'ike8 16 l:1d8 (D) 17 l:1fdl

Not yet 17 .. .f4 because of 1 8 exf4 l:1xf4 1 9 'id2.

w

18 a4 The serious defect of this other­ wise strategically justified advance is that it takes decidedly too much time and thus permits Black to build up an instructive attack. Therefore. 1 8 'ieS with the strong threat 19 'fIc7 was undoubtedly better. The game would have continued in that case 1 8 . . . f4 ! 1 9 Wc7 ! (not 1 9 exf4 tDg6 20 'ic7 tDxf4 =F) 1 9 . . ..i. xf3 20 �xf3 fxe3 2 1 fxe3 tDfS and B lack has the double threat of 22 ... lDxe3 and 22 . . . tDh4. In this line, although White would not find time to exploit the weakness of Black's queenside, he would still have been perfectly able to protect his king-and this was for the moment the most impor­ tant problem ! f4! 18 From now on until the end, al Black's moves are very precisely timed. It is hardly possible to replace any one of them by a better one. fxe3 19 as 20 'ikxe3 tDf5 •••

Alekhine - Andersen 1 73 21 'ifc3 d6! A simple but very effective de­ rence against White's l:1a7. 22 axb6 axb6 23 tbel 1f23 l:1a7 then 23 . . .l:1d7 threaten­ ing to win a piece by 24 ... .i.xf3. 23 eS Securing the square d4 for the knight As may be noticed, the weak­ nes of the dark squares has been, without apparent effort, transformed into strength. 24 l:1a7 Hoping to com plicate matters af­ ter 24 ... l:1d7 25 c5 with the threat 26 .tb5. But B lack has at his disposal an important intermediate move. tbd4! 24 l:1d7 2S 'ife3 Threatening 26 ....i.f3. l:1dt7 26 l:1a2 27 f3 One would suppose that this pawn, besides being protected by its neighbour, and easily supported by thre offour pieces, cannot possibly furm a welcome object for Black's attack. And yet White's f3-pawn will be captured, almost inevitably. It was certainly the unusual nature of Black's winning stratagem which in­ duced the judges to award to this game the brilliancy prize. l:1f4 27 'ifhS 28 i.d3 Threatening 29 . . .e4 ! . 'ifgS! 29 .i.f1 With the main threat 30 . . . l:1xf3 ! facing the win of the queen. White's answer is forced.

30 l:1f2

h6! (D)

w

•••

•••

•••

A move terrible in its simplicity. B lack threatens 3 1 . . .l:1xf3 ! 32 'ifxg5 l:1xf2, and in case of 31 'ifd2 (com­ paratively the best) he would have played 3 1 . . . .i.xf3 32 tbxf3 tbxf3+ 33 l:1xf3 l:1xf3 34 'ifxg5 l:1xf1 + 35 l:1xfl l:1xf1 + 3 6 �xf1 hxg5 37 �e2 �f7 38 �f3 �e6 39 �e4 b5 ! , with a won pawn endgame. White's next move practically does not change anything. 31 �h l l:1xf3! With the same point as mentioned above. 0-1 Garne 67 Alekhine - Andersen Prague tt 1931 Queen's Indian Defence tbf6 1 d4 b6 2 c4 I have tried this fianchetto devel­ opment (before . . . e6) on several occasions at the beginning of my professional career in the early twenties and also with success in a

1 74 Prague tt 1931 1 929 match-game against B ogol­ jubow (see game 59). Its main dis­ advantage is that it allows White considerable freedom in the centre; its merit lies in forcing the opponent to select a definite opening plan pos­ sibly earlier than he would like to. �b7 3 ll'lc3 4 "iWc2 For 4 f3 see the above-mentioned game. OO? 4 But this is not in accordance with 2 ... b6. The only logical continuation is 4 . . . d5 5 cxd5 ll'lxd5 6 ll'lf3 (in case of 6 e4 B lack can play 6 . . . ll'lxc3 7 bxc3 e5) 6 . . . e6 7 e4 ll'lxc3 8 bxc3 �e7 followed by ... ll'ld7 and eventu­ ally . . .c5, with fighting chances. 5 e4 �b4 6 f3! Avoiding the doubling of pawns on the c-file. Black has now not the slightest compensation for White's predominance in the centre. 0-0 6 7 �d3 Threatening 8 e5. h6 7 8 ll'le2 d5 S omething had to be undertaken in order to increase the activity of Black's minor pieces-and the plan selected is probably no worse than any other; at least Black will now have, for a short time, the illusion of a 'counter-attack' starting by ... c5. exd5 9 cxd5 10 e5 ll'lfd7 c5 1 1 0-0 Ifinstead 1 1 ...�e7 then 1 2 ll'lf4 ±. •••

•••

.•.

�xc3 12 a3 After 12 . . .�a5 the pawn sacrifce 1 3 b4 ! cxb4 1 4 ll'lb5 would leave Black in a hopeless position. 13 bxc3 ll'lc6 14 �e3 (D) Also the combination with 14 e6, followed by ll'lf4, was sufficient; but the simple concentration of the forces, keeping the central pawn structure intact, brings a more rapid decision.

B

14 cxd4 nc8 15 cxd4 16 "iWd2! As Black's answer was obvious, this move must be considered as the beginning of the final combina­ tion. Another, purely positional, and much slower, method of keeping some advantage was 1 6 'it'bl ll'laS 1 7 f4 � 1 8 �c 1 . 16 ll'laS Intending, if nothing special oc­ curs, to force the exchange of one of White's bishops by 1 7 . . .ll'lc4. 17 �xh6! Of course the offer cannot be ac­ cepted: this is by far the easiest part •••

Alekhine - Nimzowitsch 1 75 of the combination. But the compli­ cations issuing from the best de­ fence, actually selected by B lack, demanded a thorough examination. 17 lbb3 l:tc6! 18 'iVf4 If instead 1 8 . . . lbxal then 1 9 'iV g3 g6 20 �xg6 'iPh8 2 1 �f5 l:tg8 22 'i'h3 and wins. f6 19 �g5 White was also threatening 20 'i'h4. lbxal 20 exf6 His last chance, which will he an­ nihilated by the following intermedi­ ate check. 21 �h7+! c;tJh8 The alternative was 2 1 ... c;tJxh7 22 'i'h4+ c;tJg6 (22 . . . c;tJg8 23 f7 +) 23 liJf4+ rJa"5 24 g4#. lbxf6 22 'iVh4! 23 lbr4 1-0 As if now 23 ... g6, then 24 'iVh6 ! with a debacle. •••

Game 68 Alekhine - Nimzowitsch Bled 1931 French Defence 1 e4 e6 d5 2 d4 3 lbc3 �b4 4 lbe2 This move, which is quite satis­ factory in the MacCutcheon Vari­ ation ( 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 lbc3 lbf6 4 �g5 �b4 5 lbe2), is perfectly harm­ less at this moment. I selected it, however, in the present game since I knew that on a previous occasion

(against Sir G. Thomas at Marien­ bad 1 925) Nimzowitsch had shown an exaggerated voracity (6 .. .f5) with­ out having been duly punished for it. dxe4 4 5 a3 �xc3+ Also 5 . . . �e7 is good enough for equality. f5 6 lbxc3 Played against all the principles of a sound opening strategy, as the dark squares in Black's position will become very weak, especially be­ cause of the exchange of his king' s bishop. The correct reply, which se­ cures Black at least an even game, is 6 . . . lbc6! and if 7 �b5 then 7 ... lbe7 followed by . . 0-0. 7 f3 The sacrifice of the second pawn is tempting, most probably cor­ rect-but unnecessary, as White could obtain an excellent game without taking any chances, by play­ ing first 7 �f4 and if 7 . . .lbf6 then 8 f3 exf3 9 'iVxf3 after which 9 ... 'iVxd4 would be refuted by 10 lbb5 . 7 exf3 'ixd4 8 'ixf3 Contrary to the opinion of the theorists, this move is as good-or as bad-as 8 . . . 'iVh4+ 9 g3 'iVxd4: in that case White would play 10 lbb5 and Black would not have had, as he did in the actual game, the defence 1O . . . 'i'h4+ 1 1 g3 'i'e7. 9 'iVg3! A by no means obvious continu­ ation of the attack. White's main threats are 1 0 lbb5 ( 1 0 . . . 'iVe4+ 1 1 �e2) and 1 0 �f4 (or e3). •••

.

•••

1 76 Bled 1931 9 ttJf6 This bold move is comparatively Black's best chance. 9 . . . ttJe7 would be insufficient because of 1 0 .i.e3 ! 'if6 1 1 0-0-0 ±. 10 'fixg7 (D) ...

Under normal circumstances this capture should be considered as an­ other mistake but, owing to White's tremendous lead in development, Black's game is hopeless (if, for in­ stance, I S ...ttJbd7 then still 16 nhel, followed by a move with the e2bishop), so his morbid appetite can­ not spoil anything more.

w

10 Inconsistent and therefore fatal. Black-in order to keep a fighting chance-should also give up the c­ pawn, as after 1O .. . l:tg8 1 1 "fixc7 ttJc6 there would not be a win for White by means of 1 2 ttJbS because of 1 2 . . . "fih4 + ! 13 g3 "fie4+ 14 'it>f2 'ixc2+, followed by . . . ttJe4. The check actually played allows White to win a development tempo-and time in such a tense position is a de­ cisive factor. ng8 1 1 .i.e2 ng6 12 'i6 13 'i4 White does not need to protect his g-pawn by 1 3 'ilVh3 as after 1 3 1i'h4 nxg2 the answer 14 .i.f4 would have been decisive. .i.d7 13 .i.c6 14 .i.g5 .i.xg2 (D) 15 0-0-0

16 nhe1 .i.e4 ttJxh5 17 .i.h5 18 nd8+ Wt7 19 �xh5 1-0 Nimzowitsch quite correctly re­ signed here, as there are no decent moves for Black-even 1 9 . . . 'it>g7 would lose the queen after 20 ttJxe4 fxe4 2 1 .i.h6+. This was, I believe, the shortest defeat in his career. Game 69 Pirc Alekhine -

Bled 1931 Tarrasch Defence 1 2 3 4

d4 c4 ttJc3 cxd5

d5 e6 c5 cxd4

Pirc - Alekhine 1 77 This interesting pawn-offer (in­ stead of the usua1 4 . . . exd5) has been analysed by some German amateurs. and introduced in international prac­ tice-if I am not mistaken-by Dr. Tartakower. As subsequent investi­ gations have proved. Black. in spite of the superiority of his develop­ ment. should not he able. against adequate defence. to prevent the op­ ponent emerging from the opening with an extra pawn and a safe position. 5 'ti'a4+ Better than 5 'ixd4 lbc6. .td7 5 5 . . . 'ifd7 would be an error here because of 6 lbb5 ! ±. 6 'ti'xd4 exd5 7 'ikxd5 lbc6 Black could also play 7 ... lbf6. af­ ter which 8 'ifxb7 lbc6 would have been decidedly too risky for White. but 8 'id l followed by e3 would have led to the same variations as could easily occur after the move played. 8 .tg5 On account of White's backward development it would be safer for him to use this bishop for defensive purposes on the queenside. and to play instead 8 e3 (8 ... lbf6 9 'ti'd l ) . However. the text move cannot be considered an actual mistake. lbf6 8 h6 9 'i'id2 This rather harmless attempt to create (in case of the n atural answer 1 0 .th4) new threats in connection with . . . .tb4. followed by ... g5 and •••

•••

. . . lbe4. has unexpected and pleasant consequences. 10 .txf6 This certainly gives B lack more attacking chances than the retreat mentioned. but would not have proved too bad if White had taken full advantage of the square d5 which he gains by this exchange. 'i'ixf6 10 0-0-0 1 1 e3 12 0-0-0 The decisive error. allowing B lack to regain the gambit pawn with per­ sisting pressure. 12 lbd5 ! was neces­ sary and if 1 2 ... 'ifg6 (best). then 1 3 lbe2 followed b y lbef4 or c3. with possibilities of defence. Black has now the opportunity to carry out an attack on the king in the good old style' . 12 .tg4 13 lbd5 (D) Too late! •

••.

B

13 nxd5! 14 'ti'xd5 .ta3! After 1 4 ... .txd l 15 "xd l 'ifxf2 1 6 'i'ig4+ f5 17 'i'ie2 'ifxe2 followed by . . . .tc5. Black would probably •••

1 78 Bled 1931 have won after a long endgame. The move chosen by him is a result of the decision, plainly justified under the circumstances, to find a winning so­ lution in the middlegame. 15 "iVb3 There is nothing better; if, for in­ stance, 15 l1d2 (or 15 bxa3 'iIV c3+ 1 6 � b l l1d8 ! 1 7 'ilVxd8+1 tbxd8 with the double threat of 1 8 ... .i. x d l and 1 8 . . . .i.f5+) 15 . . . .i.xb2+! 1 6 l1xb2 'ilVc3+ 17 �bl (or 17 l1c2 'ilVal + fol­ lowed by ... l1d8+) 17 ... 'ilVel + 18 �c2 l1d8 and wins. 15 .i.xdl "iVxf2 16 "iVxa3 17 "iVd3 .i.g4 ! And not 17 . . . l1d8 because of 1 8 tbh3 ! "iVf6 1 9 'ilVc3, with chances of salvation. 18 tbf3 Also here 1 8 . . . :d8 would have been out of place because of the re­ ply 1 9 'ilVe2. 19 "iVf5+ lPbS 20 "iVxf3 "iVel+ 2 1 � (D) If he had given up the pawn the agony would not have lasted long: 21 'ilVd l 'ilVxe3+ 22 'ilVd2 'ilVe6 ! 23 c,tbl l1d8 24 'ilVf4+ �a8, with quite a few deadly threats. :le8 21 tbe5+! 2 2 "iVg3+ 23 �b3 "iVdl+ :le5! 24 �a3

B

Quick death is now unavoid­ able-for instance 25 b4 :c3+ 26 �b2 'ilVc l # , 25 b3 l1a5+ 26 �b4 'ilVd2# and the prettiest line, 25 �b4 "iVd2+ ! 26 c,txc5 b6+ 27 �b5 'ilVa5#. 0-1 Game 70 Alekhine - Flohr Bled 1931 Queen 's Gambit Accepted 1 d4 d5 dxe4 2 e4 3 tbf3 tbf6 4 e3 e6 5 .i.xe4 e5 tbc6 6 0-0 7 "iVe2 a6 8 l1dl Oddly enough, this move, which does not contain any real threat and is therefore at this particular mo­ ment, to say the least, inexact-was almost unanimously adopted at the

Here White has a much better defence: 17 .1e2! :'xd5 1 8 .1xg4+ f5 19 :'xd5 fxg4 20 liJe2 'iVc4 2 1 :'d2 'iVe4+ 22 �c1 'iVxg2 23 lbg3 with just a slight advantage for Black. Therefore Black should prefer 1 5 . . . 'ilal+ 1 6 �c2 .1xd l + 1 7 'iVxd l 'iVxa2+ 1 8 � I 'iIxa3+ 19 �b I :'d8, with a decisive attack.

Alekhine - Flohr 1 79 time the actual game was played. After Euwe's win against me in the Sth match-game, 1 937, and my win against Book at Margate 1 93 8, 'the­ ory' will probably recognise the natural move 8 lLlc3 ! as best. b5 8 9 dxe5 The positional refutation of 9 dS ! ? consists of 9 . . .exdS 1 0 .ixds l£lxdS 1 1 e4 9i'e7 ! 12 :txdS .ie6 +. 9 �e7 .ixe5 10 .id3 1 1 a4 Hoping to disorganise Black's po­ sition on the queenside, and succeed­ ing only because of the following inferior rejoinder. 11 b4? After this, a number of squares on the queenside will remain insuffi­ ciently protected and, what is more, Black will remain without any hope of a counter-attack as White's position is practically without weak­ nesses. A quite different situation would have been produced by the right answer 1 1 . ..bxa4 ! , which would give B lack, as compensation for the weak a-pawn, counter-threats against White's b-pawn. 12 l£lbd2 0-0 S lightly better, although not en­ tirely satisfactory, was 1 2 . . . l£laS as played, for instance, by Flohr in a match game against Euwe in 1 932. 1 3 lLlb3 .ie7 l£ld7 14 e4 The possibility of IS eS in con­ nection with 'ie4 was certainly un­ pleasant. •••

15 .ie3 l£lde5 The intended exchange of knights does not bring relief as it does not help to solve the important prob­ lem of the co-ordination of Black's rooks . IS ... .ib7 16 :tac l 'iWb8 was therefore slightly preferable. lLlxe5 16 l£lxe5 'iVb8 (D) 17 :tact

.•.

18 .ie5! From now on every exchange will facilitate the exploitation of the or­ ganic pawn weaknesses created by Black's 1 1th move. 18 .ixe5 'iVb6 19 l£lxe5 l£ld7 20 'i5! As the knight was B lack's only active piece, it would have been advisable not to remove it unless necessary. By playing 20 ... f6 he could offer some more resistance, although White ' s advantage after 2 1 .in l:td8 22 l:td4 ! followed by 'iWdl , would still be considerable. g6 21 .ie2 In order to open, without loss of time, a 'hole' for the king; but, as the following shows, this move weakens

180 Bled 1931 the kingside, especially as White is by no means in a hurry to exchange queens. B lack should take the knight immediately. lDxc5 22 'tlVg5 as 23 1:txc5 One of White's positional threats was 24 a5. 24 h4 The punishment for 21 . . . g6. 24 �a6 25 �f3! (D)

White's bishop is stronger than Black's. Now White has threats eve­ rywhere (26 h5 ; 26 1:txa5 ; 26 1:td7, etc.). f6 25 26 'tlVe3 And now White begins to specu­ late on the unprotected position of the enemy's queen ! 1:tad8 26 ... 1:txd8 27 1:txd8 Or 27 . . . 't'r'xd8 28 e5 f5 29 1:tc6 �c8 30 't'r'c5, with a winning posi­ tion. 28 e5! Forcing either the win of a pawn with an overwhelming position after .•.

28 . . . fxe5 29 't'r'xe5 (even stronger is perhaps first 29 h5 !), or the catastro­ phe which occurs in the actual game. The immediate 28 1:tc8 was not con­ vincing because of 28 .. .'id6. f5 28 ... 19 1:tc8! 1-0 White wins at least a rook.

Game 7 1 Alekhine Maroczy Bled 1931 Queen's Gambit Declined -

d5 1 d4 2 c4 e6 3 lDc3 lDf6 4 �g5 �e7 5 e3 lDbd7 6 lDf3 0-0 7 1:tel h6 8 �h4 c6 9 �d3 a6 The fashionable continuation, after which Black actually has little to fear, is 9 . . .dxc4 10 � xc4 b5 1 1 �d3 a6 and if 1 2 a4 ( 1 2 e4? lDxe4 + was Euwe-Alekhine, 28th game, 1935), then simply 12 . . . bxa4. dxc4 10 0-0 c5 11 �xc4 It is rather risky to delay the de­ velopment of the queenside. Instead, 1 1 . . . b5 followed by . . . �b7 and . . . c5 was still a fairly good alternative. 12 a4! This move, in connection with the following isolation of the central pawn, gives the game its character. After 12 �d3 or 12 't'r'e2 b5, it would probably develop on conventional

Alekhine - Maroczy 181 lines-and end with an honourable draw. 12 ii"a5 From now on Maroczy plays very enterprising chess, combining de­ fensive moves with counter-attacks against White's weaknesses at a4 and d4. 13 ii"e2 cxd4! At the right moment as 1 4 lDxd4 lDe5 15 .i.b3 lDg6 16 .i.g3 e5 would be in Black's favour. lDb6 1 4 exd4 15 .i.d3! Practically leaving the a-pawn to its fate. For the moment, it is true, it cannot well be taken because of 1 6 lDe4 ! with a very strong attack; but it remains weak almost until the dra­ matic end. 15 .i.d7 16 lDe5 Threatening 17 R.xf6 followed by 18 ii"e4. lUd8 (D) 16 •••

•••

•••

17 f4 White had decided already, by 1 2 a4, to conduct the whole game i n a fortissimo style. Although the result

justified this method, I am by no means sure that it was the most logi­ cal way to exploit White's unques­ tionable advantage in space. Here, for instance, the simple move 17 ii"f3 was to be seriously taken into consideration as: 1 ) 17 . ..lDxa4 would still be an­ swered by 1 8 lDe4 ! ±; 2) 17 ....i.xa4 would obviously be unsatisfactory because of 1 8 ii"xb7 ; and 3) after 17 . . . R.c6 1 8 lDxc6 bxc6 1 9 l:[fd 1 Black's pawns would be at least as vulnerable as White's. 17 R.e8 18 lDg4 The logical consequence of the previous move. White offers the d­ pawn, as its defence by 1 8 l:[fdl or 1 8 R.f2 would permit Black to pary the important threats by playing a knight to d5. 18 l:txd4 Black, on the other hand, has nothing better than to accept the offer, as by other moves White's at­ tack would remain-with even ma­ terial-at least as strong as in the actual game. 19 R.xf6 R.xf6 20 lbxf6+ gxf6 2 1 lDe4 (D) Black's king 's position is now dangerously compromised, espe­ cially as he cannot well protect the square f6 (if 2 1 . . .1Dd7 then 22 f5 ! with a strong attack). 21 l:[ad8? But he could-and should-save the f6-pawn by playing 2 1 . . .f5 to •••

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•••

182 Bled 1931 the following reply, which was by no means easy to find, turns the ta­ bles.

B

w

which White would reply 22 �f6+ 1 'itfS (or 22 . . .'itg7 23 �h5+ followed by b3) 23 b3 ! and try afterwards to exploit the weakness of B lack's dark squares, with an uncertain result. The counter-attack initiated by the text move will be refuted chiefly be­ cause White will succeed in protect­ ing his bishop indirectly, without any loss of time. 22 �xf6+ 't>f8 23 �h7+! Perhaps Maroczy had underesti­ mated this check. If now 23 . .. 'igS, then 24 'ilt'g4+ 'ihS 25 'ilt'h4! ltxd3 26 'ilt'xh6 and wins. 't>e7 23 . 24 f5! White's first indirect defence: if 24 .. . ltxd3? then 25 f6+ followed by 26 'fi'xd3+. 24 ... lt8d6 (D) But after this everything seems to be again in order, as the king has a comfortable escape at dS . However, ..

25 b4!! A surprising solution of the at­ tacking problem, the idea of which is as follows: White succeeds either (in case of 25 . . . ltxb4) in playing 26 'ilt'h5 ! without permitting the strong answer 26 . .. i!fd2! or (as in the actual game) by entering with the queen into Black's position via e5. 'it'xb4 25 An interesting finish would have occurred after 25 ... ltxb4 26 1Wh5 ! e5 ! 27 f6+ 'itdS 2S 1Wxh6! ltxd3 29 1WfS l:td7 30 ltc5 1Wxa4 3 1 l:txe5 and wins. 26 'it'e5! Threatening 27 'l'f6+ 'itd7 28 �fS#. �d7 26 Protects both critical squares and, apparently, at last wins the bishop. •••

••.

Rather amusingly, Vukovic, in his book The Chess Sacrifice, gave analysis showing that White could play more strongly here by 22 ltJxh6+; in case readers are baffled by this suggestion, I should add that Vukovic incorrectly gave White' s 1 8th move as ltJe4 instead of ltJg4.

Alekhine - Winter 183 27 'i8! (D)

lbd3 27 Losing one move earlier than he should. The bestreply 27 .....b6 would have forced White to disclose the last point of the combination started by his 25th move-28 as ! (the triumph of the neglected pawn ! ) with the variations 28 ... "'xa5 29 nc8 and 28 . . . ..a7 29 f6+, as in the actual game l . 1-0 2 8 f6+! As 28 ... lOxf6 is met by 29 "'xf6+ and 30 lOf8#; if 28 .. . �d8, then 29 'i'xe8+! and 30 nc8#. .••

Game 72 Alekhine - Winter London 1932 Caro-Kann Defence c6 1 e4 d5 2 d4 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4 One of the best ways to meet the Caro-Kann. Nowadays it is slightly out of fashion, in my opinion with­ out much reason and probably only temporarily. 4 lOf6 5 lOc3 1Oc6 6 lOfJ If6 .ig5 (Botvinnik's move), then 6 . . . e6 7 ffi i.e7, with a slightly cramped but solid enough defensive game. 6 i.g4 7 cxd5 lOxd5 8 i.b5 "'a5 Introduced by me in a game against Nimzowitsch (Bled 193 1 ) , i n which my opponent, after 9 "'b3 !

Vukovic, who was by now back on track, correctly pointed out that 27 ... Ac6 is a much better defence. His analysis continued 28 ':xc6 bxc6 29 fxe6 fxe6 30 ftJf6 .i.f1 3 1 l2Jxd7 (31 .i.xa6 ':f4 is equal) 3 l . ..':xd7 32 'Wf6+ �d6 3 3 .i.xa6 'Wb6+ 34 �h l 'Wxa6 35 ':dl + �c7 3 6 ':xd7+ �xd7 37 'ixf7+ and this ending should be a draw. However, White can improve on this line by 32 .i.g6 'i'c5+ 33 Wh l 'iff2 34 'i'a l ! "ifxfl + 35 "ifxfl i.xg6, when he has some advantage, although it is obviously going to be very hard to win this ending. B lack himself has an alternative earlier, namely 30 . . . lDxf6 3 1 "ifxf6+ �d7 32 'i'g7+ �d8 33 l:[bl "ifd6, with a slight advantage for White. This is no way detracts from Alekhine's combination, since even perfect defence by Maroczy would have left Alekhine with some advantage; in the game itself, as so often happens, a long period of defence takes its toll and Maroczy blunders, allowing mate in three.

1 84 London 1932 .i.xf3 10 gxf3 iDxc3 made the curi­ ous miscalculation 1 1 .i.xc6+ bxc6 12 1Wb7 ?-and after 12 ... iDd5+ 1 3 .i.d2 1Wb6 ! 1 4 1Wxa8+ �d7 1 5 0-0 iDc7, was forced to give up a piece by 1 6 .i.a5, making further resis­ tance practically hopeless. However, S .. :iWa5 is, as the present game dem­ onstrates, decidedly too risky. The correct line is S ... .l:.cs 9 h3 .i.xf3 1 0 1Wxf3 e6, with roughly even pros­ pects. 9 1i'b3! .i.xf3 iDxc3 10 gxf3 e6 (D) 1 1 bxc3 Black has obtained, it is true, the better pawn position, but as the fol­ lowing effective pawn sacrifice will show, his king position is by no means safe. The next part of the game is highly instructive, since White's attack needed, in order to succeed, a particularly exact calcula­ tion.

12 ... exd5 13 0-0 0-0-0 The only move. After 1 3 ....i.e7 1 4 .l:.e l the p i n on the e-file would be deadly. 14 .i.xc6 bxc6 'fkc7 15 .l:.bl Or 1 5 ... �d7 1 6 c4 ! , with a tre­ mendous attack. 16 'fka4 .l:.d7 17 .i.d2! A difficult move, much more ef­ fective than 1 7 .i.f4 or 1 7 .i.e3 . In spite of his accurate defence, B lack will be unable to prevent a gradual demolition of his king's residence. 17 ... .i.c5 �d8 18 c4 Again comparatively the best, as l S . . . .i.b6 would fail because of 1 9 c5 ! .i.xc5 20 'ilt'a6+ �dS 2 1 .i.a5 .i.b6 22 .l:.xb6. 19 .i.a5 .i.b6 20 .i.xb6 axb6 (D)

w

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12 d5! It is necessary to sacrifice the pawn at once, as after 1 2 0-0 .l:.dS Black would obtain a satisfactory position.

21 1i'a8+! The objects of this rather pro­ found queen's manoeuvre are the following: firstly, in some important variations a white rook has to be

Alekhine - Koltanowski 185 posted at a4, so the queen frees that square in view of that eventuality; secondly, if White plays at once 2 1 cxd5 Black can answer 2 1 ...l:txd5 22 :'fd l �e7 ! 2 3 :'xd5 cxd5 24 :'e l + �f6 2 5 'fi'h4+ �g6 and White would have no more than perpetual check. Therefore he has to prevent the black king escaping via e7. 21 'fi'cS 22 'ia3 'fi'bS 23 cxd5 cxd5 The alternative is 23 .. .l:txd5 24 :'fd l :eS 25 :'xd5+ cxd5 26 l:tdl and now, after either 26 . . .'fi'e5 or 26 . . . l:te5, White replies 27 f4 and Black has no adequate defence. 24 l:tb4! The winning move, as B lack has no time to play 24 . . . l:teS on account of 25 l:ta4. 24 'i'd6 25 l:tel ! l:tc7 Or 25 . . . l:te7 26 l:td l , with a win­ ning attack. 26 'fi'b3 l:teS 27 l:tdl l:te5 Obviously, Black cannot protect both his pawns. l:tc6 2S l:txb6 l:tg5+ 29 l:txc6 Forced (29 ...'fi'xc6 30 'fi'bS+). 30 'ihl 'ixc6 (D) 31 l:tel! Initiating the final attack. 31 'fi'f6 'id7 32 'fi'bS+ 33 f4 l:tg6 I expected here 33 . . .l:th5 34 'fi'eS+ �d6 35 l:t c l ! l:txh2+ 36 �gl ! forc­ ing the win.

34 35 36 37

'fi'e8+ l:tel + l:tbl+ 'ib5+

'ic7 'ib6 'ic5 1-0

Game 73 Alekhine - Koltanowski London 1932 Brilliancy Prize Ruy Lopez

•••

1 e4 e5 2 lbfJ lbc6 3 i.b5 a6 4 i.a4 d6 5 i.xc6+ bxc6 6 d4 exd4 The usual defensive scheme is here 6 . . .f6 followed by ... lbe7-g6. But B lack in this game obviously wants a free diagonal for his dark­ squared bishop. 7 lbxd4 i.d7 S 0-0 g6 9 lbc3 White has nothing better than this calm development of forces-in the hope that the slight weakness of Black's dark squares will sooner or later give him real chances.

186 London 1932 iog7 9 t'iJe7 10 l:el 0-0 11 iof4 c5 1 2 'it'd2 13 t'iJb3 Not 1 3 t'iJf3 because of 13 . . . iog4. But 13 t'iJde2 came seriously into consideration. t'iJc6 13 ioe6 ioh6 14 �xg7 1 5 ioxg7 f6 (D) 1 6 t'iJd5

As the sequel shows, here B lack should play 2 1 . . .ioxd5-but after 22 exd5 t'iJd4 23 t'iJxd4 cxd4 24 l:xd4 'it'xb2 25 'it'd2 White would still keep a real, if not easily realisable, positional advantage ) .

w

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l:b8 17 l:adl 'it'c8 18 'it'c3 19 a3 � 20 h3! This and the following moves were by no means easy to find as, in preparing the decisive combination, I had to keep in mind the possibility of the simplifying variation begin­ ning with ... ioxd5 . Vb7 20 'it'b5 (D) 21 l:e3

22 t'iJxc7! As a rule, so-called 'positional' sacrifices are considered more diffi­ cult, and therefore more praisewor­ thy, than those which are based exclusively on an exact calculation of tactical possibilities. The present position offers, I believe, an excep­ tion, as the multitude and complex­ ity of the variations following the knight sacrifice demanded much greater intensive mental work than any general evaluation of mutual possibilities. l:xc7 22 ioc4 23 l:xd6 B lack had several other answers, but all ofthem would lose in the end, •.•

After 25 . "it' al + 26 �h2 l:.b I no advantage for White can be discemed-indeed, the impending ... l:th l + followed by .. :iWgl or .. .f5 would appear to give Black slightly the better chances. ..

Alekhine - Tartakower 187 as the following variations demon­ strate: 1 ) 23 . . ..txb3? 24 'ixf6+ and then 25 l:hb3. 2) 23 . . .liJd4? 24 liJxd4. 3) 23 .... c4 24 liJxc5 ! . 4) 2 3...lbd8 24 l1f3 ID7 25 ltJxc5. 5) 23 . . . .i.f7 24 lIxf6 ! liJd4 25 liJxd4 cxd4 26 'ixc7 'it>xf6 27 lIf3+. 6) 23 . . . lIe8 24 liJxc5 liJd8 25 b4 ltJf7 26 l1xe61 7) 23 ...'it>f7 24 l1f3 'it>e7 25 a4 'ib6 (best) 26 lIxe6+ 'it>xe6 27 liJxc5+ 'it>d6 (or 27 . . .'it>f7 28 'ixf6 'it>g8 29 liJe6 ! ) 28 'ixf6+ 'it>xc5 29 lIc3+ 'it>b4 30 'id6+ and wins. 'iWxa4 24 a4! 'ib5 25 liJxc5 'it>g8 26 'iWxf6+ lId8 27 liJd7! Or 27 ... lIe8 28 11t'c3 and wins. 'ib4 28 lIfJ 'ib5 29 c3 lIdc8 30 liJe5! 31 liJxc6 1-0 Since if now 3 l . . .lIxc6, then 32 lId8+ winning. •

Game 74 Alekhine - Tartakower London 1932 Budapest Defence 1 d4 2 c4

lf6 e5

liJe4 3 dxe5 Less usual, but not better than the alternative 3 . . . liJg4, against which I have had (excepting the Gilg game, Semmering 1926) rather pleasant experiences, too. Here, f orinstance, are two typical short 'Budapest' sto­ ries. 1) Alekhine-Rabinovich, Baden­ B aden 1925: 1 d4 liJf6 2 c4 e5 3 dxe5 liJg4 4 e4 liJxe5 5 f4 liJg6 6 liJf3 .i.c5 7 f5 ! liJh4 8 liJg5 ! 'ie7 9 'ig4 f6 10 'ih5 + ! g6 l l 'ixh4 fxg5 12 R.xg5 'if7 13 R.e2 0-0 14 lin liJc6 1 5 liJc3 liJd4 16 fxg6 'ixg6 1 7 lIxf8+ R.xf8 1 8 R. h 5 'ib6 1 9 0-0-0 R.g7 20 lIn liJe6 2 1 R.f7+ 'it>h8 22 R.xe6 dxe6 23 R.h6! 1-0. 2) Alekhine-Seitz, Hastings 1925/6: 1 d4 liJf6 2 c4 e5 3 dxe5 liJg4 4 e4 liJxe5 5 f 4 liJec6 6 R.e3 R.b4+ 7 liJc3 'ie7 8 R.d3 f5 9 'ih5+ g6 10 'if3 R.xc3+ 1 1 bxc3 fxe4 1 2 R.xe4 0-0 1 3 R.d5 + ! 'it>h8 1 4 liJh3 d6 15 0-0 R.xh3 16 'ixh3 'id7 17 f5 ! gxf5 18 l1abl ! f4 19 R.xf4 'ixh3 20 R.e5+ 1-0. liJc5 4 liJd2 If 4 ... R.b4 then 5 liJf3 followed by a3 in order to obtain the advan­ tage of the two bishops. 5 liJgf3 liJc6 6 g3 'ie7 g6 7 R.g2 8 liJbl!

B lack i s not forced to leave his bishop en prise in this line, but even after the best defence 25 . . . :'c6 White has an attractive win by 26 e5! :'xd6 (26 .. . f5 27 :'ed3 i s very unpleasant) 27 exd6 j, f7 (27 .. :l'b6 2 8 tDd7 ! j,xd7 29 :'xe8 j,xe8 30 'ic7+ wins) 28 ':0 ':e5 29 ':xf6! �xf6 30 f4 tbc6 3 1 fxe5+ tbxe5 32 d7 'ib6 33 'id4 'iVd8 34 'if4+.

188 London 1932 This at first sight surprising move is in reality perfectly logical . After B l ack has clearly shown his inten­ tion to develop the bishop at g7, White has no longer to reckon with any action on the diagonal as-e l . There i s no reason, therefore, for de­ lay in placing his knight on the dominating square dS . lLlxeS 8 9 0-0 lOxf3+ 10 exO J.g7 lbe6 11 l:e1 0-0 12 lLlc3 1i'd8 13 lLld5 c6 14 f4 He must expel the white knight, thus creating a vulnerable weakness at d6, because after the immediate 14 . . . d6 the temporary sacrifice IS fS would be too dangerous for B lack. d6 15 lLlc3 1i'c7 16 J.e3 J.d7 17 :tct 18 1i'd2 lladS J.c8 19 :ted1 20 lLle4 (D) lLlc5 20 This will be refuted by the combi­ nation starting with White's 24th move, but owing to the weakness on

B

d6, Black's position was already very difficult. For instance, unsat· isfactory would be 20 . . . dS 2 1 cxdS :txdS 22 lLlf6+ and 23 J. xdS, win· ning the exchange; or 20 . . . c5 21 fS ! gxfS 22 lLlc3 lLld4 23 lLldS 'Ib8 24 J. gS ± ; and after the compara­ tively safest 2O . . . b6, White could also easily increase his space ad­ vantage by 2 1 b4. lLla4 2 1 lLlxd6! lLlxb2 22 c5 b5 (D) 23 :tel This rejoinder, the logical upshot of the three previous moves, will prove insufficient, but Black did not have any saving course, for instance 23 . . . J. e6 24 J.d 4 ! or 23 . . J.fS 24 g4! J. xg4 25 J.d4, in each case witb a decisive advantage for White l . .

This i s certainly wrong, as the latter line may be continued by 25 ... ltxd6! 26 cxd6 'ilVxd6 and now 27 .:es lDa4 !, 27 lte4 ltd8 28 'ilfxb2 .*.xd4 and 27 "il'xb2 hd4 28 "il'xb7 "il'xf4 are all clearly in Black ' s favour. Moreover, even the relatively superior 23 . . . M5 24 -*.fl b6 cannot be assessed as anything more than ·unclear' . However, Alekhine could have played much more accurately by 22 'ilfb4 ! lDxb2 23 ltd2. The idea is the same-trapping the knight on b2-but with the important difference that White's rook can stay on the d-file. There are many threats, e.g. 24 c5, 24 -*.xa7 and 24 lDxc8, and after 23 ... b6 24 c5 bxc5 25 "il'xc5 (25 -*.xc5 is also strong) Black will simply lose his queenside pawns.

Alekhine - Sultan Khan 1 89

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24 cxb6! A surprising but not very compli­ cated combination. The only diffi­ culty was the necessity of foreseeing this possibility several moves before, when making the capture 21 tDxd6. 24 �xd6 l:txd6 25 �xd6 26 bxa7 i.b7 l:tdd8 27 i.c5 28 i.xf8 'it>xf8 29 i.xc6 i.xc6 l:ta8 30 l:txc6 Black's moves were practically forced and, his position being abso­ lutely hopeless, he prefers a quick end. If, instead of this, 30 . . . i.d4, then 3 1 l:td6 also wins immediately. l:txa7 31 l:tb6 32 l:tb8#

5 tDc3 tDc6 6 tDo i.g4 7 cxd5 tDxd5 8 i.b5 a6 For 8 ... �a5 see the game against Winter (game 72). The point of the text move is a positional pawn offer, by no means easy to refute over the board. bxc6 9 i.xc6+ 10 �a4! tDxc3 The logical consequence of his 8th move, since 1O ... i.d7 1 1 tDe5 would obviously be to White's ad­ vantage. 1 1 �xc6+ i.d7 12 �xc3 l:tc8 13 �e3 i.b5 It becomes evident that B lack is not without compensation for the minus pawn: White's d-pawn is iso­ lated and-what is more impor­ tant-he will be forced, in order to castle, to weaken his queenside by the following moves. 14 a4 i.c4 i.d5 15 b3 16 0-0 �b6 (D)

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Game 75 Alekhine - Sultan Khan Berne 1932 Caro-Kann Defence 1 2 3 4

e4 d4 exd5 c4

c6 d5 cxd5 lbr6

17 i.d2!

1 90 Berne 1932 Protecting the b-pawn by 17 l:tbl would be apoor strategy, after which B lack would have found time to finish his development by 17 ... e6, . . .!£.d6/e7 and . . .0-0. 17 e6 Or 17 ... 'i!fxb3 1 S l:tfc l ! l:txc l + 1 9 l:t x c l 'i!fxe3 20 fxe3 e 6 (or 20...!£.xf3 2 1 gxf3 'iPd7 22 .ta5) 21 l:tc7 fol­ lowed by l:ta7 ±. l:tb8 18 :ret Comparatively better than the ex­ change of rooks. f6 19 lLleS Underestimating the strength of the reply; but 19 . . . i.e7 was also un­ satisfactory, for instance 20 lLlc4 'i!fxb3 21 'i!fxb3 lIxb3 22 lLld6+ ! ±. 20 lLlc6! The object of this knight manoeu­ vre is to definitely end Black's at­ tacks against the b-pawn. 20 l:ta8 The only move, as 20 ... l:tcS would be inferior because of 2 1 lLlb4 ! . 2 1 lLlas Intending 22 lIc6 ! . <j;f7 21 This king position at an early stage of the g ame is more familiar to Sultan Khan than to European or American players, as in Indian Chess castling is effected in three moves: ( 1 ) ... 'iPe7, d7 or n; (2) a rook move from its original square; (3) a knight's move, with the king back on the first rank and on the side originally occu­ pied by the rook-this provided the king has not been under check in the meantime. Returning to the present game, one must admit that B lack, •••

owing to the threat mentioned above, did not have anything better than the king move. 22 lLlc4 'ib7 23 'ig3 i.e7 24 as The initial move of the decisive plan: the establishment of the knight at b6 will permit White to take run advantage of the c-file. l:tad8 24 i.c6 (D) 25 lLlb6

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.••

•••

26 l:tc4! This had to be precisely calcu­ lated, because of the possible answer 26 . . .e5, in which case White had de­ cided to give back the extra pawn in order to obtain a strong direct attack. The continuation would be 27 l: l ! l:txd4 2S l:txc6 l:txd2 29 'i!f g 4 ! l%fd8 3 0 'i!fe6+ WfS 3 1 h3 l:tdl + 3 2 lIxdl lIxd l + 33 'iPh2 ±. l:the8 26 i.bS 27 :act 28 l:tc7 'ie4 29 dS! Instead of the simple continu­ ation 29 i.c3-which in the long run would probably also prove to be

Alekhine - Flohr 191 sufficient-White decides to force the game by a sharply calculated combination. If Black had now tried his best practical chance 29 . . . exdS, the following variation would have occured: 30 lIel �e2 3 1 lLla4! (one of the important links of White's combination) 3 1 . .. d4 32 lLlcS 'fic2 33 Axe2 'fidl + 34 lIel 'fixd2 3S Wt1 ! and Black would be defence­ less against the many threats. The remaining moves would probably be 3S ... Wg8 36 lLle6 g6 37 lLlxd8 'i'xel + 38 xel �d6+ 39 d2�xg3 40 hxg3 lIxd8 41 lIc6 lidS 42 b4 af­ ter which Black would have to re­ sign 29 g8 Leads to an even more rapid deba­ cle because of White's 3 1 st move. 30 ltel 'firs lId7 31 �b4! As useless as anything else. 32 lIxd7 �xd7 33 �xe7 exdS Or 33 ... lIxe7 34 'fid6 and wins. 34 'fid6 1-0 •••

series of brilliant victories. Its objec­ tive value had been already put in question by the variation 3 . . .�fS 4 �d3 e6! introduced in Colle-Alek­ hine, San Remo 1 930 and adopted since, for instance, by Dr. Euwe against me in a match game, 1935. The defence chosen here by Flohr allows White to fulfil his plan of de­ velopment. 3 e6 4 �d3 eS tLJc6 S e3 'ike7 6 lLlbd2 �e7 7 0-0 0-0 8 'ike2 9 e4 As I found out afterwards, this rather natural move had not been tried before. By adopting the usual 9 dxcS �xcS 10 e4 I would have been put in the not altogether pleasant position of having to fight against another innovation of mine (Gilg­ Alekhine, Kecskemet 1927), namely 10 . . . �d6 ! 1 1 lIe l lLlg4 ! , with ap­ proximately even prospects. dxe4 9 9 . . . cxd4 would be unsatisfactory because of 10 eS ! lLld7 (or 10 ... lLlhS 1 1 lLlb3 threatening g4) 1 1 cxd4 lLlb4 1 2 �bS ! a6 1 3 h4 with a clear ad­ vantage for White. exd4 10 lLlxe4 1 1 lLlxd4 Not 1 1 cxd4 as it is in White's in­ terest to exchange the maximum number of pieces able to attack his isolated pawn. lLlxd4 11 lLlxe4 1 2 exd4 •••

Game 76 Alekhine - Flohr Berne 1932 Colle System 1 d4 dS tLJr6 2 lLlf3 3 e3 This quiet move-the idea of \\hich is to postpone the fight for the centre until White has brought his king into safety-procured the re­ gretted B elgian champion a long

192 Pasadena 1932 Instead 1 2 . . . lbd5 1 3 "if3 ! would have led to a more complicated mid­ die game position. However, the text move should have been sufficient for equality. 13 .i.xe4 f5 But from now m Flohr decidedly overestimates his position, which he very seldom does. After the sim­ ple line 1 3 . . . .i.d7 14 "if3 .i.c6, the natural outcome would have been a draw. .i.f6 14 .i.f3 This move and the next one are the logical consequences of the un­ fortunate attempt to exploit the 'weakness' at d4. It was still com­ paratively better to play 14 . . ..i.d7 . 15 l:tdl l:td8 ( D)

This pawn is poisoned, as the an­ swer shows. But also 1 8 . . . l:tb8 1 9 a3 ! , threatening 20 .i.b4, was al­ ready practically hopeless for Black. 19 .i.a5! l:td7 If the rook leaves the d-file, then 20 'i'c4 ! wins immediately. 20 l:txd4! This is the convincing refutation of Black's ultra-materialistic ten­ dencies in this game. 'fixd4 20 l:tf7 21 'fixe6+ After 2 1 . . . �f8 22 l:tel g6 23 .i.c3 Black would lose the queen. l:txe8 22 l:txe8+ rus 23 'fixc8+ l:te8 24 'fixb7 25 h3 Not 25 .tc3? due to 25 ... 'fixc3 ! . 25 'fie5 'fie7 26 .i.e3 27 .i.d5+ �h8 1-0 28 'fixe7 •••

Game 77 Alekhine - Steiner Pasadena 1932 Ruy Lopez f41 16 .i.e3 Suicidal. But also after the rela­ tively better 1 6 . . . g5 1 7 h3 'fig7 1 8 l:tac1 i t would soon become evident that White' s d-pawn could be cap­ tured only at the price of a further decisive compromising of Black's position. 'fid6 17 l:tac1 18 .i.d2 .i.xd4

e5 1 e4 lDc6 2 lDf3 a6 3 .i.b5 lDf6 4 .i.a4 .i.e5 5 0-0 Having been for a period rather partial towards this move (see, for example, game 1 ) , I must, to my re­ gret, now admit that it is not quite sufficient against accurate play. And as 5 ... d6 has recently been also

Alekhine - Steiner 193 somewhat discredited, Black has been practically brought back to the old choice between the speculative 5 . . . lbxe4 (Open Defence) and the cautious 5 ...i.e7 (Closed Defence). 6 c3 lbxe4 7 d4 i.a7 8 'ie2 I decided to follow here the line of play adopted against me by Yates at Hastings 1 922; although White obtained in that game only a draw I hoped to find over the board some better moves than those made by Yates -but actually there happened to be none. Much better than the queen move is 8 l:tel (which is also more logical, as it brings a new piece into action), and if 8 . . . f5 then 9 lLlbd2 0-0 10 lbxe4 fxe4 1 1 i.g5 fol­ lowed by 12 l:txe4 with a clear ad­ vantage. 8 f5 0-0 9 dxe5 ..t>h8 10 i. b3+ 1 1 lbbd2 'ie8 An interesting idea a la Marshall: Black sacrifices 1 -2 pawns for rapid development, after which White's position will, for a while, look some­ what critical. However, the attempt can, and will, be refuted; therefore much to be preferred was (as hap­ pened in the Hastings game men­ tioned) 1 1 . . .d5 1 2 exd6 lbxd6 1 3 lLlc4 f4 ! 1 4 lbce5 (or 1 4 lbxd6 cxd6 ! 15 :d l i.g4) 14 . . . lbxe5 15 lbxe5 I'g5, with fairly good prospects for Black fxe4 12 lbxe4 13 'ixe4 d5!

This is the point of the first sacri­ fice-Black will develop his c8bishop with tempo. 14 i.xd5 Better than 14 'l'xd5 i.g4 1 5 lbg5 lbxe5, with unpleasant threats. 14 i.f5 15 'ih4 lbxe5 (D)

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16 i.xb7! The only way to successfully meet Black's attack against f2. 1 6 lbxe5 'l'xe5 17 i.xb7 would b e un­ satisfactory because of 17 ... i.d3 ! 1 8 i.xa8 i.xf2+! 1 9 h 1 'l'e8 ! (better than 19 ... i.xf1 20 'l'e4 ! ) with strong pressure for Black. lIb8 16 lIxb7 17 lbxe5 If now 1 7 . . . 'I'xe5 then 1 8 i.xa6! parying Black's main threat .. . i.d3. This was the point of White's 1 6th move. 18 lIel! Black has no means of profiting from this momentary weakening of f2. 18 lIb5 'l'c8 19 lbf3 lIb7 20 c4 •••

194 Blindfold Exhibition on 15 boards. Tokyo 1933 21 b3 In connection with the next move a much more rapid solution than the passive 21 h3. 21 i.g4 (D) •••

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Hoping, after 26 'ifxg5+ llg7, to transpose into the last variation mentioned. i.e6 26 'ib5! 1-0 27 lDd7! After 27 ... 'ifxd7, White forces the win like this: 2 8 'ifxg5+ rj;f7 29 'i'f6+ �g8 30 'ifh8+! �f1 3 1 'ifxh7+ �e8 32 'ifg6+ �e7 33 l:ad l ! 'ifc6 34 'ifg5+ �f7 35 Wf6+ followed by mate in two. Game 78 Alekhine Kimura Blindfold Exhibition on 15 boarrls, Tokyo 1 933 Ruy Lopez -

22 i.a3! Practically forcing the response, which ends B l ack's hopes on the di­ agonal a7-gl . 22 c5 Of course not 22 .. .lH6 because of 23 'ifxg4. 23 lDe5 From now on White has an easy job. i.rs 23 ... 24 g4! In order to force the bishop to abandon the defence of g6. 24 ... g5 Despair. 25 i.b2 A spectacular move (25 ...gxh4 26 lDf7+ �g8 27 lDh6#), but the sim­ pler 25 'ifh5 was also good enough. Not so convincing, on the contrary, would have been 25 'ifxg5 l:tg7 26 i.b2 �g8 ! ' �g8 2 5 ... •••

e5 1 e4 lDc6 2 lDf3 a6 3 i.b5 bxc6 4 i.xc6 Although playable, this move is seldom adopted, since 4 ...dxc6 gives Black quite a satisfactory game. exd4 5 d4 d6 6 'ixd4 More natural than 6 ...'iff6 tried by me against Duras in Mannheim 1 9 14, which can be advantageously answered by 7 e5 ! 'ifg6 8 0-0, for the acceptance of the pawn sacrifice (8 ... 'ifxc2) would be decidedly too dangerous for Black. 7 0-0 i.e6 8 lDc3 lDf6 9 i.g5 The positional advantage that White could obtain by playing here or on the next move e5 did not look convincing enough after ...lDdS.

Alekhine - Kimura 195 9 10 'ita4 1 1 :adl

i.e7 i.d7 0-0 (D)

12 e5! Now this advance secures White a clear supremacy in one form or an­ other. The main variation I consid­ ered was 12 . . . tLld5 13 i.xe7 "fIxe7 (or 1 3 . . . tLlxc3 14 "fIh4 ! ) 14 tLlxd5 cxd5 1 5 "fIa3 ! , bringing Black into trouble. 12 tLle8 13 i.xe7 "fIxe7 14 exd6 cxd6 15 :fel 'itd8 A sad necessity for Black, since 15 . . . "flf6 1 6 tLle5 ! would be practi­ cally decisive. 16 tLld4! If now 16 . . . c5, then 17 tLlc6 "fIc7 18 tLld5 ! "fIb7 19 tLlce7+ �h8 20 'i'h4 (threatening :'e4 followed by 'i'xh7 + ! ) with a strong attack on Black's king. 'itc7 16 tLlf6 17 :'e7 18 tLlf5 ! The simpler move 18 :'del would maintain White 's advantage without

complications, but the line selected was tempting-and proved correct 18 'itd8 The comparatively most embar­ rassing answer for White, whose pieces begin to 'hang ' . The alterna­ tive 1 8 . . . :t"e8 would give him an easier job: 19 tLle4 ! tLlxe4 20 "fIxe4 :'xe7 2 1 "fIxe7 ! l:Z.e8 22 "fIxd6 "fIxd6 23 tLlxd6 l:1e2 24 tLlc4 l:Z.xc2 25 tLle3 and wins. 19 l:Z.xd6 l:Z.e8 (D) •••

Seems to force the variation 20 l:1xe8+ "fIxe8 2 1 tLle3, after which Black, by playing, for instance, 21 ... l:1b8 could still set the 'blind' opponent some problems. All the more surprising is the following manoeuvre, which in a couple of moves deprives B lack of any fight­ ing chances. 20 tLle4! The first point of the attack started with 1 8 tLlf5, by which White only seemingly allows a desirable transaction for Black. :'xe7 20 Forced, as 20 . . . tLlxe4 2 1 l:1dxd7 would be hopeless. •••

196 Folkestone tt 1 933 �h8 21 tbxf6+ Or 2 1 ...�f8 22 lLlxh7+ �g8 23 lLlf6+ �f8 24 lLlxe7 gxf6 25 lLlxc6 'We8 26 'Wb4! a5 27 'Wc3 and wins ) . fixe7 2 2 lLlxe7 Expecting not without pleasure the variation 23 lLle4 .if5 24 l:td4 c5 25 l:tc4 l:td8, with a counter-attack. 23 fie4! A most disagreeable surprise for B lack: not only is the mate pro­ tected, but White himself threatens a mate at h7 and thus forces the sim­ plification. fixe4 23 24 tbxe4 .ie6 g6 25 b3 Still hoping for 26 lhc6? .id5 . But after White also avoids this 'trap ' , B lack could just as well qui­ etly resign. .irs 26 lLlc5 l1e8 27 l1xc6 I was mistaken-there was still a chance to give a mate on the 8th rank ! l1e2 28 f3 l1xc2 29 l1xa6 .ie6 30 lLle4 �g7 3 1 h4 �h6 32 �h2 .id7 33 �g3 f5 34 a4 l1c3 35 lLlg5 l1d3 36 l1a7 �h5 37 as 1-0 38 lLlxh7

Game 79 Alekhine - Mikenas Folkestone tt 1 933 Modern Defence g6 1 e4 This move is rightly considered inferior, as it concedes White full control of the central squares. It is, however, not at all easy for the first player to transform this advantage in space into a decisive one. 2 d4 .ig7 3 lLlc3 d6 lLld7 4 lLlf3 5 .ic4 e6 By choosing this pawn structure, B lack, strategically, prevents in this stage of the game a further advance of White's central pawns, as e5 may be met by . . . d5 and d5 by . . . e5, al­ lowing the second player to obtain later an initiative in the centre by means of . . . c5 or . . . f5 respectively. White's strategy in the next stage of the game will consist, therefore, of restricting more and more-by leav­ ing the central position intact-the already limited field of action of the enemy's pieces. 6 0-0 lLle7 7 a4! A very important move in this kind of position, worthy of notice by the student. Its aim is either to pre­ vent the fianchetto of Black's queen's bishop (by 7 . . . b6 8 a5 ±) or induce

Actually 27 lbxa5 is clearer, since 27 'lkc3 sheds a piece after the reply 27 .:cS (admittedly for a lot of pawns, but why make life difficult?). ..

Alekhine - Mikenas 197 Black to weaken-by answering ... as-the bS-square. 0-0 7 8 .te3 .h6 Preventing 9 'ifd2, followed by .th6, which would eliminate the only more or less active black piece. 9 'ifd2 'iPh7 10 h3 In order not to have to reckon with the possibility ... lbf6 and if eS, then ...lbg4 . 10 c6 This, obviously, weakens d6-an effect which, however, should not have had a decisive character. Be­ sides, it is already extremely difficult to indicate a suitable plan of further development for Black. 1 1 .tr4 dS Also unsatisfactory was 1 1 ...eS 12 dxeS dxeS (in case of retaking with pieces on eS, Black would, after the exchange of queens, finally lose his f-pawn) 1 3 .te3 ±. But by play­ ing l 1 .. .lbb6 1 2 .td3 as Black could obtain a comparatively steadier po­ sition than after the compromising pawn move that he actually chose. 12 .td3 a6? (D) B lack does not realise that the d6-square has to be protected at all costs. From now on, the dominating position of White's dark-squared bishop will alone prove enough to decide the battle. Thus 12 ...lbf6 was necessary, heading for e8, with a playable game for B lack, although White would find it easy to increase his pressure-for instance, by 1 3 as. 13 .td6 rs

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Or 13 . . . lbf6 14 eS lbe8 IS .ta3 followed by h4, with an easy king­ side attack. 14 eS :g8 IS h4 White's overwhelming positional advantage allows him quietly to se­ lect the method he prefers for enter­ ing Black's inadequately protected fortress. Besides the text move, which inaugurates an irresistible plan (status quo on the kingside, and opening of a file on the other wing), he could also start a kingside attack with the spectacular coup I S 'if gS. However, this would not produce any immediate results after the right answer I S . . . .tf8 and if 16 lbe2 (or 1 6 'ifh4 gS 17 'ifhS lbg6) then 1 6 . . . :g7 with at least a temporarily sufficient defence. b6! IS Preparing ...lbf8, which, if played directly, would be a mistake because of 1 6 'ifgS ! . But from now on the queen offer can be met by ... lta7 ! . lbrs 16 lbe2 17 as Before breaking in, White weak­ ens to a maximum the dark squares •••

198 Folkestone tt 1933 in Black's position; the final section of the game will illustrate the useful­ ness of this procedure. b5 17 18 g3! In connection with the next two moves, a prophylactic manoeuvre, by which White prevents once and for all any serious attempt by B lack to obtain a counter-attack against his king. lIb8 18 19 'it>g2 �g8 20 lIbl cJ;f7 The king is no better here than at h7. But as Black is not yet in a mood to resign he has willy-nilly to move something ... 2 1 lbf4 lIg8 22 b3 After this, White's strategic plan becomes quite obvious-there is no more defence against c4 in connec­ tion with the opening of the b- or c­ file. 22 �b7 23 e4 i.d7 24 lIael i.fS (D) •.•

25 i.e2!

This frees the square d3 for the knight, and at the same time stops the advance of Black's g-pawn-for instance 25 . . . gS? 26 hxgS �xgS 27 �xgS+ hxgS (or 27 _ .lIxgS 28 �h3 followed by i.hS+ and White wins) 28 i.hS+ 'ifi'g7 29 �xe6+ i.xe6 30 'ixgS+, followed by mate. 25 �e8 26 exd5 It does not often happen that a game is strategically decided long before the first capture, which here signifies not the beginning, but prac­ tically the end of the fight. exd5 26 Or 26 . . .�xd6 27 dxe6+ i.xe6 28 �xe6 'Oixe6 29 lIxc6 and wins. 27 i.xfS The bishop has done more than his duty and can now quietly disap­ pear. 27 �xf8 28 lieS �a7 29 �d3 'it>g7 As a consequence of his 1 8th-20th moves, the rejoinder . . . gS would ob­ viously be entirely in White's favour. lIe8 30 libel 31 lIxe8 i.xe8 32 \ie3 The dark squares in Black's camp are as many open wounds. No won­ der that he decides to try the follow­ ing desperate diversion. �b7 32 lIg7 (D) 33 'l'e5 34 'iWb6! All very simple, but with deadly effect. The knight, after having been •.•

•.•

Znosko-Borovsky

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ALekhine 199

Game 80 Znosko-Borovsky Alekhine Paris 1933 Ruy Lopez

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brought to c5, will undertake the fi­ nal execution. flie7 34 35 lbc5 g5 At last! But as the following con­ vincingly proves, this attempt to generate counterplay is now per­ fectly harmless. hxg5 36 hxg5 37 lbe1! In order to meet 37 ... f4 by 38 .ig4! and 37 . . .g4 by 3 8 lbed3 fol­ lowed by lDf4. 37 lbg6 f4 38 lbed3 39 nhl+ r;i;>g8 fxg3 40 .lg4 41 fxg3 The agglomeration of forces on the g-file is rather picturesque. In­ stead of the following 'sacrifice' , Black could as well resign. 41 lbh4+ 42 gxh4 gxh4 n17 43 lba c;t;>h7 44 lbxe6 45 flid6 1-0 A strangulation game a La Rubin­ stein or Dr. Tarrasch of the early days. •••

e5 1 e4 lbc6 2 lbf3 3 .lb5 a6 lDf6 4 .la4 5 0-0 d6 S afer is first 5 . .. .le7 as after the text move White, according to the latest investigations, can obtain an advantage by continuing 6 .lxc6+ bxc6 7 d4 lbxe4 8 nel f5 9 dxe5 d5 10 lbd4 c5 1 1 lbe2, followed by lDf4. .ld7 6 c3 7 nel .le7 8 d4 0-0 9 lbbd2 .le8 This original move (the idea of which is to keep the central position intact by means of ... lbd7 and util­ ise-after . . . f6-the light-squared bishop on the diagonal h5-d l ) was introduced by me (after the moves 9 . A i 'h8 10 h3) in my game against L. Steiner in Kecskemet 1927. Af­ terwards it was baptised (not by me) the ' Kecskemet Variation ' . This de­ nomination is illogical, in as much as . . . .le8 is the key-move, not of a 'variation' , but of a system! The present game presents some theoretical interest as it shows that White, even if he is playing only for a draw, cannot, after the text move, obtain absolute equality by liquida­ ting the tension in the centre. .lxc6 10 .lxc6

200 Paris 1 933 1 1 dxe5 dxe5 12 �xeS Jtxe4 13 �xe4 'ixdl! 1 3 ...�xe4 would be a mistake be­ cause of 14 �d7 !. 1 4 �xf6+ Mter 1 4 :'xd 1 �xe4 there would still be sufficient material left for complicating the fight. Mter the exchange of the knights White ex­ pected to reach a 'dead drawn' posi­ tion by 14 .. .i.xf6 15 :'xd l Jtxe5 1 6 Jte3, but ... 14 gxf6! The only way-and an absolutely safe one-to play ' for the win' . 15 lbdl exeS (D) •••

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The endgame position reached is by no means as easy to conduct-es­ pecially for the first player-as it appears. Black's plan-which will prove a complete success-is di­ vided into the following parts: 1) Exchange one pair of rooks. 2) Bring the king to e6 where he will be protected from a frontal at­ tack by the e-pawn and can prevent the entrance of the remaining white rook at d7.

3) By operating with the rook on the open g-file and advancing the h­ pawn, force the opening of the h­ file. 4) After this the white king-and eventually also the bishop-will be kept busy in order to prevent the in­ trusion of the black rook at hI or h2. 5) In the meantime Black, by ad­ vancing his a- and b-pawns, will sooner or later succeed in opening one file on the queenside. 6) As, at that moment, the white king will still be on the other wing, White will not have sufficient force to prevent the final intrusion of the black rook on his first or second rank. Granted that if White had, from the beginning, realised that there ac­ tually existed a danger of losing this endgame, he probably would, by ex­ tremely careful defence, have saved it. But as it happened, B lack played with a definite plan, and White only with the conviction that the game must be a draw. And the result was a very instructive series of typical stratagems much more useful for in­ experienced players than so-called 'brilliancies' . 16 Jth6 Certainly not an error but a proof that White has not as yet grasped the spirit of the position. Otherwise he would not have been anxious to 'force' the exchange of one pair of rooks which, as mentioned, is quite welcome to the opponent. 16 nfd8 17 �n

Znosko-Borovsky - Alekhine 201 A more aggressive line starting by 1 7 g4 would perhaps be advisable. But Black in this case too would maintain opportunities for compli­ cating matters after 17 .. .f6 followed by .. .'iPt7-e6. f5 17 llxdS IS l:xdS+ 19 g3 1 9 .. .f4 was a serious threat 19 � h5 20 .te3 21 �e2 'ite6 l:gS 22 l:dl If now 23 h4, then 23 .. J�g4 with the strong threat 24 . . .f4. White is therefore practically forced to allow the opening of the h-file. h4 23 f3 hxg3 24 .ttl l:hS 25 hxg3 .td6 26 .tgl 27 <M1 In order to meet 27 ... e4 by 28 fxe4 fxe4 29 �g2. l:gS 27 b5! (D) 2S .ttl

Now B l ack shows his cards. In the event of White leaving his pawn

position on the queenside intact, the attacking plan would be . . .c5-c4 fol­ lowed by . . . a5 and . . . b4; his next pawn move shortens the procedure. a5 29 b3? a4 30 'itg2 31 l:d2 In case of 3 1 b4 the intention was 3 1 . . .11c8 32 .tc5 l:r.a8 ! followed by ... l:a6-c6 +. 31 axb3 32 axb3 :as Thus Black has reached the posi­ tion he aimed for when starting this endgame. His positional advantage will now prove sufficient for victory, especially as he can always succeed in forcing the advance of his king by tying the white rook down to the de­ fence of one of the weak pawns. 33 c4 Practically the only attempt, as 3 3 b4 would prove immediately fatal after 33 ... l:r.al 34 l:d3 l:a3. l:a3! 33 .te7 34 c5 b4 35 l:b2 36 g4 One of the last resources: he tries to create a passed pawn which may become a potent force in case of an exchange of bishops. But B lack does not need to hurry with that ex­ change. f4 36 l:r.al+ 37 <M1 3S �e2 l:el The possibility of 39 . . ..:c3 ties down all White's pieces. White's following rook expedition is there­ fore merely desperation. •••

202 Baden-Baden Wch (2) 1934 Ae3 39 Aa2 Wd7 40 Aa7 41 Ab7 Axb3 Ab2+ 42 Ab8 43 �f1 b3 We6 44 Wgl Wd5 45 �f1 Of course not 45 ... .i.xc5? 46 .i.xc5 �xc5 47 g5, with drawing chances. But a slightly quicker procedure was 45 ... e4! 46 fxe4 f3. 46 Ab7 (D)

e4! 46 Wxe4 47 fxe4+ Wf3 48 Axe7 Axf2+ 49 Axe7 b2 50 WeI Ae2 51 Ab7 52 e6! A nice final joke: 52 ... Ac l + 53 �d2 bl'i' 54 Axbl Axbl 55 c7 . But B lack had exactly calculated that his other passed pawn would force the win! Wg3! 52 f3 53 e7 Axe7 54 �dl f2 55 Axb2 0-1

Game 8 1 Alekhine Bogoljubow Baden-Baden Wch (2) 1934 Slav Defence -

1 d4 lff6 2 e4 e6 3 lbe3 d5 4 e3 e6 lbbd7 5 .i.d3 dxe4 6 lbf3 b5 7 .i.xe4 a6 8 .i.d3 9 0-0 Nowadays the leading masters consider that the line 9 e4 c5 1 0 e5 cxd4 I 1 lbxb5 lbxe5 1 2 lbxe5 axb5 1 3 'i'f3 ! is decidedly advantageous for White. But in 1 934 the 1 3th move of White in this variation had not yet been sufficiently considered and the Meran Variation's shares stood pretty high. Therefore the quiet move in the text. e5 9 10 a4 Instead of this, 10 'i'e2 was tested experimentally in the games Sa­ misch-Capablanca, Moscow 1925 and Dr. Vidmar-Bogoljubow, B led 193 1 , but brought to the players with White-at least in the opening stages-only disappointment. b4 10 11 lbe4 .i.b 7 12 lbed2 After his tame 9th move, White has hardly any other way to compli­ cate matters without disadvantage than this attempt to blockade Black's queens ide. •••

Alekhine - Bogoljubow 203 12 i.e7 Black does not need to prevent White's next move as he is suffi­ ciently developed to start almost im­ mediately a counter-action in the centre. 13 as 0-0 14 tDc4 "fic7 tDg4 (D) 15 'iVe2 Black has obtained a fairly good position, but from now on begins to over-estimate his chances. Instead of the adventurous text move, which fi­ nally leads to the win of a pawn but allows the intrusion of the white knight at b6, with a powerful effect, he would have done better to sim­ plify the position-for instance, by means of 15 ... i.e4. ••.

cxd4 16 17 h3 tDge5 To 1 7 . . . tDgf6 White would have answered I S i.g5 tDc5 19 tDb6 l:tadS 20 l:ac1 "fibsl (these moves are recommended by B ogoljubow in the match book as the best ones for Black) and now not 2 1 e5? (Bo­ goljubow) but 2 1 i.xf6 ! gxf6 22 l:tc4 e5 23 tDh4, with ample posi­ tional compensation for the minus pawn. 18 tDfxe5 tDxe5 19 i.f4 i.d6 i.xe5 20 i.xe5 21 tDb6 The point of the sacrificial combi­ nation initiated by the 1 6th move. From now on the knight will para­ lyse the whole black queenside. l:a7 21 In case of 2 1 . . .l:adS White would not have taken the a-pawn at once, but would have first prevented the eventual advance of the d-pawn by playing 22 l:fd l ! , with a distinct po­ sitional advantage. 'id6 22 l:tac1 Or 22 . . . "fidS 23 'iVd 2 ! i.d6 24 f4 ±. f5? 23 l:c4 The opening of the e-file leads, owing to Black's multiple pawn weaknesses, to a rapid catastrophe. But also the quieter move 23 . . . i.f4 •••

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16 e4! A surprise for Black, who most likely expected only the half-suici­ dal 1 6 g3 ...

Black has a virtually forced win here with 20 ... �fxe4 21 .i.xe4 .i.xe4 22 lIxc5 (22 'l'xe4 .i.xg5 23 tZlxg5 tZlxe4 24 lIxc7 tZlxg5 gives Black two extra pawns) 22 .. . "xc5 23 .i.xe7 .i.xf3 24 .i.xfS .i.xe2 25 .i.xc5 d3 and White will end up the exchange down. Since White obtains reasonable compensation after the move played, 1 7 . . . tZlgf6 seems to be a substantial improvement for Black.

204 Pforzheim Wch (9) 1934 recommended by Bogoljubow is not satisfactory, as after 24 l:ldl e5 25 'ire 1 , White would have regained the pawn, still maintaining strong pressure. exfS (D) 24 exfS

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The alternative 30 l:lc7 + was not quite as elegant, but was slightly more rapid; for instance, 30 ... �g6 3 1 l:lxg7+! or 30 ... �g8 3 1 i.c4+ �h8 3 2 l:lc8+ followed by 33 1i'xe4. 30 g6 31 1i'xh7+ 'if6 �gS 32 l:lf8+ 33 h4+ �4 34 1i'h6+ gS l:1xfS 35 nxf5+! 36 1i'd6+ �g4 37 i.xg4+ and mate in three. Game 82 Bogoljubow Alekhine Pforzheim Wch (9) 1 934 Benoni Defence -

25 net! The threat to exchange queens at e6, with an easily won endgame, now makes B l ack desperate, and he tries to create a complicated attack­ ing combination, which, however, is bound to fail because of the useless­ ness of his a7-rook. 1i'g6 25 neS 26 f3 In the event of bishop moves Bo­ golj ubow gives the following vari­ ations: 26 . . .i.g3 27 1i'e6+ �h8 28 'fixg6 hxg6 29 l:le6 l:ld8 30 l:lxg6 f4 3 1 l:le6, and 26 ... i.f4 27 l:lxd4 'fig3 28 i.c4+ �h8 29 'fie7, with a win for White in both eventualities. 1i'g3 27 f4 28 fxeS nxeS 29 ncs+! The refutation. �t7 29 30 1i'hS+ •••

1 d4 cS I consider the choice of this move (which, as a consequence of my suc­ cess in this game, became fashion­ able for a time) as one of my chess sins. Because if a world champion, being human, cannot sometimes help adopting inferior opening moves, he must at least avoid those which he himself considers not quite satisfac­ tory. eS 2 d5 d6 3 e4 4 f4 This decidedly premature rejoin­ der can only be explained by the fact that Bogoljubow had again missed a win in the previous game, and was particularly anxious to make a better show in this one, A natural and good line is, instead, 4 ll)c3 and in case of

Bogoljubow - Alekhine 205 4 . . . a6, 5 a4 followed by �f3-d2-c4., which would secure White the initia­ tive for a long time. 4 exf4 S .txf4 1Wh4+ It was hardly worthwhile to pro­ voke the weakening move g3 at the cost of a development tempo. The simple 5 . . . �e7, followed by . . . �g6, would keep the control of e5, with a fairly good game. 6 g3 The pawn sacrifice 6 .tg3 would not be correct because 6 .. .'fixe4+ 7 .te2 .tf5. 'fIe7 6 7 �c3? (D) It was essential to prevent Black's following move by 7 �f3 ! after which 7 ... 'li'xe4+ 8 �f2 would be too risky; Black would play instead 7 . . . .tg4 8 �c3 a6, followed by . . . �d7, with roughly even chances. •••

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B

9 �f3 h6 10 'fId2 10 �b5 �d8 ! would have been aimless. �gf6 10 1 1 0-0-0 �g4 12 .te2 Also 1 2 .th3 (recommended by B ogoljubow) 1 2 . . . �xe3 1 3 'fIxe3 .tg7, would not have relieved White of his troubles. 12 .tg7 �xe3 13 lDtn It was certainly tempting to add the advantage of the two bishops to that already acquired. But as the knight at g4 was well posted and White's e3-bishop was harmless for the time being, the immediate 1 3 . . . a6 was possibly even more ac­ curate. 14 'fIxe3 a6 bS 15 �gl .tb7 16 l:tdel 17 �dl This knight must be brought to f5-the only strong point in White's position. 0-0-0 17 18 .tg4 As the bishop has not many pros­ pects, its exchange against the dan­ gerous black knight can hardly be criticised. 'i!tb8 18 l:txd7 19 .txd7 20 'fId2 Again the natural consequence of the manoeuvre started by his 1 7 th move. g4! 20 •••

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gS! 7 The strong position of his dark­ squared bishop on the long diagonal secures Black, from now on, an easy, pleasant game. �d7 8 .te3 •••

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206 PJorzheim Wch (9) 1934 Immobilising the knight on g l and thereby securing the important square e5 for the queen. 'ie5 21 lDe3 h5 22 c3 ,U6 23 ll)fs 24 "f41 The exchange of queens trans­ forms a difficult, but by no means hopeless, position (White could, for instance, try 24 �b1 in preparation for 25 lDh4) into a lost one. It is in­ teresting that Bogoljubow is rather prone to make this mistake, for in­ stance, in the 1 1 th game of the same match, in the position reached after Black's 34th move, namely: Bogoljubow

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Alekhine

my other match opponent, Dr. Euwe, has the same peculiar tendency to exchange queens at inappropriate moments: compare, for instance, the 7th and 24th games of the 1935 match, the second match game and especially the third exhibition game of 1 937. I am mentioning these coinci­ dences by no means in order to put undue blame on my opponents, but merely to remind the average ama­ teur how particularly difficult the question of an opportune queen ex­ change is, and how much attention this question deserves. If even the leading exponents of our game are often inclined to assess incorrectly their endgame chances, what, really, is to be expected from the 'di mi­ nores'? 'ifxf4+ 24 25 gxf4 I:.dd8! (D)

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Here, instead of trying a counter­ attack, with an uncertain result, by 3 5 Wa6, he preferred to exchange queens: 35 'if c3? 'ifxc3 36 I:.xc3 l:ta2 37 l:tc4 I:.b8-and had to resign after a few more desperate moves. About the same thing, if not in quite such typical form, occurred in the 5th and 22nd games of our first match. But also, strangely enough,

Threatening to dislodge the white knight at f5 , whose position has been weakened through the obstruc­ tion of the f-file by a pa wn. Besides his other advantages, Black also has the pawn majority on the opposite

Alekhine - Bogoljubow 207 wing to the white king. The game is strategically over. 26 e4 This attempt to find another safe square (c4) for the knight will be re­ futed by Black's 27th move. But oth­ erwise 26. . . .i.c8 would rapidly prove fatal for White. bxe4 26 e3! 27 lDe3 .i.d4 28 b3 fS! 29 lDc4 At last activating the other bishop, after which White could resign. 30 eS dxe5 .i.xdS 31 fxeS lIdf8 32 :xeS lIxf8 33 lIxf8+ lIe8 34 e6 .i.xe4 35 e7 .i.xgl 36 bxe4 lIxe7 37 lIxgl gxb3 38 h3 h2 39 �e2 lIb7 40 lIbl+ lIb2+ 4 1 lIhl lIxa2 42 'it.>xe3 �e7 43 'it.>d3 r.ti>e6 44 'it.>e4 as 45 �S a4 46 'it.>gS 0-1 Game 83 Alekhine - Bogoljubow Bayreuth Wch (16) 1934 Ruy Lopez 1 e4 2 lDf3 3 .i.bS

eS lDe6 a6

lDf6 4 .i.a4 5 .i.xe6 dxc6 I believe B ogoljubow is right in stating that 5 . . . bxc6 is an even more convincing answer to the rather arti­ ficial fifth move of White. As a mat­ ter of fact, I chose in this game the exchange variation of the Lopez chiefly because, although playing with the white pieces, I did not cher­ ish any particular ambitions; as a consequence of the match arrange­ ments, I had spent the whole pre­ vious night in travelling by car from Munich to B ayreuth and hardly felt fit for intensive mental work. 6 lDc3 .i.d6 7 d3 eS 8 h3 .i.e6 9 .i.e3 h6 10 a4! If immediately 10 lDd2 then the reply is 10 . . . b5 1 1 a4 c6. But now White 'threatens' to obtain an abso­ lutely safe position by lDd2-c4. 10 e4?! By opening the position in the centre at this particular moment, B lack only increases the activity of the opponent' s pieces. A reason­ able manoeuvre, instead, would be 1O . . .lDd7 followed by . . .lDb8-c6. 1 1 d4 exd4 If 1 1 . . ..i.b4 then 12 d5 ±. 12 .i.xd4 .i.b4 13 0-0 e6?! A strange move which weakens b6 without any necessity. He should, instead, castle and would probably obtain a draw after 1 3 0-0 14 e5 .i.xc3 1 5 .i.xc3 lDd5 1 6 iVd2, etc. •..

. . .

208 Bayreuth Wch (16) 1934 14 e5 lbd5 Now practically forced, because 14 . . . �xc3 IS exf6 ! �xd4 1 6 lbxd4 'ilVxf6 1 7 lbxe6 fxe6 I S 'irh5 + ! , fol­ lowed by 1 9 'ireS , would have been decidedly to White's advantage. liJf4 (D) 15 lbe4 A lesser evil was IS ... 0-0.

w

16 �c5! The logical method of exploiting Black's weak dark squares. �xc5 16 ltxd8 17 'ti'xd8+ 18 lbxc5 b6? (D) A miscalculation. I S . . . ltbS was necessary, although after 1 9 lbxe6 lbxe6 ( 1 9 . . . fxe6 is no better) 20 as ! (threatening both 2 1 lta4 and 2 1 lbd2) his position would remain anything but pleasant.

w

19 lbb7? Black's a-pawn was by no means poisoned and its capture would have been rapidly decisive. For instance, 1 9 lbxa6 �cS 20 lbc7+ �d7 2 1 lbaS (this is the move I had over­ looked in my calculations) 2 1 . . .lbdS 22 as (also 22 ltfd l is good enough) 22 ... bxaS 23 ltxaS �b7 24 lta7 ltbS 2S ltel ! cS 26 e6+, and Black would obviously not succeed in capturing the adventurous knight l . After the timid text move Black temporaril y recovers. 19 ltd7 20 lbd6+ �e7 21 lbd4 �d5 (D) 22 g3! The value of this bold move-by making which White, after having missed the win at his 1 9th move,

This analysis is not very convincing. For example, instead of 25 . . . c5, Black should play 25 .. . .1:thc8 (threatening 26 . . . �d8), and it is hard to see how White can avoid losing material, since 26 e6+ may be met by 26 . . . �d6. Alekbine's alternative suggestion of 22 :rd l looks better because although 22 . .'tile7 virtually forces White to give up the exchange on d5, the resulting position is rather good for him, e.g. 2 3 .1:txd5 cxd5 24 1CJd4! .i.b7 25 ICJxb6, and with two pawns for the exchange, including the dangerous a-pawn, White has a definite advantage. .

Alekhine

w

-

Bogoljubow 209

22 li)xh3+ 23 c;t>h2 li)g5 24 f4 li)e4 Wd8? 25 li)6f5+ Playing for a counter-attack and obviously not taking into considera­ tion White's interesting 27th move. It was necessary to play 2S . . �f8, which would be answered by 26 li)e3 Wg8 27 f5 c;th7 28 e6, with am­ ple compensation for the pawn. f6 26 li)xgT 1:1 lladl! The tempo thus gained (since 27 . . . llxg7? loses to 28 li)e6+) se­ cures White a clear, if not yet a deci­ sive, advantage. c;tc8 27 28 It)df5 (D) .

played only for a draw-has been completely misapprehended by the critics-Dr. Lasker, Nimzowitsch, Bogoljubow, and others. They all claim that White, without any neces­ sity, is taking chances and should now get into difficulties. In reality the defences of the g-pawn would prove unsatisfactory, for example: 1 ) 22 f3 would he answered by 22 . . . g 6 ! threatening both 23 ... c5 and 23 ... f6. 2) after 22 li)6f5+ Wf8 Black would again threaten 23 . . . c5. 3) in the event of 22 li)4f5+, B lack would be perfectly entitled to play 22 ... We6! 23 li)xg7+ Wxe5 and if 24 li)de8 then simply 24 . . . li)xg2, with advantage! . After the acceptance of the sacri­ flce by the opponent, White, even by an adequate defence, would have no trouble in obtaining a draw.

B

fxe5 28 The alternative 28 . . . llg8 would also have left White with the better •••

This line contains a tactical oversight. At the end White can win by 25 f4+ ! ltlxf4 26 l:ael + .te4 27 llxe4+ c;Pxe4 28 li:lf6+ �e3 29 li:lf5+ �e2 30 li:lg3+ �e3 3 1 li:lxd7. Black should prefer 24. . .lLle2+ 2 5 c;Ph2 .te4, but i n any case White can force a draw by 26 llael (26 l:a3 ! 1 is an interesting winning attempt) 26 . . . 11d2 27 f4+ li:lxf4 28 llxe4+ 'ixe4 29 lbf6+ 'ie3 30 lbg4+. In view of this, 22 lb4f5+ is probably the most accurate move.

210 Kissingen Wch ( 1 7) 1 934 endgame chances, for instance 29 lbh5 fxe5 30 fxe5 l:le8 3 1 lbf6 ! lbxf6 32 exf6 l:le2+ 33 'iPh3 and now either 33 ... .te6 34 g4 .txf5 35 gxf5, or 33 ... .tg2+ 34 'iPg4 .txfl 35 l:lxd7 'iPxd7 36 f7 l:le8 37 fxe81W+ h8 (D) 25 lLlf5+ •••

.

w

'iWb6? 17 Black underestimates, or over­ looks, the answer, which gives White a strong and hardly resistible attack. The right move, sufficient for equal­ ity, is 1 7 . . . g6, as played by Flohr against Euwe at Nottingham 1 936. Neither 18 1!t'd6 (met by 18 ... %le8 I), nor 1 8 lLld6 (met by 18 ... 1!t'e7) would then prove successful. lLled7 18 'iWd6! Also 1 8 . . . lLlg6 1 9 lLlh6+ gxh6 20 'iWxf6 'iWd8 21 1!t'c3 would be bad enough. l:[ad8 19 %lfdl 20 'iWg3 g6 21 'iWg5! With the main threat 22 ltd6. Black has already no real defence. 21 'it>h8 'it>g7 22 lLld6 23 e4! Not only in order to use this pawn as an attacking factor, but also, as will be seen, to free the third rank for the rooks. .••

26 'iWxg6! 1-0 The spectacular final coup of an attack that could hardly have be conducted in a more effective man· ner after Black's superficial 17th move. Game 87 Alekhine - Euwe Amsterdam Wch (1) 1 935 Slav Defence d5 1 d4 c6 2 c4 lLlf6 3 lLlf3 dxc4 4 lLlc3 .i.f5 5 a4 lLle5 6 It has been proved in our second match that this aggressive move, which has been fashionable for about ten years, is decidedly less

Alekhine - Euwe 2 1 7 promising than the natural 6 e3. Black's best answer to the text move is, however, not 6 ... c!l:)bd7 but 6 . . . e6 and, if 7 i.g5 i.b4 8 f3 then 8 . . .h6! (11th match-game, 1937). lDbd7 6 'fie7 7 lDxe4 8 g3 e5 lDxe5 9 dxe5 lDfd7 10 i.f4 1 1 i.g2 i.e6 Black does not need to cede to the white queen the square c2, but-as thefirst match-game, 1937, convinc­ ingly showed-even by the best con­ tinuation, 1 l ... f6 1 2 0-0 l:td8 13 'fic 1 i.e6. White obtains a clear posi­ tional advantage by continuing 1 4 �!. lDxe5 1 2 lDxe5 i.e7 13 0-0 Black tries in the following to avoid the weakening of e6 through .. .f6 and gradually gets into great dif­ ficulty because of the inadequate IX'otection of his knight. 14 'fie2 (D)

keeping his pair o f bishops much longer. 14 l:td8 Also 14 . . .'fia5 1 5 c!l:)b5 ! would be advantageous for White. 15 l:tfdl 0.0 16 lDb5 l:txdl + If immediately 1 6 . . .'fi a5 then 1 7 l:txd8 l:txd8 1 8 i.xe5 cxb5 1 9 i.xb7 l:td2 20 'fic6 ±. 'fiaS 17 l:txdl 18 lDd4 i.e8 19 b4! The spectacular start of a 'minor­ ity' attack which will immediately result in White gaining control of the extremely important square d5. The tactical justification of the text move is shown by the following variation: 19 ... i.xb4 20 lDb3 'fic7 21 'fie4 i.c3 (2 1 . . .i.d6 22 "ifd4 wins) 22 l:tc1 i.b2 (22 . i5 23 'fic2) 23 l:tc2 f5 24 "ifb4 !, with a winning position. 'fie7 19 c5 (D) 20 b5 •••

w B

Threatening either lDd5 or lDb5d4. B l ack can hardly succeed in

f6 21 lDf5 After this, the weakness of the light squares will soon prove fatal . But also after 2 1 .. .i.f6 22 lDd6 l:td8

218 Amsterdam Weh (3} 1935 23 tDc4 ! , the realisation of White' s positional advantage would have been merely a matter of time. 22 Q)e3 .ie6 23 .id5! Even more effective than 23 Q)dS. .ixd5 23 24 l:txd5 'ifaS There is no longer a defence left. If, for instance, 24 . . . l:td8 then simply 2S .ixeS fxeS 26 'ifS 1 , winning eas­ ily. 25 Q)fs 'i¥el+ 26 �g2 .id8 fxeS 27 .ixeS 28 l:td7! Finishing the game by a mating attack. 28 .if6 29 Q)h6+ �h8 1-0 30 'i¥xcs If 30 ...l:te8, then 31 'id5 ! gxh6 32 'ifl .ie7 3 3 l:txe7 followed by mate. •••

Game 88 Alekhine - Euwe Amsterdam Weh (3) 1935 French Defence 1 e4 e6 2 d4 dS 3 Q)c3 .ib4 4 a3 This seldom-played move is cer­ tainly better than its reputation and has not been even nearly refuted, either by the actual game or by the

subsequent analysis. Another at­ tempt made by me in the ninth game of the same match is less recom­ mendable, in spite of its practical success: 4 'ig4 (too risky because of the yet unsettled situation on the queenside) 4 . . . Q)f6 S 'ixg7 l:tg8 6 'ih6 l:tg6 7 'ie3 Q)xe4? (by playing 7 . . .cS ! Black would have obtained a sound initiative) 8 .id3 ! fS 9 Q)e2 cS 1 0 .ixe4 fxe4 1 1 'ih3 ! Q)c6 12 'ixh7 'if6 13 Q)f4 ! cxd4 14 Q)xg6 dxc3 IS b3 Q)e7 1 6 Q)xe7 .ixe7 17 h4 'ifl 18 'ih8+ 'if8 19 'ixf8+ �xf8 20 .i.gS eS 2 1 f3 ! exf3 22 gxf3? (after 22 .ixe7+ �xe7 23 gxf3, White would have but little trouble to force the win; the less ex­ act text move leads to an interesting endgame with opposite-coloured bishops) 22 . . . .ia3 ! 23 f4 ! .ifS 24 fxeS .ixc2 25 0-0+ �g8 26 l:tac I ! .ixc1 27 l:txc1 .ifS 28 l:txc3 l:tc8 29 l:tf3 l:tf8 30 .if6 .ie4 3 1 l:tg3+ rJ;f7 32 hS ! l:tc8 33 l:tg7+ �e6 34 h6! d4 3S h7 l:tc l + 36 �f2 l:tc2+ 37 �g3 .ixh7 38 l:txh7 l:txa2 39 �f4 bS 40 �e4 l:te2+ 4 1 �xd4 1 -0. 4 .ixc3+ dxe4 S bxc3 �6 6 'ig4 A safer alternative was 6 . . . � 7 'i¥xe4 Q)d7, followed by ...tDdf6. Af­ ter the text move the dark squares in Black's position become decidedly weak. l:tg8 7 'ifxg7

The immediate 25 'i'f5 is even stronger, as it prevents Black defending with ... .tf6.

Alekhine - Euwe 219 c5 8 'i6 9 �e2 �bd7 In order to relieve the queen from the protection of the other knight. If 9 ... �c6, White's simplest answer would be 10 dxc5 !, but also 10 i.g5, as played by Romanovsky against Botvinnik in the half-fmal of the So­ viet Championship 1 938, would be sufficient for equalising. White lost that game only because he was out­ classed in the later stages . 10 �g3 (D)

10 .. , J:tg6? After this loss of time Black's po­ sition becomes very difficult. Com­ paratively better was to play for further complications by 1 O ... 'it'a5 although White's prospects would remain more favourable even in that case after 1 1 i.d2 'it'a4 1 2 dxc5 ! . lLld5 1 1 1i'e3 Black must already look for com­ pensation for his e4-pawn, which is now bound to be lost. lLlxc3 12 'ixe4 lLld5 13 'id3 Also 1 3 . .. cxd4 14 'it'xd4 'it'f6 1 5 'l'xf6 �xf6 1 6 i.d3 l:tg7 1 7 i.d2

would not be satisfactory. As a mat­ ter of fact B lack's game was hardly to be saved after his inconsiderate tenth move. 14 i.e2 'if6 cxd4 15 c3 lLl7b6 16 cxd4 The exchange of Black's best posted piece by 1 6 . . . lLlf4 17 i.xf4 'it'xf4 1 8 0-0 would only have made matters easier for White. 17 i.h5! This bishop manoeuvre, con­ sisting of four consecutive moves, forces a practically decisive weak­ ening of Black's pawn structure. The following play on both wings is very instructive and, I believe, typical of my style. 17 '" l%g7 18 i.f3 Threatening 19 �h5. 'ig6 18 f5 19 i.e4! c;tfS 20 i.f3 2 1 a4! The diagonal a3-f8 is here the best area of activity for the dark­ squared bishop. l%c7 21 2 2 0-0 i.d7 23 i.a3+ c;tg8 24 a5 l%c3 This leads to the loss of a pawn without any improvement of Black's position; but also the apparently better move 24 . . . lLlc4 would not have saved the day. The continuation would be 25 i.c5 ! (stronger than 25 �xf5 c;th8 ! ) 25 . . . lLle5 26 dxe5 l%xc5 27 l%fc 1 :lac8 28 :lxc5 l%xc5 29

220 The Hague Wch (4) 1935 'iWd4 ! winning at least the a-pawn with an overwhelming position. The remaining part is-in spite of Black's desperate efforts to 'swin­ dle'-easy enough. lDa4 (D) 25 1i'bl !

w

rapidly-without, however, affect­ ing the ultimate result in this particu­ lar case. Instead, 35 .txa7 ! would force Black to resign immediately. llc8 35 lIxg6 36 lDg6+ 1i'xb6 37 1i'xf4 llg7 38 1i'e5+ lId8 39 1i'xd5 1i'xd4 40 1i'e5 1·0 41 1i'xd4 Game 89 Euwe - Alekhine The Hague Wch (4) 1935 Grilnfeld Defence

exd5 26 .txd5 27 1i'xb7 1i'c6 28 a6! If now 28 . . . 'iWxb7 29 axb7 llb8, then 30 %UbI lDb6 3 1 .tb4 followed by llxa7 and wins. lDb6 28 f4 29 .tc5 30 li)f5 ! More exact than 30 lDe2 which would also be sufficient. h8 30 1i'e6 31 lDe7 .tc6 32 .txb6 Mere desperation. lIg8 33 lDxc6 Threatening perpetual check by 34 . . . lIxg2+. 34 lDe5! lIg7 35 'fib8+? As in so many games of that un­ fortunate match, I played, after the decision was practically reached, too

li)f6 1 d4 2 c4 g6 d5 3 lDc3 4 1i'b3 The praxis of the last two to three years has proved that this queen move is less effective than 4 .tf4 .tg7 5 e3 0-0 6 'fb3 c6 7 lDf3, with an unquestionable advantage in space. dxc4 4 .tg7 5 'ikxc4 Also playable is 5 . . . .te6 6 'fb5+ lDc6 7 lDf3 but now not 7 ... llb8 (as in the second match game, 1935) but 7 . . . lDd5 ! , with fairly good counter­ chances. c6 6 .tf4 7 lIdl? An artificial and unnecessary move, instead of which 7 lDf3 0-0 8 e4 was indicated. Black can now ob­ tain at least an even game. 'ika5 7 ... .•.

Euwe - Alekhine 221 Threatening 8 ... �e6. 8 �d2 b5? There are some moves of mine in the first Euwe match which I actu­ ally simply cannot understand. Nei­ ther before nor since have I played such decidedly unsound chess, espe­ cially in the openings ! Here, for in­ stance, the spoiling of the pawn structure on the queenside cannot even be excused by the lack of other promising continuations, as the sim­ ple 8 . . ... b6 9 �cl �f5 followed by . . . 0-0 would have secured B lack a distinct advantage in development. I am adding, however, the present game to this collection, in spite of the poor opening strategy of both sides, because of the particularly in­ teresting tactical complications of the well-played middle-game. 9 "b3 b4 A t least this has the advantage of consistency; Black prevents e4-but at what a price ! lDa6 10 lDa4 1 1 e3 �e6 Black could also play immedi­ ately 1 1 .. .0-0 since 1 2 �xa6 �xa6 13 "xb4 (or 13 �xb4 "b5) 13 .....d5, would be in his favour. But in that case he would not like the answer 1 2 �c4. 12 "c2 0-0 13 b3

If instead 13 "xc6 then 13 ... lDc7 threatening 1 4 . . .�d7 or 1 4 . . .�xa2. 13 nab8 (D) •••

14 �d3 Because of his slightly belated development White decides not to take the c-pawn, and rightly so; af­ ter 14 "xc6 �c8 ! the open c-file would become a dangerous weapon in Black's hands, for instance, 1 5 lDf3 �b7 1 6 "c2 :rc8 1 7 "bl lDe4, to be eventually followed by ... lDc3. nfc8 14 15 lDe2 Obviously underestimating the value of the following pawn offer; otherwise he would have continued with 15 �xa6 "xa6 1 6 lDc5 "b5 1 7 lDf3! (but not 1 7 lDxe6 fxe6 followed by . . . e5, with a good game for Black) 1 7 . . . lDd7 1 8 :tc l , with the better endgame prospects 1 • .••

After 18 ... .lfS 1 9 "i!fc4 lDxcs 20 "i!fxcS (20 "i!fxbS cxbS 21 :'xcS :'xcS 22 dxcS as, followed by . . . :'c8, is good for Black as :'cl can always be met by . . ..lb2) 20 ... 'ia6 there is no endgame, and Black is slightly better as the white king i s pinned down in the centre. I t seems to me that White cannot claim any advantage after 1 4 . . .:'fcB.

222 The Hague Wch (4) 1935 This possibility clearly proves the unsoundness of B lack's Sth and 10th moves. 15 cSt An absolutely correct combina­ tion which would have given, even against White' s best defence, easy equality. But as a matter of fact my opponent, fortunately for me, under­ estimated the danger. 'iWxa6 16 �xa6 'iWbS 17 tiJxcs 18 tiJf4? Permitting Black to open the cen­ tre and thus set the opponent's house alight. The correct defence was I S e4 ! tiJd7 1 9 �e3 �xd4 20 tiJxd4 1i'xc5 2 1 1i'xc5 tiJxc5, with a prob­ able draw. 18 ... �g4 ! 19 f3 If 19 :te l , the reply 1 9. . .e5 would also have been strong. eSt 1 9 ... 20 tiJfd3 Equally unsatisfactory was 20 fxg4 exf4 +. exd4! 20 ... A pretty and exactly c alculated piece offer, which White is practi­ cally forced to accept, since both 2 1 exd4 tiJd5 ! and 2 1 e4 tiJd7 would have left him even fewer chances of salvation. dxe3 (D) 21 fxg4 •••

1 2

22 �xe3 A comparatively more difficult variation for B lack was 22 �xb4 tiJd5 23 a3 a5 24 1i'c4 ! axb4 ! 25 1i'xd5 bxa3 26 l:r.f1 (or 26 b4 �c3+, followed by . . . �xb4) 26 . . . a2! 27 l:r.xf7 1 �c3+, followed by 28 . . . :txc5 and wins. 22 tiJxg4 23 �f4 Anything else was equally unsat­ isfactory, for instance 23 �gl �c3+ 24 �f1 l:r.b6 or 23 �f2 �c3+ 24 �f1 l:r.c6! 25 �gl tiJxf2 26 'ixf2 l:r.dS, with a winning position for Black2 . 23 .. �c3+ 24 :td2 Obviously forced. :txcS! 24 25 tiJxcs (D) If 25 �xbS then 25 ...'ieS+! wins immediately. .xeS 25 ... •••

.

••.

27 �e2! is a much better defence, when Black has nothing clear-cut. The second variation can be improved by 25 a4! , which unpins the d3-knight with gain of tempo. After 25 .....a5 26 iDd7 (26 iDe4 'irf5 27 'ire2 l:te8 28 h3 iDxf2 29 lOdxfl is also possible, and White iI certainly no worse) 26 . . .l:td8 27 'ire2 Black has yet to justify his piece sacrifice.

Euwe - Alekhine 223

B

At last Black has enough from all the complications and selects the clearest variation which secures him a slight material advantage (queen and pawn against two rooks) and a persisting attack. A shorter way to victory was, however, 25 . . .I:te8+ ! with the following main variation: 26 lDe4 f5 27 "'dl lhe4 28 l:td8+ 'itf] 29 i.g5 f4 ! 30 'ifilcl l:te2 3 1 'id3 'i'xg5 ! and wins ! . 'ie7+ 26 i.xb8 lDe3+ 27 'ifildl lDxe2 28 'ifilc1 29 l:txe2 h5! This is a necessary preparation for ...i.g7. 30 l:tdl i.g7 as 31 h3 Black's chief trumps which, with cor play, must guarantee the win, are the permanent insecurity of White's king and the unprotected po­ sition of the bishop, whose efforts to find a safe square are bound to fail.

The game remains lively and in­ structive until the very end. 32 i.f4 'ie4 'iWe3+ 33 i.e7 a4! 34 "'bl By this break-up, which could not in the long run be prevented, Black wins perforce at least the exchange. b3 35 bxa4 36 axb3 'ixb3+ i.h6+ 37 'ifilc1 38 l:tdd2 'iWxa4 39 i.e5 Instead, 39 "'dl would have mar­ ginally prolonged the game, since B lack would be compelled first to force the white king back to the queens ide by means of 39 . . . i.xd2 40 "'xd2 'i'e4 ! 41 'ifilc l 'iel+, and only after that decide the game on the other wing through a gradual ad­ vance of his pawns supported by the king. "'h7 39 'iWb5! (D) 40 i.e3 Preventing 4 1 'ifildl . •••

This line includes a small oversight, i n that White can draw by 3 1 l:td7+! giving perpetual check. Of course, Black should play 30 ... ..xg5 3 1 "'xe4 "'xd8 32 'lIxf4+ ltJf6 with a winning position.

224 Utrecht Wch (7) 1935 41 �d4 White no longer has satisfactory moves left. If, for instance, 4 1 �al then 4 l . ..'i'n + followed by ... �g7+. 'ife2! 41 42 g4 'ifel+ 43 'ib2 �xd2 �c1+! 44 lieS 0-1 Game 90 Alekhine - Euwe Utrecht Wch (7) 1935 French Defence 1 e4 e6 d5 2 d4 �b4 3 t'Lle3 4 t'Lle2 dxe4 5 a3 �e7 S . . . �xc3+ 6 t'Llxc3 t'Llc6 is even more convincing, with at least an equal game. This possibility practi­ cally refutes White's fourth move. 6 t'Llxe4 t'Lle6 Here, too, . . . t'Llc6 is good enough. In the flfth game ofthis match I tried 7 �e3 (if 7 c3, then 7 . . . eS), but did not obtain more than equality after 7 . . . t'Llf6 8 t'Ll2c3 0-0 (already threat­ ening . . . t'Llxe4 followed by . . . fS). Therefore, in the present game I de­ cided to try the following paradoxi­ cal-looking pawn move, the obvious idea being to combine the fianchetto development of the f l -bishop with a possible pawn attack on the king­ side. 7 g4!? b6 This is not even an attempt at a refutation and White soon obtains

the kind of position he was aiming at. True enough, the most natural an­ swer 7 . . . eS would also not be con­ vincing, because of 8 dS t'Lld4 9 t'Ll2c3 (but not 9 t'Llxd4 1i'xdS ! =i=) and if 9 .. .fS, then 1 0 gxfS �xf3 1 1 �e3, with fair fighting chances for White. However, 7 . . . t'Llf6 ! 8 t'Llxf6+ �xf6 9 j.e3 1i'dS would have secured for Black a comfortable development of all his forces and thus prove the inef­ flcacy of White's seventh move. S �g2 �b7 9 e3 lbf6 O-O? 10 t'Ll2g3 Even if it could be proved that Black can flnd an adequate defence against the following kingside at­ tack, the text move should still be condemned as endangering Black's game without any profit or neces­ sity. Mter the simple 1 O . . . 'ifd7, fol­ lowed by . . . 0-0-0, White would remain with an unimportant advan­ tage in space and without any real at­ tacking prospects. 11 g5 lbxe4 �bS 12 t'Llxe4 Preparing for ...fS, which White prevents by his following strong move. 13 'ifh5! If now 1 3 . . .fS then of course 14 g6 with deadly effect 'ili'e8 (D) 13 ... Threatening again ... fS but allow­ ing the following promising combi­ nation. 1 3 . . . t'LlaS was safer, as the variation 1 4 b4 t'Llb3 I s lLlf6 gxf6 16 �xb7 fS ! would not be dangerous for Black. In that case White would

Alekhine - Euwe 225 increase his pressure by finishing his development- 1 4 �f4 eventually followed by 0-0-0 ±.

w

17 e5 18 �g3! f5 There is hardly anything better. If, for instance, 18 . . . exd4, then 1 9 0-0-01 with a straightforward attack. 19 dxe5 Here, too, 19 0-0-0 was strong. But the simple recovery of the sacri­ ficed material is, bearing in mind White 's powerful attacking possi­ bilities, sufficiently convincing. !:tg8 19 20 �f3? But this inexact move permits Black to launch a saving counter-at­ tack. Instead 20 'ifh3 ! was practi­ cally decisive, since 20. . .'ifd3 would be refuted by 2 1 � h4 ! and 20 . . . !:tg4 by 2 1 O-O ! , threatening f3 , and win­ ning material with a persisting at­ tack. 1i'd3! 20 An ingenious resource but, as the following shows, Black, in adopting it, did not actually realise how many interesting possibilities it opened to him. 21 �e2 (D) White has nothing better, since 2 1 �xc6? would b e fatal, because of 2 l . ..�a6! 22 1i'h5 !:tg4 ! , etc. 21 'iWe4? Leading to a lost endgame. From an objective point of view, it is cer­ tainly a pity that Black avoids the fantastic complications arising af­ ter 2 1 . . . "i'c2!-a move which with correct play would have secured him a draw. Here is the main variation as well as some minor possibilities: 22 1i'f6+ !:tg7 23 J:rg l ! (the plausible 23 •••

•••

14 liJf6! A correct pawn offer securing White a strong and most likely irre­ sistible offensive. 14 �xf6 The alternative was 14 . . . gxf6 1 5 gxf6 lL:Ja5 ( i f 1 5 ... �xf6?, then 1 6 i.e4 followed by mate) 1 6 fxe7 "ixe7 17 �xb7 lL:Jxb7 1 8 �g5 f6 1 9 i.h6 !:tg8 2 0 0-0-0 lL:Jd6 2 1 !:the l , with a clear advantage for White. 15 gxf6 gxf6 'if d8 16 'i4 Forced, since 1 6 .. ."ife7 would lose a piece after 17 �e4 ! . 17 �f4! This continuation of the attack, the point of which is the bishop re­ treat on the next move, was by no means easy to find. Black's com­ paratively best chance was to give back his extra pawn by playing 17 .. i5-although after 18 "i'xd8 !:taxd8 1 9 �xc7 I:td7 20 �f4 lL:Ja5 2 1 !:tgl ! , White's endgame advantage would be quite evident. •••

•••

•••

226 Utrecht Wch (7) 1935

B

e6 is not good because of 23 . . . lte8 ! 24 ltgl ! ..ta6 ! ! { not 24 . . . ltxe6 25 ..te5 ! and wins} 25 ..txa6 ltxe6+ 26 ..te5 'iWe4+ 27 �f1 'iWxe5, with ad­ vantage for Black) 23 ... 'iWxb2 24 e6 ! ! 'iWxal + 25 ..t d l tDh8 32 i.e4! Not 32 . . . tDxa6? 33 i.xe6+ 'it>fS 34 lIxcS+ lIxcS 35 i.xcs with an easily winning endgame. However 32 . . . 'it>fS would be better than the text; after 33 lIa7 (I can see nothing better) 33 . . . tDfxe4 Black has good drawing chances although White has a clearly superior position. 'it>g8 33 tDt7+ lIe7 34 tDd6 If 34 . . . lIdS, 35 lIc6 retaining the pawn with a winning endgame. 'it>f8 35 lIaal tDg4 36 e5 g5 37 1Ie1 Hastening the end, but Black is lost whatever he does. tDh6 38 lIa3! 39 1If3+ 'it>g7 If 39 . . . 'it>e7, 40 lIh3 wins a second pawn. g4 40 lIg3 'it>h8 41 h3 Here the game was adjourned and Black resigned without resuming play-after 42 hxg4 he has no chance of saving the game. 1-0

e6 1 e4 d5 2 d4 3 tDd2 This move-a favourite of Keres and, at least in his later years, of Alekhine-preserves the option of protecting the centre by c3 and cir­ cumvents the pin 3 . . . i.b4. Its draw­ back, however, is that since it puts less immediate pressure on the black centre than 3 tDc3, it allows Black to counter safely with the energetic 3 ... c5 ! . lDf6 3 This, although quite playable, is rather less good than ... c5, since it leads to a type of game in which it is valuable for White to have c3 avail­ able. Capablanca, however, having just lost to Keres with 3 ...c5, did not care to try the move again. lDfd7 4 e5 e5 5 i.d3 tDc6 6 e3 'iVb6 7 tDe2 8 tDf3 It is interesting to compare this position with the somewhat similar one that arises in Spielmann's fa­ vourite variation 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 tDc3 tDf6 4 e5 tDfd7 5 tDce2 c5 6 c3 tDc6 7 f4 "iWb6 8 tDf3 . The difference in the positions is that in the present game the bishop stands on d3 in­ stead of f1 and the f-pawn on f2 in­ stead of f4 . Both these differences •••

290 AVRO 1938 are favourable to White: the devel­ opment of the bishop on d3 is obvi­ ously a great advantage and the preservation of f4 for the knight and an open diagonal for the c I -bishop also strengthens White's game. cxd4 8 9 cxd4 i.b4+ 10 'it>fi ! In a closed position such as this. loss of the privilege of castling is comparatively unimportant: it is far more important to prevent Black eas­ ing his position by exchanges. i.e7 10 1 1 a3 lDrs Black should play 1 1 . .. a5 to stop 1 2 b4. Note that if 1 1 .. .0-0. then 1 2 lDf4 followed b y h 4 and lDg5 would give White a winning attack. The ef­ fect of the pawn on e5 is virtually to prohibit kingside castling. 12 b4! Further restricting Black. 12 i.d7 13 i.e3 lDd8 14 lDc3 as 'fIa7 15 lDa4 16 b5 b6 f5 (D) 17 g3 Black now embarks on an attempt to free himself which merely hastens his defeat. However, if he does abso­ lutely nothing (the alternative plan ! ) . he w i l l almost certainly succumb to an attack in the long run: White can prepare for f5 at his leisure and Black will not have room to post his pieces properly for the defence. 18 'it>g2 00 19 'fd2 h6 •.•

lDh7 20 h4 21 h5! g6 is a far more valuable square for White than g5 or e4 is for Black. 21 lDfg5 22 lDh4 lDe4 'it>f7 23 'f2 Not 23 ... i.xh4? 24 gxh4 ! and the knight on e4 (which has gone to such trouble to get there) is trapped ! lDeg5 2 4 fJ 25 g4! A very fine move. resulting in the re-incarceration of Black's h8-rook just as it was about to emerge. 25 fxg4 'it>g8 26 i.g6+ lDfJ 27 f4! If 27 . . . lDe4. then 28 i.xe4 dxe4 29 lDg6. while 27 . . .lDf7 is met by 28 i.d3 lDf8 29 'fe2 followed by 'ilt'xg4 and playing a rook to g l . 27 ... lDh3 allows 28 i.xh7+ lhh7 (28 . . . 'it>xh7 29 'ilt'c2+) 29 lDg6 followed by 'it'e2 and 'it'xg4. In every case White wins easily. 28 i.xh7+ lhh7 Or 28 . . . 'it>xh7 29 'it'c2+ 'it>g8 30 lDg6 and wins. i.d8 29 lDg6

Alekhine - Keres 291 i.e8 30 l:tac1 31 'i!tg3! An original way to trap a knight! 31 'ikn 32 'i!txg4 lbh4 'ikxh5+ 33 lbxh4 'ikn 34 'i!tg3 35 lbf3 1-0 B lack exceeded the time limit, but his position was quite hopeless in any case. This fine game was the last between the two great rivals and was Alekhine' s only tournament victory against Capablanca. Game 1 1 4 Alekhine - Keres Salzburg 1942 Ruy Lopez 1 e4 e5 lbe6 2 lbf3 a6 3 i.b5 4 h4 lbf6 5 0-0 i.e7 b5 6 'ie2 d6 7 i.b3 8 e3 The ' thematic' move 8 a4 is ade­ quately met by 8 . . . i.g4 9 c3 (not 9 axbS ? lbd4) 9 ... 0-0. 0-0 8 9 :dl 1f 9 d4, then 9 ... i.g4 10 l:td 1 exd4 1 1 cxd4 dS ! 1 2 eS lbe4 with equality. White transposes moves in order to avoid this variation . lbaS 9 . If 9 ... i.g4, then 10 d3 ! followed by h3 and g4 with an excellent game. B lack cannot reply 10 . . . dS? because •••

..

of 1 1 exdS lbxdS 12 'ike4 i.e6 1 3 lbxeS . The usual Lopez rule applies: . . . i.g4 is not good for Black before White has played d4 because of the reply d3 ! , leaving the bishop mis­ placed. e5 10 i.e2 1 1 d4 'ike7 12 i.g5 It is more usual to keep the bishop on c1 and to play the b 1 -knight to the kingside. The ideas behind the text are: 1 ) that when the b 1 -knight ar­ rives on e3 (via d2 and fl) White will be threatening i.xf6 followed by lbdS; and 2) l:tac 1 will be possible earlier than usual. However, the bishop is not really particularly well placed on gS and it is more important to get the knight round to e3 as soon as possible. 12 ... i.g4 For now Black could have played 1 2 . . . cxd4 ! 1 3 cxd4 i.g4 threatening 14 ...i.xf3 breaking up White's kingside. If 14 lbc3, then 14 . . . h4 ! I S i.xf6 bxc3 1 6 i.xe7 cxb2 17 l:tab1 'ikxe7 18 l:txb2 lbc6 with a good game, while 1 4 i.d3 lbc6 also al­ lows Black full equality. 13 dxe5 dxe5 14 lbbd2 (D) l:tfd8 14 ... 14 . . . lbhS at once gives B lack a rather easier game. If IS h3, then lS ... i.e6 16 i.xe7 (or 1 6 lbfl i.xgS 1 7 lbxgS lbf4 1 8 'ike I i.c4 1 9 lbe3 f6 20 lbf3 i.e2) 16 ... lbf4 ! 17 'ikfl 'fixe7 with a satisfactory position,

292 Salzburg 1942

1 8 .!Dxe5 being met by 1 8 ... i.xh3. I can see no way in which White can gain the advantage-the variations are similar to those that arise in the actual game, with the important dif­ ference that in the game White has gained a very valuable move. 15 .!Dfl .!Dh5 If 15 . . . .!Dc4, then 16 i. b3 tDa5 1 1 7 i.xf6 i. xf6 1 8 i.d5 followed by .!De3 with the better game. If Black does nothing in particular then 1 6 .!De3 i.e6 1 7 tDh4 and White has the advantage because of his pressure on f5 and d5. i.e6 16 h3! Best. If 1 6 . . . i.xg5, then 1 7 hxg4 .!Df4 1 8 1'Ve l i.e7 1 9 g3 .!Dh3+ 20 'ig2 .!Dg5 2 1 .!De3 with much the better game. f6! 17 .!De3 18 .!Dh2 B etter than 1 8 i.h4 .!Df4, when Black has a good game.

2

18 ... g6 After 1 8 . . . fxg5 19 1'Vxh5 White has a clear-cut advantage because sooner or later he will play .!Dd5, forcing Black to capture, and after the exchange Black will not be able to do anything with his kingside pawn majority. 19 .i.h6 i.fS 20 i.xfS �xfS? Black should play 20 ... tDf4 ! 2 1 1'Vf3 l:txf8 ! 2 2 h4 .!Dc4 2 3 g 3 (not 2 3 .!Dxc4 i.xc4 24 g 3 i.e2 ! ) 2 3 . . . .!Dxe3 24 1'Vxe3 .!Dh5 with an equal game. After missing this chance, he is not given another ! 21 g3! Preventing ... tDf4 once and for all. Black cannot play 2 1 ... i.xh3 be­ cause of 22 .!Dd5 1'Vb7 23 g4 tDf4 24 .!Dxf4 exf4 25 1'Vf3 and White is win­ ning. l:txdl + 21 This exchange only helps White, whose bishop (with a masked threat of i.xh5) is well placed on d 1 . The best line was 2 1 .. . .!Dc4 22 .!Dd5 i.xd5 23 exd5 .!Dd62 and although Black's game is undeniably inferior he has better drawing chances than in the game. White's advantage (in this variation and in the actual game) consists of the following: 1 ) he cannot be prevented from getting a passed d-pawn; •..

Here 1 6 . . . i.xf3 appears promising for Black since 17 'i'xf3 lOxb2 10ses a pawn, while 17 gxf3 lOh5 1 8 i.xe7 lOf4 ! 19 'i'c2 'i'xe7 20 i.xc4 bxc4 results in damage to both sides' pawn structures, but the damage to White's is more serious as it also exposes his king. There is no obvious reason why Black should not take the pawn on b2.

Alekhine - Keres 293 2) Black's kingside is somewhat weakened and his h5-knight mis­ placed; 3) Black's queens ide is open to attack by a4. None of these weaknesses sepa­ rately seems very serious-it takes an Alekhine to exploit them. 22 .i.xdl l:td8 Here again ... tDc4 is better. The text results in White gaining com­ mand of the a-file, which is of more value to him than the d-file is to Black. tDc4 23 a4 24 axb5 axb5 25 tDd5! Another fine move. B lack cannot safely accept the offered pawn. "ib7 25 ... If 25 . . . �xd5, then 26 exd5 l:txd5 27 "ie4 ! l:td8 (27 . . . l:td2 28 � xh5 gxh5 29 tDf3 and the rook must re­ treat in view of 29 ... l:txb2? 30 "ia8+ <j;g7 3 1 l:ta7) 28 �xh5 gxh5 29 "if3 "if7 (29 . . . <j;g7 30 "ixhS tDxb2 3 1 tDg4 wins back at least the sacrificed pawn with a stron g attack and the superior game) 30 "ic6 tDxb2 3 1 'i!i'xc5+ <j;g8 3 2 'i!i'xb5 with much the better game. 26 b3 tDd6 27 c4 bxc4 28 bxc4 .i.xd5 29 exd5 (D) The first stage of the middlegame (which might be said to have begun on White's 14th move) is over and White has achieved his aims, with a decisive or almost decisive advan­ tage. White's bishop is better than

B

Black's knight, his passed pawn is invulnerable and Black has a weak c-pawn and a kingside majority with little future. The next stage sees White gradually increasing his advantage until Black, under pressure, loses a pawn by a blunder. 29 tDg7 30 tDg4 "ie7 tDge8 31 .i.c2 3 1 ... tDf7 followed by . . .f5 might be a little better. 32 h4 Preventing any sort of pawn rush by Black. 32 e4 This turns out badly, but if Black does nothing White will play tDe3 followed by l:ta6, 'i!i'd2 and 'i!i'a5 with a powerful queens ide attack. 'i!i'e5? 33 tDe3 Blundering in a bad position, as so often happens. �g8? 34 l:ta7 34 . . . tDg7 is essential, but after 'i!i'e l -a5 White has a winning game. 35 tDg4 'i!i'd4 f5 36 .i.xe4! 3 6 . . . tDxe4? 37 tDh6+ <j;h8 (or 37 . . . <j;f8?? 38 l:tc7#) 38 tDf7+ and .•.

294 Salzburg 1942 39 tiJxd8. A similar line wins against 36 . . .'iWxe4. 37 tiJh6+ 'it>h8 'i'f6 38 �c2 'i'xe6 39 'i'e6 40 dxe6 Now comes the final stage-win­ ning a won ending. The game concluded 40 l:tc8 41 tiJf7+ tiJxf7 (after 4 1 . . .'it>g8 42 tiJe5 the ending is of course also won) 42 exf7 tiJd6 43 �d3 'it>g7 (or 43 . . .h5 44 l:td7 ! tiJe4 45 �xe4 fxe4 46 l:tc7 l:tf8 47 'it>f1 ! 'it>g7 48 'it>e2 l:txf7 49 l:txf7+ 'it>xf7 50 'it>e3 winning) 44 f8'i'+ 'it>xf8 45 l:txh7 'it>g8 46 l:td7 tiJe8 47 h5! gxh5 (if 47 . . . tiJf6, 48 1%d6 'it>g7 49 hxg6 'it>xg6 50 g4 ! win­ ning a second pawn) 48 �xf5 l:ta8 49 �e6+ 'it>h8 50 l:td5 tiJf6 51 l:txc5 'it>g7 52 'it>g2 l:ta2 53 �f5! 1:.a3 54 1:.c7+ 'it>h6 55 1:.f7 1:.a6 56 f4 h4 57 g4 1-0 White threatens g5+ and Black dare not move the knight because of l:th7 mate. •••

Game 1 1 5 Keres - Alekhine Salzburg 1942 King's Gambit 1 e4 e5 2 f4 This game was played in the last -round of the tournament. Alekhine having 6 112/9, Keres 6/9, and the other competitors being out of the running. Keres therefore had to go all-out for a win, which explains his somewhat rash play.

2 exf4 tiJf6 3 tiJf3 tiJh5 4 e5 5 'i'e2? This, in conjunction with White's 7th move, is a new idea in this vari­ ation-but not a very good one. Since the normal line 5 d4 d5. 6 c4 tiJc6 7 cxd5 'i'xd5 8 tiJc3 �b4 gives Black a satisfactory position with a pawn more, Keres decides to delay B lack's . . . d5 and to prepare for queenside castling. B lack, however, simply continues with his develop­ ment, is able to play . . . d5 as soon as he really needs to, and White's un­ natural queen move rebounds. 5 �e7 6 d4 0-0 7 g4!? A corollary of 5 'ie2, intending to permit the development of the bishops and give White open lines for a kingside attack. If White does not play this move, he will have to move his queen again to develop the f l -bishop, and the pawn on f4 will exert a cramping effect on his whole game. The disadvantage of opening files in this way, i.e. by pawn sacri­ fices that do not disturb the oppo­ nent's pawn structure, is that one then has no pawns left with which to storm the enemy king: for this rea­ son Alekhine finds comparatively little difficulty in defending himself. 7 ... fxg3 d5! 8 M Avoiding the tempting 8 . . .�h4 9 hxg3 ! tiJxg3 (9 . . . �xg3+ 1 0 'it>d l tiJf4 1 1 'iWe4 tiJg6 1 2 'iWg4 �f2 1 3

Keres - Alekhine 295 'it'h5 h6 1 4 lbe4 wins easily) 10 'it'h2 lbxh 1 + 1 1 lbxh4 with a highly criti­ cal position in which White has good prospects. 9 �d2 If 9 �e3 , then 9 . . .f5 1 0 0-0-0 f4 1 1 �d2 lbc6 threatening 1 2 . . . �g4, and Black has a winning advantage. If here 10 exf6, then the spearhead of White's attack (the pawn on e5) has gone and Black's extra material will give him a comfortable victory. lbc6 9 �g4 10 0-0-0 1 1 �e3 Necessary (to prevent 1 1 . . . lbxd4) and now 1 1 . . .f5 is not so menacing because of 1 2 h3 �xf3 13 'it'xf3 . f6! 11 12 h3 �e6 (D)

defence. Otherwise Black will play . . . f5-f4 with an overwhelming game. 13 fxg5 14 'it'xh5 g6 15 'it'e2 g4! Forcing a further exchange of mi­ nor pieces and reducing White's al­ ready small chances of a successful attack. 16 hxg4 �g5 17 'itibl �xe3 18 'it'xe3 �xg4 19 'it'h6 1:1 20 �g2 lbe7 Certainly not 20 ...�xdl 21 �xd5 threatening 'it'xh7+. 21 ltdfl ltg7 Note how snugly Black hides amongst his pawns and White has nothing with which to dig him out. 22 'it'f4 �e6 23 lbe2 Or 23 'it'xg3 lbf5 24 'it'd3 'it'g5 with a winning garnet . lbr5 23 ... 24 �h3 24 lbxg3 lbxg3 25 'it'xg3 again leaves Black with a won ending, and White must try to create complica­ tions. 24 'it'd7 25 mgl Not 25 �xf5 (intending 25 ... hf5 26 lbxg3) because of 25 ... g2. ltf8 25 lbxd4! 26 'it'd2 .•.

13 lbg5! The only move to make a fight of the game, though it proves insuffi­ cient against Alekhine's accurate

This comment is impossible to understand, since at the end 25 .i.xd5 .i.xd5 26 lLlxd5 penetrates to f6 and gives White a crushing attack. Instead, Black should play 23 .. c6 maintaining the extra pawn. .

296 Munich 1942 This little combination destroys any chance White might have had. The game concluded: 27 'ili'xd4 �xh3 28 .l:txg3 �f5 29 'ili'xa7 b6 30 'ili'a3 c5 31 'ili'b3 �e4 32 .l:td1 'ili'f5 33 lbc3 c4 34 'ili'a4 'ili'xe5 35 .l:te3 (a blunder under time pressure, but the game is over in any case) 35 .i.xc2+36 'ili'xc2 'ili'xe3 37 lbxd5 'ili'c5 38 'ili'c3 h5 39 a3 .l:tf5 40 lbf6+ .l:txf6 4 1 'ili'xf6 'ili'f5+ 42 'ili'xf5 gxf5 43 �c2 �h7 44 �c3 .l:tg4 45 .l:td7 + �g6 46 .l:td6+ �g5 47 .l:txb6 h4 48 .l:tb8 h3 49 .l:tg8+ �f4 50 .l:th8 �g3 51 .l:th5 h2 0-1 A game showing that, when nec­ essary, Alekhine could defend with as much skill as he could attack: Keres never had a chance after his unsound opening tactics. ••

Game 1 1 6 Alekhine - Keres Munich 1942 Queen's Indian Defence 1 d4 lbf6 b6 2 lbf3 3 c4 �b7 e6 4 g3 �e7 5 �g2 0-0 6 0-0 7 b3 If 7 lbc3, then 7 . . . lbe4 8 'ikc2 lbxc3 9 'i'xc3 f5 10 .l:td1 �f6 with equality. The text move is played to

avoid this simplification and to solve the problem of the c I-bishop. 7 d5 However, Black could have taken advantage of White's momentary weakness on the long dark-square diagonal to free his game by 7 . . . c5 ! . The general rule i n these positions is that . . . c5 is good if White cannot reply d5 and here he cannot, for 8 d5 exd5 (not 8 . . . lbxd5 ! ? 9 lbe5 ! and wins a piece l ) 9 lbh4 (9 lbe5 d6 1 0 lb d 3 'ili'c7) 9 . . . lbe4 ! gives Black the advantage. The text move is not bad, but gives Black a less easy game. 8 lbe5 c6 And here 8 . . . c5 would certainly be better. After 8 . . . c5 9 dxc5 bxc5 1 0 cxd5 exd5 B lack i s left, i t is true, with ' hanging pawns' (which was probably why Keres rejected the line) but, as A1ekhine himself dem­ onstrated with Black in the 23rd game of his 1937 match with Euwe, he can maintain equality. The Euwe­ Alekhine game continued 1 1 lbc3 lbbd7 12 lbd3 lbb6 1 3 a4 a5 14 �a3 .l:tc8 with equal chances. 9 �b2 lbbd7 10 lbd2 c5 Now if White exchanges pawns, he cannot put the black centre under immediate pressure by lbc3. He can (and does), however, hold the centre by e3, retaining an advantage in •••

This is not so as 9 . i.f6 1 0 i.b2 ( 1 0 f4 d6) 1 O ... lbc6! allows Black to keep his extra pawn; a more convincing line against 8 lbxd5 i s 9 cxd5 i.f6 10 dxe6 i.xa1 1 1 exf7+ :'xf7 1 2 lbg5 ! , with an edge for White. .

.

...

Alekhine - Keres 297 space: it was not worth Black's while to play in this over-cautious manner. 1 1 e3 l:tc8 l:tc7 12 l:tc1 13 'ie2 'ia8? (D) He should play 1 3 ... \i'b8 followed by . . . l:tfc8. The text move leaves the c7 -rook unprotected, of which Alek­ hine takes instant advantage.

w

lDxdS 14 cxdS If 14 . . . exd5, then 15 dxc5 bxc5 ( 1 5 . . . lDxc5 or 15 . . . i.xc5 Ieaves him with a very bad d-pawn and enables White to occupy d4 with a clear ad­ vantage) 1 6 lDxd7 lDxd7 ( 1 6 . . . l:txd7 1 7 i.xf6 wins a pawn) 17 e4 dxe4 ( 1 7 . . . d4? 18 i.xd4) 1 8 i.xe4 with the better endgame, Black having two weak pawns. This would, however, be a little better than the line played. lDSf6 IS e4 16 b4! Exploiting to the full the vulnerable position of the rook on c7. :reS 16 bxcS 17 dxcS a6? 18 bS This manoeuvre, opening the a­ file, is immediately fatal and is a

surprising error of judgement for a master of Keres' strength. Best was 1 8 . . . lDxe5 19 i.xe5 l:td7 20 l:tfe l followed by lDb3 or lDc4. White's superior pawn formation gives him an appreciable advantage but there is a great deal of play left in the game. 19 a4 axbS 20 axbS 'ia2 Obviously overlooking the reply, but his game is very bad in any event. 21 lDec4! 'ia8 22 i.xf6 gxf6 However he plays he loses the exchange, for example 22 .. .i.xf6 23 b6 or 22 ... lDxf6 23 lDb6. 23 b6 l:tc6 24 eS l:txb6 2S lDxb6 lDxb6 26 i.xb7 'ixb7 27 exf6 i.xf6 28 lDe4 i.e7 28 . . . i.g7 29 lDd6 and 28 . . .\i'e7 29 \i'a6 l:tb8 30 l:tbl lDd7 3 1 l:txb8+ lDxb8 32 'ic8+ lose material. 29 'ti'g4+ 'i1th8 29 . . . 'i1tf8 is better but after 30 lDg5 i.xg5 31 'ilr'xg5 White must win. 30 'if4 Threatening both 3 1 'ixf7 and 3 1 lDxc5, but not 30 lDxc5? l:txc5 3 1 \i'd4+ e5 and Black wins a piece. 30 i.f8 31 lDxcs 'ic7 Or 3 1 . . .l:txc5 32 l:txc5 i.xc5 33 \i'e5+. The text move loses another pawn, but whatever Black plays, White wins easily. 32 lDxe6 'ixf4 33 lDxf4 1-0 •••

298 Krakow 1942 Game 1 17 Alekhine - Junge Krakow 1942 Ruy Lopez 1 e4 e5 2 tl:)f3 tl:)c6 a6 3 J.b5 4 J.a4 ltJf6 J.e7 5 0-0 b5 6 'fi'e2 7 J.b3 0-0 d5 8 c3 9 d3! An excellent reply, avoiding the complications arising from 9 exd5 and ensuring White a positional advantage since the opening of the d-file is in his favour (as he can im­ mediately occupy it). If 9 exd5 then B lack can either play 9 . . . tl:)xd5 or 9 . . . J.g4 10 dxc6 e4. dxe4 9 If 9 . . d4, then 10 cxd4 tl:)xd4 1 1 tl:)xd4 'fi'xd4 1 2 J.e3 'ikd6 1 3 f4 with rather the better game. This, how­ ever, is Black's best line. 9 . . . J.g4 10 h3 ( 1 0 exd5 tl:)xd5 1 1 'fi'e4 J.e6 ! 1 2 tl:)xe5 tl:)xe5 1 3 'ikxe5 J.d6 is dan­ gerous for White) 1O . . . J.h5 1 1 J. g5 dxe4 transposes into the line played. Finally, 9 . 'fi'd6 is met by 10 J.g5. In every case Black will be forced, by the combined pressure on his e­ and d-pawns, to play . . . dxe4 or . . . d4 and both moves react against him. This position is worth considerable study, as it is an interesting example of a not uncommon type-where one player has a free and apparently very satisfactory game but where the ••.

.

..

fundamental insecurity of his pawn formation makes it difficult for him to maintain equality. 10 dxe4 J.g4 1 1 h3 J.h5 12 J.g5 Indirectly preventing 12 . . . tl:)a5?, since 13 g4 J. g6 14 tl:)xe5 wins a pawn ( 1 4 . . .J.xe4? 1 5 J.xf6 gxf6 1 6 tl:)xf7 and wins). 12 tl:)e8 13 J.xe7 J.xf3 Forced. After 1 3 . . .'ixe7 14 g4 J.g6 1 5 J.d5 �d7 1 6 tl:)bd2! B lack loses the e-pawn. Or if 1 3 . . . tl:)xe7, then 14 g4 again winning the e­ pawn. tl:)xe7 14 'fi'xf3 15 l1d1 tl:)d6 16 tl:)d2 c6 1 6 . . . g8 29 l:[d3 f4 30 l:[d6 lbd7 3 1 'ite7 wins. B lack must play .. .fS as otherwise i.c2 wins. 26 i.xf7+! A beautiful finishing touch. 26 ... 'tli'xJ7 White also wins after 26 . . . �xf7 27 'tli'xh7+, 26 . . . :xf7 27 'tli'gS+ or 26 ...�h8 27 'tli'f6#. lba4 27 l:[xd8 Or 27 ... l:[xd8 28 'tli'gS+. 28 b3 1-0 28 . . . lbxb2 29 :aa8. A most in­ structive game for all players, like myself, who are addicted to the Ruy Lopez. Game 1 1 8 Alekhine - Junge Prague 1 942 Catalan ! 1 d4 2 c4 3 lbf3

dS e6 lN6

This famous game has been analysed many times, for example by Alekhine himself, Fine (Chess Marches On!, 1 945), Pachman (Pachman's Decisive Games, 1975) and Dvoretsky and Yusupov (Secrets o/ Chess Tactics, 1 992). As the conclusions of modem analyses are totally different to those expressed by Alexander, I shall add some extra commentary at critical points. As this extra analysis is fairly extensive, it is embedded in the text.

300 Prague 1 942 dxe4 4 g3 5 'iWa4+ iDbd7 In Junge-Alekhine, Munich 1943, Alekhine played ... i.d7-c6; the more usual plan, adopted here by Junge, of . . . iDd7, aims at an early advance of the queenside pawns combined with . . . i.b7. The two lines are of about equal merit, and either should give equality with careful play by B lack. 6 i.g2 a6 7 'iWxe4 b5 8 'iWe6 The immediate 'iWc2 is more com­ mon, but White has in view a con­ tinuation for which he wishes to drive the rook off the a-file. 8 ... :b8 8 . . . IZ.a7 is slightly better as the rook has little future on the b-file, and from a7 it can later play across to c7 or d7 if necessary. However, the text move is perfectly sound. 9 0-0 i.b7 10 'iWe2 e5 11 a4! A far-sighted positional pawn sacrifice which B lack should de­ cline by 1 1 . . .b4, thereby maintain­ ing equality. After accepting the sacrifice, the best Black can hope for is to avoid disaster if he defends with absolute accuracy. 11 i.xf3 exd4 12 i.xf3 13 axb5 axb5 'iWb6 14 :dl Not 14 . . .i.cS IS i.f4 eS ( I S ... IZ.c8 16 i.b7 d3 17 'iWxd3 i.xf2+ 18 �f1 ! also wins for White) 1 6 i.xeS iDxeS 17 'iWxcs iDxf3+ 1 8 exf3 'iWe7 1 9

'iWxd4 (or 1 9 'iWxe7+) and White should win. 15 iDd2 e5 16 iDb3 iDeS? (D) Overlooking White's forthcom­ ing sacrifice. B lack's best line was 1 6 . . . i.e7 1 7 e3 dxe3 1 8 i.xe3 'iWe6 when White has adequate posi­ tional compensation for his pawn, but nothing immediately decisive.

w

17 iDxe5 i.xe5 (D) If 17 ... 'iWxcs, then 1 8 i.c6+ iDd7 (or 1 8 .. .e7 23 �c7+ lL:Jd7 24 .i.xd7 �xd7 25 �xe5+ �e6 26 �xg7 and Black will lose at least two more pawns. Alexander's 22 l:tal is far less clear after the reply 22 ...�e7 ! .] xd7 21 hd7+ If 2 1 . . .�xd7, 22 �xe5+ wins the rook on bS. 22 'i!t'a7+ (D)

B

w

'iti>c6 22 If 22 . . . 'iti>cS, 23 .i.d2 followed by l:tc 1 + is immediately decisive. [IN: This is a critical moment. Virtually all analysts have recom­ mended 22 . . . 'iti>d6 as leading to a draw, starting with Alekhine him­ self. Summarising the various analy­ ses gives us the following lines: 1) 23 l:txd4+ exd4 24 .i.f4+ 'iti>d5 25 .i.x bS l:tcS ! is good for B lack, as Black's king can run away via c4 and b3. 2) 23 .i.d2 �d7 24 .i.b4+ 'iti>e6 25 �a6+ 'iti>f5 26 e4+ 'iti>xe4 27 f4 and Dvoretsky and Yusupov com­ ment (correctly) that 'the chances of such a speculative attack succeeding would be highly dubious' . ...

18 l:ta6!! A magnificent and most unex­ pected sacrifice, which is perfectly correct. 'i!t'xa6 18 19 'i!t'xc5 'i!t'e6 If 1 9 . . . lL:Jd7, then 20 .i.c6 f6 2 1 �d6 with several threats: �xd7+, .i.xd7+ and �e6+. 20 .i.c6+ lL:Jd7 If 20 . . . 'iti>dS, then 2 1 .i.d2 b4 22 l:tal ! wins in view of 22 . . . l:tcS 23 �b6+ 'iti>e7 24 .i.xb4+ or 22 . . . lL:Jd7 23 .i.xd7 �xd7 24 l:ta7. [IN: In this line the simple move 22 �a5+, given by Dvoretsky and .•.

302 Prague 1942 3) 23 f4 �d7 (given by Pachman; Fine only analysed 23 . . . f6 24 fxe5 fxe5 25 i.f4 exf4 26 �xd4+, which is good for White, although even in this line 25 . . . l:thd8 ! 26 l:txd4+ �c6 is probably enough for a draw) 24 fxe5+ �e6 25 'ia6+ �e7 26 i.g5+ and after 26 ... �e8 or 26 ... �f8 the position is completely unclear. 4) 23 i.f4 (Alekhine thought this best) 23 . . . exf4 24 l:txd4+ �c6 25 l:t d 1 l:thc8 (25 . . . l:tb6 26 l:tc 1 + �d5 27 �c7 l:tc6 28 l:td1 + �c4 29 l:tc 1 + is also a draw) 26 l:tc1 + �d5 27 l:td1 + with perpetual check. However, it is by no means certain that the move played should have led to a loss. In view of this, some of Alexan­ der's comments (in particular, the question mark attached to Black's 1 6th move), appear somewhat out of place. ] l:thc8 2 3 i.d2 [IN: The best defensive chance. Other moves are clearly lost, for ex­ ample Pachman gives 23 . . . 'id7 24 l:tc1 + �d6 25 i.b4+ �e6 26 l:tc7 'fi'd5 27 l:txf7 , 23 . . . �d5 24 f3 'fi'd6 25 �xf7+ �c6 26 i.a5 and 23 ...l:thd8 24 l:tc 1 + �d5 25 l:tc5+ �e4 26 f3+ �f5 27 l:tc6 ! , to which one may add the line 2 3 . . . �d5 24 l:tc1 + �d6 25 'fi'c7+ �e6 26 l:tc6+ �5 27 f3 h5 28 l:td6.] 24 e4 (D) 1\Yb3 24 White threatened 25 l:tel + �d6 26 i.h4+. •.•

B

[IN: All previous analysts be­ lieved that Black is lost here. It is true that the move played loses by force, but B lack had a much better defence: 24 . . . h4! 25 11a1 and now: 1) Pachman gives 25 . . . 11b6 26 b3 'ixb3 27 l:tel + �b5 28 11xc8 � d1 + 29 �g2 �xd2 30 'id7+ mating. 2) 25 .. . �e8 26 l:ta5 ! lla8 (after 26 . . .'fi'fS, 27 l:txe5 starts regaining the material without diminishing the attack) 27 'ic5+ �d7 28 'i'd5 + �e7 29 'ixe5+ �f8 30 i.xb4+ �g 8 3 1 'ixd4 when White, with two pawns for the exchange, has some winning chances but the game is far from over. 3) 25 . . . �b5 ! is best, introducing the possibility of escaping with the king via c4 and d3. After this I can­ not see anything more than a draw, for example 26 �a4+ �c4 ! or 26 b3 'ib6 27 'id7+ �c6.] 25 l:ta1 b4 �b5 26 l:ta6+ �c6 27 lla5+ 28 1\Yc5+ �d7 1-0 29 l:ta7+

Index of Opponents

Numbers refer to pages Ahues 167, 227 Alexander 240 Andersen 1 73 Bogoljubow 44, 49, 70, 151, 152, 1 54, 156, 202, 204, 207, 210, 2 1 2, 229, 242, 255 Book 282 Capablanca 129, 131, 136, 138, 142, 289 Chajes 87 De Roszynski 19 Duras 14 Euwe 1 1 5, 1 1 8, 2 1 6, 218, 220, 224, 261, 263, 266, 268, 2 71, 276, 2 79, 284 Fahrni 30 Fine 245, 252 Flohr 1 78, 191, 287 Foltys 235 Frydman 233 Grtinfeld 78 Isakov 31 Janowski 95 Johner 60 Junge 298, 299 Keres 291, 294, 296 Kimura 1 94 Kmoch 1 2 7, 169 Koltanowski 1 85 Lasker, Em. 215

Levenfish 10 Maroczy 86, 160, 180 Marshall 25, 107, 124, 145 Mieses 20 Mikenas 196 Nimzowitsch 12, 23, 1 2 1, 158, 1 75 Opocensky 97 Pirc 1 76 Rabinovich 34 Reshevsky 248 Reti 73. 92, 100 Rubinstein 54. 82. 1 1 1, 113 Samisch 77, 258 Schwartz 109 Selezniev 39 Stahlberg 1 71 Steiner 51, 149. 192 Sterk 46 Sultan Khan 189 Tarrasch 2 7. 58. 99 Tartakower 125, 1 64, 187 Teichmann 37 Thomas, Sir G. 105 Torres 65 Treybal 103 Vygodchikov 8 Winter 1 83. 238 Wolf 62 Yates 67 Znosko-Borovsky 1 6, 199

Index of Openings

Numbers refer to pages Alekhine Defence 51, 105, 248 Benoni Defence 204 Budapest Defence 187 Caro-Kann Defence 125, 183, 189 Catalan Opening 268, 299 Centre Game 20 Colle System 191 Danish Gambit 31 Dutch Defence 70, 1 64 French Defence 30, 129, 158, 1 75, 218, 224, 238, 289 Giuoco Piano 99 Griinfeld Defence 220 Irregular Defence 95, 107 King's Fianchetto 100 King's Gambit 2 7, 37, 294 King's Indian Defence 92, 109, 1 1 8 King's Knight's Opening 1 9 Modem Defence 196 Nimzo-Indian Defence 1 1 5, 121, 1 69, 1 71, 266, 2 79 Petroff's Defence 25 Queen's Gambit Accepted 149, 1 78, 210, 212, 227, 252, 282 Queen's Gambit Declined 46, 54, 62, 67, 78, 82, 86, 87, 103, 131, 1 36, 13� 142, 1 60, 1 80, 21� 235, 255 Queen's Indian Defence 1 1 1, 1 13, 145, 1 54, 1 67, 1 73, 240, 296 Queen's Pawn Game 1 0, 12, 34. 39, 44, 49, 58, 60, 1 24, 1 2 7 Reti Opening 271 Ruy Lopez 8, 14, 1 6, 23, 65, 73, 156, 185, 1 92, 1 94, 1 99, 207, 245, 258, 287, 291, 298 Semi-Tarrasch Defence 276 Sicilian Defence 77, 233 Slav Defence 97, 151, 152, 202, 2 1 6, 242, 261, 263, 284 Tarrasch Defence 1 76 Three Knight's Game 229