New York 1924
by
Alexander Alekhine
Foreword by Andy Soltis
21st Century Edition!
2008 Russell Enterprises, Inc. Milford, CT USA The Book of the New York International Chess Tournament 1924
by Alexander Alekhine Edited by Hermann Helms Foreword by Andy Soltis
© Copyright 2008
Russell Enterprises, Inc.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any manner or form whatsoever or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
ISBN: 978-1-888690-48-4
Published by: Russell Enterprises, Inc. PO Box 5460 Milford, CT 06460 USA
http://www.chesscafe.com [email protected]
Cover design by Janel Lowrance Editing and Proofreading: David Ellinger and Hanon Russell Production: Mark Donlan
Printed in the United States of America Table of Contents
Foreword 4 Preface 6 Publisher's Note The Scoring, Round by Round 9 Score of the Tournament 10 Introduction II Review of the Tournament 14
First Round 18 Second Round 32 Third Round 44
Fourth Round 54 Fifth Round 71 Sixth Round 82 Seventh Round 98 Eighth Round 113 Ninth Round 130 Tenth Round 145
Eleventh Round 158 Twelfth Round 173 Thirteenth Round 185 Fourteenth Round 198 Fifteenth Round 214 Sixteenth Round 228 Seventeenth Round 244 Eighteenth Round 258 Nineteenth Round 272 Twentieth Round 283 Twenty-first Round 297 Twenty-second Round 312 The Significance of the New York Tournament in the Light of the Theory of the Openings 324
Index of Players 351 Index of Openings 352 Foreword
We use "super-tournament" so much today that, as with "super-model," "super computer" and the like, its meaning has become, well, less than super. But New York 1924 was a super-tournament that was truly extraordinary.
This is not merely a question of strength. In today's age of inflated ratings, there are events with a much higher category attached to their name. But they pass quickly out of our consciousness, and next year we'll have a hard time remember ing whether Bilbao 2008 was a strong as Dortmund 2008 or Sochi 2008 - or anything else about them.
New York 1924 was different. It had a narrative that is still striking today: Three world champions- undisputed world champions, mind you- fulfilling their des tiny. Richard Reti unleashing his devastating "Opening of the Future," 1
This was a particularly fertile time of innovation, in chess and elsewhere. A month before the first round, George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue premiered, also in New York. During the course of the tournament, the first successful round-the world air flights began, George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan debuted - and the first crossword puzzle book was published.
The chess of 1924 differs in many ways from that of today and the comparisons aren't necessarily favorable to the present. Nowadays elite GMs compete with the help of computers, analytic entourages, managers, and lawyers. They are more leaders of a team than individuals. At New York 1924 the players didn't even have seconds.
Nor did they have databases. They had to do their own research, with very few tools. Fifty years after the tournament Edward Lasker recalled how before each round he and Emanuel Lasker took a stroll through Central Park, a few blocks from the tournament site. The younger Lasker was stunned to learn that Emanuel had no knowledge of the Marshall Gambit in the Ruy Lopez. Marshall had sprung it on Capablanca six years before. But, Edward explained, that was "during the war, when of course no chess news crossed the Atlantic."
Today we are struggling with the plague of "grandmaster draws." Young GMs complain they have to make short draws because they can't exert themselves every day in an exhausting twelve-round tournament. New York 1924 was twenty rounds and yet somehow these old-timers- their average age was 42- managed to get by with few quick handshakes.
4 Today's GMs also complain that faster time controls don't leave them enough time to think. But they don't have to think- at least not until move fifteen or twenty or later- because Fritz prepares them for their next opponent the night before. At New York 1924 the players were on their own. They didn't even know what color they would have each day or who their opponent would be until a drawing was held fifteen minutes before their clocks were started. (This helps explain Reti's collapse in the tournament's second half. Due to luck of the draw ing he had five Blacks in a row.)
Yet the tournament revolutionized opening theory, which had been more or less in stasis since World War I began ten years before. New York 1924 also rewrote endgame theory. When you see for the first time the I 03-move battle between the two Laskers, when a king and knight survived against king, rook and pawn, it seems like magic. When you play over Capablanca vs. Tartakower, you quickly understand why it's the most famous rook endgame ever played. It's been re printed so often that it seems like nothing new could be said about it. But in the 1990s the Russian magazine 64 began to look at it again and triggered a debate over when Black was lost. The debate is still going on.
The book that Alekhine produced was an instant hit and remained a hit. Even after it went out of print, only to resurface in the Dover paperback edition, it remained clearly the best tournament book in English for half a century, until challenged by the translation of David Bronstein's masterpiece in the mid- I 970s.
If you've seen the original edition of New York 1924, with its clumsy note for mat, you can appreciate how much this edition improves on it. But you may not appreciate how the quality of Alekhine's notes stood out in the 1920s.
Some masters of that day annotated games with comments no more illuminating than "Also possible is 33 ite3."Alekhine provides real analysis, and with words, not just moves. He imbues the book with personality in contrast with the antisep tic notes of most tournament books written by world-class players, even the great Keres-Botvinnik book on the 1948 world championship.
On the one hand, Alekhine is ruthlessly objective, even with his own mistakes. On the other, he exudes some of Siegbert Tarrasch's poisonous sarcasm, such as when he shows how Reti, as white, finds himself on the defensive by the twelfth move of his game with Emanuel Lasker. "Rather a dubious outcome for the 'open ing of the future!"' Alekhine writes. That was just a warm-up to his excellent treatment of one the greatest games ever played.
New York 1924 was indeed a super-tournament. And this is a book that should never have gone out of print.
Andy Soltis New York October 2008 Preface
In more than one official book of an international congress of the chess mas ters is to be found an assertion to the effect that the particular contest in ques tion should be regarded as the greatest of its kind ever promoted by the fol lowers of Caissa up to that time. The temptation to do so is strong in this case, but modesty properly places a check upon the desire to have the New York Inter national Chess Masters' Tournament of I 924 get the fullest recognition in the eyes of the chess playing world. That inhibition upon a natural impulse comes the easier because of the absence of at least half a dozen eligibles whose participa tion would have added luster to even so notable a gathering as that of the eleven experts, of ten different countries, who came to the Metropolis of America to test their skill and thereby afford entertainment for devotees of the game all over the globe.
It is quite safe to allow the record of the New York Tournament to speak for itself. In no uncertain tones will a listening and appreciative, not to say grateful world be assured thereby that the congress, the history of which is to be set forth herein, if not the greatest of all time, was at least one of the best.
In one respect unquestionably it will be entitled to a unique place in the niche of fame. The Old Year went out without so much as a whisper of what the New Year had in store for lovers of good chess; and for good reason. While the idea had for some time been hatching, the impetus to act had been lacking.
To be historically accurate it should be here set down that the first meeting for organization did not take place until January 18 at the Manhattan Chess Club. This was shortly after the management of the Hotel Alamac had consented to do its share, and a little more. Once the plan had matured there was no delay and from then on the driving force of the committee which was formed was set in full motion.
It was necessary to findguarantees approximating the sum of$1 0,000 with which to finance the tournament on a scale to make it attractive to the most famous of the present day experts. That was done in short order and soon the cable was calling them from far-distant homes to do battle in New York for fame, for coun try and for gold.
Thus it came about that within three months one of the most memorable gather ings of the masters opened auspiciously on March 16, ran its scheduled course for thirty-three days and came to a most satisfactory conclusion on April 18. On the following day, presentation of prizes provided the final scene and America enjoyed the supreme satisfaction of having placed yet another tournament in the same category with those of New York in 1889 and Cambridge Springs in 1904.
6 The net result of the tournament was a brilliant triumph for Dr. Emanuel Lasker a fitting climax to a long and honorable career. It did not really need this, his latest and, in some respects, his finest success to crown him as one of the greatest of tournament players. But it did serve the purpose of reassuring the many friends of the former world's champion that, albeit the veteran of the competition, he nevertheless had lost little, if any of the old-time prowess.
The financialreport of the Treasurer will be found elsewhere, as also a list of the subscribers. Acknowledgment, however, is due for the hearty support of patrons, without whose generosity it would have been impossible to achieve success and whose numbers were not limited wholly to New York City.
The committee was very fortunate in being able to make arrangements with Mr. Alexander Alekhine for the annotation of the II 0 games played in the tourna ment. His co-operation is a guarantee of analytical work at once intelligent and thorough.
Hennann Helms New York January, 1925
Publisher's Note
In putting together this modem version of Alekhine's classic tournament book about one of the most famous chess tournaments ever, we chose to preserve Alekhine's original text and comments whenever possible. This includes the spe cial section -of great historical interest- on the openings used in the tournament.
Dozens of additional diagrams have been added. Typographical and notation er rors were of course corrected, but other than that, we have resisted the temptation to tum one of the ferocious chessplaying engines loose and report the results. It is not that a program such as Fritz or Rybka would not have been able to correct or improve upon Alekhine's analysis. It is that we were far more interested in pre senting his great work, with its humor, sarcasm, insight and flair, as it was origi nally written.
Some readers may want to run the games through a strong program and compare the results to Alekhine 's notes. By all means, if that is what you wish to do, go for it. For the rest of us, it may be enough to sit back and savor one of the great chess tournament books of all time. Enjoy ...
Introduction
by Norbert L. Lederer
During the month of December, 1923, interest in chess was at a high level on this side of the Atlantic, largely due to the presence of Alexander Alekhine and his remarkable performances.At a social gathering on New Year's Eve the possibil ity of holding an international tournament in New York was discussed, the ap proximate cost being estimated at about $10,000. As it was realized that there would be little use in opening a subscription unless headed by a fa irly large amount by some one individual to start the ball rolling, an interview was arranged with Mr. Harry Latz of the Alamac Hotel, who, previously, had expressed his interest in a proposed match between Capablanca and Alekhine for the world's champi onship.
At this meeting, at which Messrs. Helms, Alekhine, Latz and myselfwere present, I pointed out that the difficultyof raising the amount required for a title match would be very great, whereas I fe lt sure that amongst my colleagues at the Man hattan Chess Club I would find sufficient support for an international tourna ment, especially if we could be assured of the participation of Capablanca, Dr. Lasker and Alekhine. The last named assented to this new proposition and Mr. Latz, with his customary good sportsmanship, subscribed $2,500, which was the amount he had been prepared to offer for the match. In addition, he declared his readiness to extend the hospitality of his hotel to all the participants.
In order to make sure of our ground before proceeding any fu rther, I cabled to Messrs. Richard Hirschfeld & Co. of Berlin, who very kindly offered to handle the negotiations for us on the other side. To our great satisfaction, we shortly received a reply by cable stating that all the masters we had in view, including Dr. Lasker, were willing to participate. In the meantime we had received a similar acceptance from Capablanca.
Thereupon a committee was fo rmed under the leadership of Mr. Herbert R. Limburg, president of the Manhattan Chess Club, and a preliminary meeting took place at that club in January. Somewhat to my surprise, I was declared to be very optimistic, but not hopelessly crazy. It was decided to devote a week to intensive canvassing ("schnorring")in order to ascertain roughly the support we could count upon. At the next meeting, a week later, we found-to the surprise of everybody except myself, I believe-that we had in sight the sum of $6,500. Therefore, we decided it would be safe to go ahead with the issuance of the official invitations.
Owing to the good officesof Mr. J. Zeisler of Messrs. Richard Hirschfeld & Co. the preliminary work of obtaining passports and steamer reservations for the Eu ropean masters was accomplished very quickly, and on February 26 we were able to announce that all the masters had sailed from Europe on the S. S. Cleveland.
II New York 1924
In the meantime the members of the committee were working at top speed in collecting fu nds from chess lovers and others privileged to contribute without, in some cases, having ever heard of chess. Several of the members, especially Mr. Finn and the well-known Meyer brothers, not to mention others, had carriedthe matter to its logical conclusion, with the result that their friends refused to recog nize them at casual meetings, fe aring the inevitable outcome of any conversation with them.
With the hearty co-operation of Dr. Arthur A. Bryant and Mr. Helms, the prepara tions at this end were carried fo rward with the least possible delay and on March 8 we were able to welcome the masters at the docks with the satisfying knowl edge that everything was ship-shape, barring,perhaps, some of the masters. Sev eral unforeseen incidents helped to maintain the interest and contribute a bit of anxiety, chiefly the illness ofCapablanca from a severe attack ofla grippe, which made his participation in the tournamentsomewhat doubtful up to the last minute.
On March II a general rapid-transit tournament was held at the Manhattan Chess Club, wherein seven of the masters participated. A large number of leading local amateurs also took part. The result was a not unexpected victoryfor Capablanca, but the amateurs made a remarkably good showing, and among the firstsix prize winners were members of the Manhattan Chess Club-Messrs. Schapiro, Tenner and L. B. Meyer.
On March 15 the opening banquet was held at the Alamac Hotel and attended by over 300 persons. It was a great success, this being due mainly to the splendid preparations made by Mr. Latz, the general manager of the hotel. The speakers were Herbert R. Limburg, Bainbridge Colby, Alrick H. Man, Dr. Emanuel Lasker, Harry Latz, Millard H. Ellison, Walter J. Rosston and Harold M. Phillips.
The number of the firstround of the tournamentwas drawn on March 16 at I :45 p.m. in the Japanese Room of the Alamac Hotel, which had been decorated most lavishly in the national colors of the different players. By a rule of the committee the numbers of the rounds were drawn from day to day and this made it impos sible for any player to know in advance the identity of his opponent. Maintenance of interest in the competition was not a little aided thereby. The luck of the draw ing gave Dr. Lasker the bye in the firstround, but on the second day he was paired with Capablanca and a fitting debut was thus provided for the fo rmer world's champion.
The keen interest taken by the general public in the tournamentwas one of the revelations of the event, and the gate receipts footed up more than twice the amount of the most optimistic estimate. The net receipts exceeded $3,500 and would doubtless have been much more than that, but for the restricted space in the play ing room. It is very encouraging to fe el that at fu ture tournaments the gate re ceipts can be relied upon as probably the most important contribution toward the expenses.
12 Introduction
It is not necessary for me to dwell at length upon the progress of the tournament itself in view of the fa ct that this is being dealt with thoroughly elsewhere by such authorities as Messrs. Alekhine and Helms, but will content myself by saying that the competition proceeded very smoothly, without any unpleasant incident what ever, and that the conduct of all connected with it was most sportsmanlike. It is a great satisfaction to me to be able to say that the members of the board of referees were not called upon to officiate throughout the tournament, and that the few triflingincidents which arose were easily settled by the tournamentdirectors.
Needless to say, the public interest displayed in this tournamentwas also reflected by the splendid report in the American newspapers. Most of this work, the impor tance of which cannot very well be exaggerated, was done by the two veterans, Cassel and Helms. I fe ar, however, that they sadly transgressed union hours.
The off-days were used by most of the masters to take in such sights as were of interest to them, and I personally spent many delightful hours with them. On those occasions I discovered, amongst other things, that even great chess masters are human at times and delightful company when out of sight of the magic squares. One of these excursions was to the Bronx Zoo and was very much enlivened by a long interview between "Suzan," prize orangutang, and Dr. Tartakower, who dedi cated his next game to the new found friend-to the utmost satisfaction of his adversary, who won it.
The finalgathering for the distribution of prizes took place at the Alamac Hotel on April 19 and was honored by the presence of City Commissioner Grover Whalen, Mr. Limburg presiding. Quite a number of speeches were made, some good and some bad (I had to speak myself)and, judging from the applause, were enjoyed by the very large audience. The award of prizes was followed by an informal supper and dance, at which the younger generation of players displayed hyper-modern ideas in dancing as they had previously done in chess.
On April I a problem-solving contest for prizes was held. Isaac Kashdan of the College of the City of New York, firstamong the amateurs, made the best record of all the competitors, and Richard Reti took first prize in the master class.
In conclusion, I wish to state that the thanks of the committee are due to one and all who in any way contributed to the success of this notable meeting of the mas ters, and to express the hope that it may not be another twenty years before a similar high class congress is held in this country.
13 Review of the Tournament
In view of the very complete and painstaking analysis of the games made by Mr. Alekhine and his invaluable theoretical treatise upon the openings, to be fo und in the appendix, it will merely be necessary here to record the outcome of the tour nament, dwell upon the outstanding features of the play and summarize the actual results. First of all then, it is in order to set down the list of entries and the coun tries they represented:
Alexander Alekhine of Russia E. D. Bogoljubow of Ukrainia Jose R. Capablanca of Cuba Dawid Janowsky of France Frank J. Marshall of America Edward Lasker of America Dr. Emanuel Lasker of Germany Geza Mar6czy of Hungary Richard Reti of Czecho Slovakia Dr. Savielly G. Tartakower of Austria F. D. Yates of England
A quick appraisal of what happened during the twenty-two rounds of the tourna ment cannot better be obtained than by a perusal of the appended table, in which the masters are placed in the order in which they finished: Points Players Won Lost Draw w. L. Dr. Lasker 13 I 6 16 4 Capablanca 10 I 9 14Y, 5Y, Alekhine 6 2 12 12 8 Marshall 6 4 10 II 9 Reti 9 8 3 JOY:. 9Yz Mar6czy 6 6 8 10 10 Bogoljubow 8 9 9Y, JOY, Dr. Tartakower 4 8 12 Yates 5 II 4 13 Ed. Lasker 2 9 9 6Yz 13Y, Janowsky 3 13 4 5 15
The cash prizes, none of which had to be divided, were the fo llowing: First, $1 ,500; second, $1,000; third, $750; fo urth, $500; fifth, $250. In addition, consolation money was paid out to the non-prize winners at the rate of $25 for every win and $12.50 for each draw.
The list of special prizes included the fo llowing:
14 Review of the Tournament
First brilliancy prize (silver cup from W. M. Vance of Princeton, N. 1., and $75 in gold from Albert H. Loeb of Chicago), to Richard Reti of Czechoslovakia for his game against Bogoljubow.
Second brilliancy prize ($50 from Abb Landis of Nashville, Tenn.), to Frank J. Marshall of America for his game against Bogoljubow.
Third brilliancy prize ($25 from Edward L. Torsch of Baltimore, Md.), to Jose R. Capablanca of Cuba for his game against Dr. Lasker.
First special prize for the best-played game among non-prize winners ($35 from Edward L. Torsch of Baltimore, Md.), to Dr. S. G. Tartakower of Austria for his game against Yates.
Second special prize for the best-played game among non-prize winners ($25 from Albert H. Loeb of Chicago), to E. D. Bogoljubow ofUkrainia for his game against Dr. Tartakower. Special prize for the best-defended game ($25 from J. Appleton, New York), to E. D. Bogoljubow of Ukrainia for his game against Mar6czy.
Special prize for the best score by a non-prize winner against the prize-winners ($40 from the Tournament Committee, equally divided between G. Mar6czy of Hungary and Edward Lasker ofAmerica, each 2Yz points.
Medals were also awarded as prizes to the amateurs who made the best showing in the problem solving competition, as fo llows:
First prize, a gold medal, to I. Kashdan of the College of the City of New York. Second and third prizes (a tie), silver medals, to John F. Barry of Boston and Alfred Schroeder of New York.
Owing to the fact that Dr. Lasker drew a bye in the opening round, it was not until the seventh round that he shook off those who were disputing with him the hon ors of firstplace. In the meantime, Alekhine had held the lead at the close of the second round. Dr. Tartakower enjoyed that distinction in the third and fourth rounds, but was tied by Bogoljubow in the fifth. Then, in the sixth, came a triple tie between Dr. Lasker, Dr. Tartakower and Alekhine, after which Dr. Lasker as serted himself and kept ahead until the end of the firsthalf. In fact, barring a tie with Capablanca in the fifteenth round, in which Dr. Lasker again had a bye, he was never overtaken until premier honors were safely in his possession.
Capablanca, after playing fivegames without winning one, finallymade his pres ence fe lt in the seventh round, when, co-equal with Alekhine and Reti at 4, he was half a point behind Dr. Lasker in wins. On the fo llowing day, Alekhine was second, with Capablanca third. The next day fo und Capablanca tied with Alekhine,
15 New York 1924
closely fo llowed by Reti. The situation remained unchanged in the tenth round, but in the eleventh-the half-way mark-Aiekhine slipped into second place, be low Dr. Lasker, with Capablanca and Reti tied at 6, half a point below. Bogoljubow, Mar6czy, Marshall and Dr. Tartakower were all tied at 5 points. With slight changes, these players held their own until the close of the tournament.
With colors reversed, the eleven masters started upon the strenuous and some what nerve-racking second half of the tournament.First, Alekhine and Reti shared the honors of second place, with Capablancajust below. Then Reti fo rged ahead a bit, with Capablanca third and Alekhine fo urth. In the fo urteenth round the order was Capablanca, Reti and Alekhine. On the next day, when the world's champion joined Dr. Lasker temporarily, Alekhine was third and Reti fo urth, while Bogoljubow, Mar6czy and Marshall were bunched below.
Beginning with the sixteenth round, Capablanca and Alekhine maintained their respective positions, second and third, right to the end. Reti, after shaking off Bogoljubow, was finallyjoined by Marshall in the nineteenth round. From the twentieth round on, Marshall kept fourth place. Reti, on the other hand, was brack eted with Bogoljubow in the twentieth and twenty-first rounds, but pulled away safely, to secure the fifth prize, in the twenty-second and final round.
The first thing that impresses one in perusing the score table showing the cross play between the masters is the fact that the total of each stands out by itself and that there is not a single tie between any of them. In this respect the tournament is probably unique among competitions of its kind. At the end of the first half, before the players changed colors, there was a tie between Capablanca and Reti for third place, and another between Bogoljubow, Mar6czy, Marshall and Dr. Tartakower, for fifth place.
In the second half, Capablanca displaced Alekhine, who was second and dropped to third, while Marshall moved up into fo urth place. The American made the biggest gain and Reti suffered the severest setback by going into fifth place. Both Mar6czy and Bogoljubow held their own fa irly well, being placed just below the prize winners.
Dr. Tartakower,however, showed a distinct falling off in form. Yates,by gaining 4Y2 points in the second half, changed places with Janowsky, who added only I Y:.. Edward Lasker played most consistently, scoring first3 points and finishingwith a total of 6Y>. Although he did not win a game outright in the first half, he took the measure of two opponents before the end of the tournament.
Coming to the two chief winners, Dr. Lasker won outright 13 games, defeating Bogoljubow, Janowsky, Mar6czy, and Reti twice each. He drew games with Alekhine, Capablanca, Edward Lasker, Marshall, Dr. Tartakower and Yates. His only loss was to Capablanca in the second half.
16 Review of the Tournament
C apablanca 's only defeat was at the hands of Reti in the fifthround of the tourna ment, at which stage the world's champion had not won a single game outright. Reti was fifth prize winner. It was in the fifth game of the match at Havana that Capablanca first defeated Dr. Lasker. One wonders whether there is anything in numbers! The Cuban allowed nine draws, of which Alekhine and Marshall ob tained two each, the rest going to Janowsky, Edward Lasker, Dr. Lasker, Mar6czy and Yates.
Alekhine and Marshall were the "drawing masters" of the tournament,the fo rmer topping the list with twelve and the latter coming next with ten. Alekhine, how ever, lost only two games to Dr. Lasker and Reti, respectively. Marshall lost four to Bogoljubow, Dr. Lasker, Mar6czy and Dr. Tartakower.
Reti, the other prize winner, won more games than either Alekhine or Marshall, but also lost more. He drew but three.
The gradation from top to bottom of the list is very even, the greatest difference being between the second and third prize winners. The rest were in no case wider apart than I Y2 points.
Of the II 0 games, 72 had decisive results and the other 38 were drawn. The draws, therefore, were not excessive. The prize winners scored 44 of the wins between them and the non-prize winners, 28.
17 First Round
In accordance with a ruling ofthe TournamentCommit tee, the pairings were made in advance for the entire twenty-two rounds by a system of allotting a number to every one of the eleven contestants, but the number of each round in this sched ule was not made known until drawn fr om a hat by one of the players fifteen minutes before the time of beginning play each day. The luck of the drawing on March 16 decreed that particular round in which Dr. Lasker had the bye. Conse quently, the chief actor in this international drama remained idle for the time being and filled the role of spectator, instead of taking his place upon the stage. Alekhine and Dr. Tartakower were the two victors, the other three games being drawn.
The attendance was most gratifying and the large audience fo llowed with close attention the moves ofthe masters as they were quickly reproduced by a corps of tellers on large boards hung at a convenient height upon the wall directly above where the players sat. These were surmounted by handsome shields emblematic of the various countries represented in the tournament.
Afterbeing thus recorded, the moves were relayed to the press room outside and soon the wires were busy acquainting an anxious public with the details of the play in which some of the greatest of living masters were striving to outdo one another. A special cable service, direct from the Alamac, was carrying the moves as far away as South America!
The games were timed at first by a set of clocks imported especially for the occa sion, but, as they fa iled to give fu ll satisfaction, they were supplanted by others of American make, which held their own well until the end of the tournament.
Coming to the actual play, Janowsky sprang a new move (but not the result of midnight oil) upon the world's champion in a Queen's Gambit Declined. Capablanca eventually was glad to sacrificea knight in order to fo rce a draw by perpetual check, thereby relieving himself of an otherwise unsatisfactory posi tion.
Yates was outplayed by Alekhine in a Steinitz Defense to the Ruy Lopez. The British player, however, missed a continuation which might have made it exceed ingly difficultfor his opponent to realize upon his material advantage.
An Indian Defense was played by Reti against Marshall, the fo rmer having rather the better of it throughout. The American did not allow his adversary's slight positional advantage to become consequential.
Ed Lasker started the tournament well by drawing with the master of defense:
18 First Round
Mar6czy. This was another Indian, with Lasker fightingvery hard to hold his own in the ending.
Dr. Tartakower boldly essayed a King's Gambit against Bogoljubow, and his dar ing was rewarded with success. Nevertheless,it was a case of nip and tuck almost right to the end, when the Ukrainian, playing very hard to win, got the worst of it.
(I) Janowsky,D- Capablanca,J 10 ...f6 Queen's Gambit Declined [D67] The weakening of the e6-square is not 1 d4 .£Jf6 2 .£lf3d5 3 c4 e6 4 .£lc3 justified and causes embarrassment to .Q.e7 Black. Instead, he might as well have held the position in abeyance while Of greater promise than the antiquated completing his development: method here seems to be 4 ...c6, so as to 10... 4:\xc3 11 bxc3 (or 11 Eixc3 f6 12 meet 5 e3 (better anyway, to our way .llxe6+ �h8, winning the exchange) of thinking, is 5 .llg5 h6 6 .llxf6) with 11...b6, fo llowed by ....llb7, etc. It ) ...4:\bd7 6 .Jld3 dxc4 (Rubinstein) 7 would have been difficult for White .llxc4 b5 8 .Jld3 a6, fo llowed by ... c5. thereafter tobuild up a lasting kingside attack. 5 .Q.g5 0-06 e3 .£jbd77 §cl c6 8 .Q.d3 dxc4 9 Axc4 .£ld5 10 h4 11 Af4 .£lxf4 12 exf4 .£!b6 13 .Q.b3 .£Jd5 14g3 �e8
Because of his weakness in the center, Black now experiences difficultywith his queen's bishop. The text move in dicates an attempt to post the queen upon strong squares where it may be possible to force an exchange. Such a plan White is able to frustrate most sim ply by means of 15 h5, but his next move likewise is good enough.
If this is not a new move (in these days 15 �d3 �h5 16 .Q.d1.Q.b4 one can hardly make such a claim, for, sooner or later, some person will come In order to meet 17 4:\e5fa vorably with fo rward and prove black on white that 17.. . flf5.At the same time, a little trap he used this move decades ago in some is set with this move, which works out class C tournament or perchance in a all right, too. coffee house game and hence demand parental recognition), it has neverthe 17 0-0 less been well forgotten. More promis ing, doubtless, is it than 10 .llxe7 f!/xe7 After 17 �fl, the problem for the de 11 0-0 4:\xc3 12 Eixc3 e5. fense would be still far from being
19 New York 1924
solved. Now the game terminates most ing forced to embark upon a doubtful unexpectedly. sacrificialvariation beginning with 8 c3.
17.. . .Q.xc3 18 bxc3 5 0-0
Castling makes a somewhat indifferent impression-quite possibly, wrongly so. Seriously to be considered are the fo l lowing two continuations: (I) 5 .>lxc6+ bxc6 6 d4, and Black has the unpleasant choice between a surren der of the center, which would provide splendid prospects for the white queen 's bishop, for instance, 6 ...exd4 7 18 . . . .£}xf4 tection ofthe same through 6 .. .f6 which would bind him positionally to a fur With this move the champion emerges ther weakening of the kings ide through from a somewhat precarious situation. ...g6 (followed by ...�g7); and such White clearly has no alternativebut to commitments for which the opponent accept the sacrifice, else he would ob can take measures in advance are for tain no return for the lost pawn. the most part fatal. (II) 5 c3, if he should wish to cross 19 gxf4 �g4+ 20 �h1 Black's plan as carriedout in this game. For instance, 5 ...g6 6 d4 �d7 7 �g5. Again fo rced, since 20 'it'h2 '\;)rxf4+ 21 The fu rther course of the game, how 'it'h1'\;)rxcl 22 �c2 '\;)ra3would have led ever, shows that White has no good rea to nothing. son to contest this tendency on the part of Black, and precisely in this lies its theoretical value. (2) Yates,F- Alekhine,A 5 ...g6 Ruy Lopez [C76] Very enticing, inasmuch as Black holds 1 e4 e5 2 .£lf3.£}c6 3 .Q.b5a6 4 .Q.a4 the center and at the same time goes on d6 with his development. The bad features of this line of play soon become appar This variation of the Steinitz Defense ent and thus prove the common opin seems to be better than 3 ...d6 at once, ion that an early fianchetto development as White after 5 d4 must now reckon and especially the king's fianchetto in with either choosing an immediate the open game (as in the Ruy Lopez and drawing line (5 . .. b5 6 �b3 20 First Round 6c3 After 6 d4, there could have fo llowed ' 6 ...b5 7 Ab3 .llg7 8 AdS -'td7. 6 ... ..1l.g7 7 d4 Ad7 s Ag5 The idea underlying this seemingly un natural move is to induce Black to adopt the less satisfactory development of the king's knight at e7. In fact, after8 .lle3 9dxe5 His play here is without object. By means of 13 .llcS (somewhat better than Limiting the sphere of action of the the immediate 13 .§.d1), White could fianchettoedbishop and opening at the have fu lly rounded out his selected right time the d-file as a base for fu ture method of play and fo rced his opponent operations. into an uncomfortably cramped posi tion, which would have led at least to 9 ... dxe5 10 �d3 the deterioration of Black's pawn struc ture. The actual and harmless devel This move, too, which is really the logi oping move, on the contrary, leads him cal consequence of the last one, has strangely enough to a serious disadvan been unjustly criticized. It prevents tage. Black fr om castling immediately, which he might do freely after 10"if!e2 0 -0 (11 n ...f5 14 h3 Ah5 15 Ab3+ .§.d1 "if!e8). Or 15 .llcS fxe4 16 '\ifxe4 .§.f4 17 'l:!c2 10... h6 11 Ae3 Ag4 e4. Relatively better than 11...0-0, after which White could play with advantage 12 .llcS .llg4(e6) 13 '\ife3. Not 15 ... \ti'h7, on account of 16 exfS gxfS 17 21 New York 1924 16 exf5 the white squares on which the adver sary is none too strong. In connection with the next move, this is the most effective method of getting 22 �xg4 �xe3+ 23 �h1 �xd2 24 rid of the annoying pin. .§g1 �g5 16... gxf5 17 g4 fxg4 18 .£je1 Instead of this attempt to reach a win ning ending through the return of a This retreat, however, fa ils in the light pawn, the simple 24 ...Af6 would have of a closely calculated counter com been all-sufficient for the purposes of bination which yields Black eventually defense. For instance, 25 4:lf3 �f4 26 a pawn. Better would have been 18 �h5 (h3) 26 ...e4, etc. 4:lh2,whereupon Black, by means of ...4:ld5 and ...4:lxe3, could have ob 25 �h3 tained at least the advantage of two bishops. After 25 �xg5 hxg5 26 Elxg5 Eif6 27 .lld5 Eid8,Black would have been able 18 ... .£Jd5 19 hxg4 to realize without difficulty upon his superiority in material. Or 19 Axd5 �xd5 20 hxg4 Ag6 21 �c4 Eiad8, witha far superior game. 19... .£Jxe3 20 fxe3 �g5 21 J}.e6 So that, after 27 Axb7 Eiab8 28 Ae4, the carrying out of White's attack may be prevented by means of28 ...�f4 (not 28 ...Eixb2, because of 29 4:ld3 and 30 Eiafl). 27 J}.e4 .£Jf5 Now 27 ... �f4 would be quite futile on account of 28 .llxb7, fo llowed by 29 4:ld3, etc. 28 .£if3 Obviously forced. After this mistake, the struggle comes 21... J}.xg4 to an early end. 28 <£ld3would have set Black a difficultproblem, inasmuch as A little surprise;if White captures with it would not have been possible to re- the bishop, then Black will recapture ply either with 28... �h4 (on account of with 22 ...h5, with a pawn plus and a 29 Axf5) or 28 ...4Jd6 (on account of permanent pressure. White, therefore, 29 Eig6 andEixh6+ ). The best for Black, sacrificesa second pawn in the hope of after 28 4:ld3, would have been being able to utilize in his counterplay 28... Eiad8 (again threatening ... �h4) 29 22 First Round �adl b6 (thereby threatening to dis This move, however, does not fit into lodge the knight with c5-c4) 30 b4 E!d6 the system, inasmuch as, after the ex 31 �g4 (or 31 Elg2 �h4 32 JlxfS �xh3 change on f3 the d4-square becomes 33 :.lxh3 E!f3)31... h5 32 �xhS+ �h6 weak. Likewise 6 h3 does not seem to and. after the exchange of queens, the be the best on general principles. White extra pawn would have won eventually. has no reason to keep his adversary from moving .!lg4,whereby he commits 28 ... 4)d6 himself to an exchange of the bishop sooner or later. An obligation of that And now, in answer to 29 E!g6, kind on the part of an opponent, upon 29.. . -i:lxe4would decide and, if29 4Jd2, which one may reckon in advance, is then 29 ...�f4 . per sean advantage. Besides, after 6h3, Black has at his disposal the interest 29 Ad5 ing reply of6... c5 7 dxcS (7 dS, which is probably better, affords an outlook \Vhat fo llows is sheer desperation. for the fianchettoed bishop) 7 ... �a5 8 cxd6 4Jxe49 dxe7 E!e8, etc. Therefore, 29 ... c6 30 E{xg7 ctixg7 31 E{g1+ it appears that 6 .lle2 and, if 6 ....ll g4, ctihB32 4)xe5 cxd5 33 �h5 4)e4 then 7 .lle3 (Griinfeld vs Takacz, 34 4Jg6+ ctih735 �xd5 4Jg3+0-1 Meran, 1924), is the most suitable in order to retain the opening advantage. A bit of fun for a pretty ending. After 36 Elxg3 �fl + 37 �h2 (37 Elg1 �h3*) 6... Ag4 7h3 37 ...Elf2+ 38 Elg2 �xg2+ 39 �xg2 ::;xg2+and ... �xg6, Black remains with The development of the bishop at d3 is a rook to the good. so contrary to positional play that it could be perhaps best to withdraw that (3) Marshaii,F- Reti,R piece to e2, notwithstanding the loss of King's Indian Defense [E90] a tempo. 1 d4 4)f6 2 4Jf3 g6 3 c4Ag7 4 4Jc3 7 ...Axf 3 8 �xf3 4Jfd79 .Q.e3 c5 0-0 5 e4 d6 The method of development employed here by White against the Indian de fe nse is considered the best by several modem masters, among them Griinfeld, Johner and others. To our way ofthink ing, it is apt to be favorable to the player having the move, much as in the four pawn game in the Indian. In the latter, however, the problem is shown in a more succinct and clear form. The continuation of9 ... 4Jc6 10 dS (not 6Ad3 10 4Je2eS 11 dS 4Jd4)10 ...4Jce5 would 23 New York 1924 have led to similar positions as the text for instance: 19 �xbS c4 (clearly the move. reason for the pawn sacrifice)20 AxeS AxeS (or 20 ... §fb8 21 ffc6ffxc6 22 10 d5 4)e5 11 �e2 4)xd3+ 12 dxc6 AxeS 23 §cl Axb2 24 f!xc4with �> 14... a6 15 4)d1 �c7 16 .Q.c34)e5 Comparatively better would have been to keep the queenside intact and to ini Preparing for the subsequent over-dar tiate play in the center with 22 eS. The ing sacrifice of the pawn with the in advance of the a-pawn turns out to be tention of avoiding a fo rced draw. He aimless. could have held a good game with 16 ....ll xc3 17 24 First Round 25 ...4Jb6 would not have altered the 33 �a3 situation after 26 <£\a3, fo llowed by -Zlc4. The saving counterattack. 26 �xc4 �bS 27 �c2 t\'xe2 2S 33 ••• �xb2 34 �aS+ �d7 35 �a7+ �xe2 �dS 36 e5 dxe5 37fxe5 c4 3S �e3 c3 39 �aS+ �c7 40 �a7+ �dS 41 �aS+ �c7 42 �a7+ �b7 After the capture of this passed pawn, everyshadow of danger disappears. 43 �a3 c2 44 �c3+ �d7 45 �xc2 �b3+ 46 �d4 �xh3 47 �a2 �g3 Now the exchange ofrooks, on the con trary, would have led to loss for Black. For instance: 47 ... f!b3 48 fla7+ l!td8 The ending is by no means easily play 49 f!a8+ l!tc7 50 fla7+ flb7 51 d6+ able for White, on account of his weak exd6 52 exd6+ l!tc653 f!xb71!txb7 54 b-pawn. In the subsequent play this g51!tc6 551!te51!td7561!td5, and wins. problem is solved by Marshall in ex emplary fa shion. 4S �a7+ �dS 49 �aS+ �c7 50 �a7+ �dS 1/2-1/2 2S..• �b4 29 �f2 �fS 30 �f3 �d4 (4) Lasker,Ed.- Maroczy,G With the intention of .. .f5, etc. Pirc Defense [B08] 31 g4 �eS 1 d4 l£)f6 2 .£lf3 g63 .£lc3 :-.low, however,he suddenly drops this This move is not to be recommended, plan and thereby lightens his opponent's inasmuch as White, through the prema task. To be sure, after 31.. .f5 32 gxf5 ture blocking of his c-pawn, prescribes gxf5 33 exf5 l''lxd5 34 l!tg4 f!dl 35 for himself without reason a very lim �e6, the draw is not out of the ques ited scope for development. More elas tion; nevertheless this continuation tic (that is, offering more possibilities would have offered Black better to prepare himself in the subsequent chances than the fu tile attempt to cross moves for the system adopted by his with his king to the queenside. opponent) would be, in our judgment, 3 .llf4 at once. 32 �e3 �b4 3 ... Jtg7 Now 32 .. .f5 would certainly not do, on account of 33 gxf5 gxf5 34 exf5 f!xd5 Concerning 3 ... d5, which, by the way, 35 f6, etc. is in no way in harmony with the flank 25 New York 1924 development of the king's bishop, see the games between Capablanca and Yates (Game 32) and Marshall and Ed Lasker (Game 83). 4e4d6 5 h3 The necessity of this move is not ap parent here, for it was not at all required of him to prevent Ag4. 5 Af4 at once, fo llowed by tfd2, seems to be, there fo re, more in order. This attack was not to be criticized ex 5 ...0-0 6 Af4 ./ilbd7 7 'ls\'d2 cept in the event that Black resorted to it a preparation for action in the center. lf7 e5, then 7 ... €le8, threatening ...c5, Otherwise,the immediate ll...e6 mer with advantage for Black. ited serious consideration. 7... c5 12 ./ild2 e5 An advance, strategically correct in An astonishing strategic error for a similar positions, and which increases player like Mar6czy, which suddenly considerably the effectiveness of the gives the opponent the better game. As fianchettoed bishop. a matter of course, he should have played 12 ... e6! in order to open new 8d5a6 lines for the black pieces, for instance: 13 dxe6 fxe6 14 €lb3 "iiic7, fo llowed But here the most effective would have by ...d5, etc. Afterthe text move, block been 8 ...l"le8, in order, after 9 Ah6, to ing the position, White obtains the time be able to retain the bishop by means he needs to complete his development of a retreat to the h8-square and, in ad and thereupon to seize the initiative for dition, to prepare for an eventual ... e6. himselfthrough the counterstroke off4. 9Ah6 13 Ae2 h6 White immediately seizes this opportu This move, as well as the next, indicates nity to ease his game somewhat by this quite clearly that Black for the moment exchange. has lost his cue. 9 ... b5 10 Axg7 �xg7 11 'ls\'e3 14 0-0 'ls\'dS 15 a4 b4 16 ./ilcb1 a5 17 ./ilc4./ilb6 18 ./ilxb6 'ls\'xb6 19 f4 The e-pawn obviously was in need of protection. White has properly utilized his opponent's error on the twelfth move ll... 'ls\'a5 and should now obtain the advantage if 26 First Round he had perceived in time at his next Black, to be sure, loses a piece in re move a finesse in the defense of Black. turn, but receives fo r it a pawn in quite simple fashion. It is hardly to be ex 19 ... exf4 20 ftxf4 pected, therefore, that White can escape from this position with a whole skin. Correct would have been 20 �xf4 and, if 20 ...�d8, then 21 4Jd2�e7 22 ..Q.b5, 27 ... ftbb8 followed by E!ae1 and 4Jc4.The differ ence between this line of play and the Black believes he has still time as 28 one actually adopted will at once be gxh5 can be met by 28 ...�g5 +. The apparent. continuation, however, shows that he should have proceeded more energeti 20 ... 't�'d8 21 4)d2'i}Je7 cally in order to make sure of superior Threatening 22 ...4:lxd5 and preventing ity in material. To that end 27... �e5 in this way .llb5, followed by 4Jc4. would have been the most fo rceful, for instance: 28 gxh5 �xh5 or 28 �f2 E!b7 22 4)c4 .lla6 23 4)b6 after which White could not save the pawn. The interesting complication thus intro duced should have led eventually to the 28 'i}Jf2f5 loss of a pawn. But even after 23 E!e1, for instance, Black would have assured This advance, clearly planned at his himself of the far superior game through previous move, leads strangely enough the exchange on c4, followed by bring only to a draw. But neither could the ing the knight over to e5. game have been won with 28 ...§b7 29 gxh5 �g5+ 30 �g3, etc. 23 ...ftab8 24 ftafl 4:\h5 29 gxh5 fxe4 Seemingly winning the exchange. White however, has in readiness an in Or 29 ...�xe4 30 �g3! §£6 31 §xf5. genious reply. 30 ftxf8 ftxf8 31 'l}fxf8+ 'i}Jxf8 32 25 ft4f3 .ll xe2 26 'i}Jxe2 ftxb6 27 ftxf8 �xf8 33 �f2 g4 Of course not 33 hxg6 ' 33 ...�g7 34 �e3 g5 Or 34 ...gxh5 35 h4! ' 35 �xe4 �f6 36 b3 Had this move perchance occurred in 27 New York 1924 the middlegame, then the game could best. Black, to be sure, is not altogether be resigned fo rthwith. successful in demonstrating these ad vantages, but the improvement intro 36... �e7 37 1i!;ld3 �f6 38 �e4 duced by Capablanca in the nineteenth round (see Game 92) makes this method White is fo rced to repeat the moves, as of play worthyof consideration. Fairly 38 �c4 loses, for instance: 38... �e5 39 good also, although not quite sufficient �bS �xdS 40 �xaS �c6! 41 �a6 dS to work out a distinct advantage for 42 �aS d4 43 �a6 c4! Black, is 3 ...4Jd7 (Dr. Tartakower vs. Alekhine, Game 43). The most force 38 ... �e7 39 �d3 �f6 40 �e4 ful reaction to the bishop move which �e7 41 �d3 1h-1f2 blocked his own queen, however, seems to be 3 .. .f5, for instance: 4 exfS ( 4 eS, (5) Tartakower,S- Bogoljubow,E played in a sample game to be fo und King's Gambit Accepted [C33] in the Handbuch, cannot very well be considered on account of 4 ...d6, etc.) 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 .Q.e2 4 ...'{£rh4+ 5 �fl dS and if 6 .llhS+, then 6 .. .' The simplest reply and perhaps also the 7 Axf4 dxc4 28 First Round OtherwiseWhite could attempt, through 18 .§af1f6 an eventual cS, to establish a pawn su periority on the queenside. The weakening of the a2-g8 diagonal was not to be easily prevented, as the 8 Axc4 Ab4+ 9 �c3 0-0 10 �ge2 important move of ... <£Jc4, which could Ag4 11 0-0 �bd7 12 �b3 Axc3 not be made at once on account of 19 l.l.xc4'i!:rxc4 20 'i!:rxb7,could not be pre pared in any other way. 19 .Q.d3 �c4 20 .§h3 Provoking a fu rther weakening of the black king's position, which however, can here be endured. 20 ...g6 21 .§e1 Black really had no good reason to Now Black makes the best of a posi avoid the fo llowing drawing combina tion which is not particularly fa vorable, tion of the opponent, for after21 .llc1 in that he allows his opponent the two Black, through 21...'i!:rc6 22 a4 a6 23 bishops, obtaining in return strong 'i!:rc2 fS, fo llowed eventually by ...§f7 points of support for his knights, which and ...bS, would have fo rtified himself will permithim to bring pressure to bear on white squares and, at the least, would upon the center pawns. Notwithstand have no inferiority. ing that appearances are favorable to White, the positions in fa ct are almost 21...�xd2 22 �xd5+ �f7 even. Better than 22 ... §f7, whereupon White 13 bxc3 �b6 14 .Q.d3 �fd5 15 could have continued the attack with .Q.d2 .Q.xe2 1"1he3. Only logical. With the support of the 23 �xf7+ .§xf7 24 .§e2 �c4 25 knight, the white c-pawn could have .§e8+ been advanced much more easily. With this additional exchange of rooks, 16 .Q.xe2 .§c8 17 .§f3 White obtains a microscopic positional Also after17 c4 <£Jf6 18 dS <£Je4 19 .llb4 advantage in the rook ending, as Black �e8, Black could have defended him must lose a tempo for the protection of self successfully. his h-pawn. 25... .§xe8 26 .Q.xc4 h527 �f2 .§c8 28 .Q.xf7+ �xf7 29 .§e3 b5 By this means the c-pawn becomes paralyzed for a long time. The simplest way to draw. The coun- 29 New York 1924 terattack of 29... E!.c4 would have been In order to answer 32 ...E!.e6 with 33 questionable because of the immediate E!.b2. advance of White's passed pawns, for instance: 30 d5 E!.a4 31 E!.e2 E!.c4 32 d6 32... g5 33Etb2 E!.> 34 ...\tle7 35 \tld4g4 36 \tlc5 A cast into the water which, however, does no harm, inasmuch as White is able to bring about the identical position. 31... h4 36 ...Etb8 37 \tld4 Did Black indeed wish still to play for The pawn ending after37 E!.> 30 First Round with the threat, by §f4, ofattacking the hostile rook into his camp; but he had k i ngside pawns. This continuation nothing better. would have refuted the insufficientde fense initiated by Black with 3l...h4. 42 ...a6 43 �d4 38 . . . g3 39 a3 �d7 40 �c5 Threatening 44 c4. '\either should this attempt to win be 43 ... .§e8 44 �d3 ;my more successful.In reply to 40 §b4, Black could have answered 40 ... §a6. Again the ending would have been lost for White after 44 axb5 §e4+ 45 'it>d3 40 ... .§b8 41 .§b4 §xb4 46 cxb4 axb5, etc. '\ow41 §xb5 would lead to a lost game after 41...l'hb5+ 42 �xb5 f5 43 �c4 44 . ..bxa4 f-t -!4'i!td3 f3. Of course not 44 ...§e 4, for, after 45 §.xe4 fxe4+ 46 'it>xe4 bxa4 47 'i!td3, the king would be fo und to be within the zone of the passed pawn. 45 .§xa4 .§el 46 .§xa6 .§gl A deplorable mistake, which deprives Black of the fru its of his excellent de fe nse. With the simple 46 ... §dl +, the game would have been drawn, for in stance: (I) 47 'i!tc4 §d2 48 'i!tc5 §xg2 49 §a7+ 'i!te8 50 'it>d6§d2, etc.; (II) 41 ... f5 47 'i!te3.§.x d5 48 §h6 §e5+ 49 'it>f3 .§.e450 §f6 .§.c4.After the text move, An ingenious defense, which clearly shows the inadequacy of his opponent's White connects his passed pawns and then wins without difficulty. plan to win. After 42 §xh4, Black would have had an easy draw with 47 .§a2 �d6 48 c4 �e5 49 .§e2+ -t2... §c8+ 43 'i!txb5 (if 43 'i!tb4, then �d6 50 .§c2 �c5 51 .§d2 .§fl -t3. . . §c4+ 44 §xc4 bxc4 45 'it>xc4 f4 and wins) 43... §x c3, inasmuch as the white king is now separated from the lf5l... .§.cl,White wins by means of 52 d-pawn. 'it>e3 'it>d6.§.d4 53 §c2 54 .§.xh4 §xg2 55 'i!tf3.§.gl 56 .§.d4. 42 a4 52 �e2 .§gl 53 �e3 �d6 54 c5+ Thereby White at last wins a pawn, per �xeS 55 d6 .§el+ 56 �f4 .§eS 57 mitting, however, the entrance of the d7 .§d8 58 �xf5 1-0 31 Second Round Four of the five games in this round were drawn. The only decisive result was that between Mar6czy and Alekhine. The latter, employing the defense which has been named afterhim, scored his second victory in succession. Mar6czy did not attempt to refute the knight's early entrance, and, a few moves later, went astray. Dr. Lasker and Capablanca discussed a very carefully conducted Ruy Lopez, a drawing position being reached in 30 moves. Ed. Lasker was outplayed by Bogoljubow in a Philidor's Defense. Bogoljubow gradually obtained a winning advantage, but, lacking precision on his fortieth move, gave Lasker the opportunity to evolve a clever combination which fo rced the draw. Marshall gained the upper hand against Dr. Tartakower's Dutch Defense, win ning a pawn. The Doctor, however, fought back valiantly to the end that Marshall, to escape worse consequences, fe lt constrained to yield a pawn in turn.An even rook and pawn ending was the outcome. Yates vs. Janowsky was a Steinitz Defense to the Ruy Lopez, in which Janowsky had the better of it all along. By plucky play Yates managed to hold his own. Reti had the bye. The score between the white and black pieces was 4Y,to 5Y,in fa vor of Black. (6) Lasker,Dr. - Capablanca,J successful attempt to revive the system Ruy Lopez [C66) of defense by Wolf against Mar6czy at Monte Carlo in 1903. 1 e4 e5 2 �f3 �c6 3 Ah5 d6 4 d4 Ad7 5 �c3 �f6 6 0-0 7 �xd4 Ae7 8 b3 6 -'l.xc6 Axc6 7 i!i'd3 can also be con At this point, where White has not lost sidered in order to keep in reserve the a tempo by l"!el to force ...exd4 (this possibility of castling on the queens ide position of the rook also diminishes his after the practically forced 7 ...exd4 chances of a direct kingside attack), the (7 ... <2ld7 8 -'l.g5!). fianchetto development of the queen's bishop seems very strong. 6 ...exd4 8 ... �xd4 Even now this same continuation (in stead of the former popular 7 l"!el) Wolf's method of simplification, the would give White a very promising at point ofwhich is disclosed by Black two tack. Therefore, Capablanca makes a moves later. 32 Second Round 9 �xd4 .ll,xbS 10 4)xbS4)d7 If here, or on the next move, Jlb2,then ... �g5!. By this move the intended Jlb2 has not been completely hindered, yet has been 16 ... f!c8 17 �h3 JileS 18 Ab2 made very difficult. The crisis of the �gS19 �g3 opening has begun. The exchange of queens, which assures the draw for Black, is hard to prevent. I9 §e3 would be fo llowed by I9 ...�g4. 19 ... �xg3 20 hxg3 f6 21 f3 'ifilf7 22 g4 h6 23 E!e2 4)c6 24 'ifjlf2 E!e7 2S Ac3 aS 26 E!dSb6 27 a4 E!e6 28 E!d1 E!ce8 29 E!ed2 'ifile7 30 'ifile3 'ifjld7 lh-1/2 (7) Maroczy,G- Alekhine,A Alekhine's Defense [B02] 11 Aa3 1 e4 4)f62 d3 Black can easily equalize matters after this move, which Mar6czy also made Herewith without more ado White fore in the game referred to. Even the alter goes the attempt to refute the move of native, II �c4, would be without dan the knight, for, aside from 2 ...e5, which ger for him, provided he did not play yields a satisfactory game, Black, by ll...cZJc5 12 e5 dxe5 (12... a6 13 exd6!) means of2 ...c5 might bring about a spe 1.3 ita3ae6 14 .!"ladi,etc., but simply cies of Sicilian Defense, with the hann- II ... c6, with the continuation ofi2 Cld4 (or-t'lc3) 12 ...0-0, and White has no time to utilize the temporary weakness at d6, in view of the threat to equalize mat ters with I3 ...d5 I4 exd5 Clb6(or also ... .af6). The game is not without theo retical interest. ll ... a6 12 4)c3.Q.f6 13 �e3 0-0 14 E!ad1 .ll,xc3 In the quoted game, Mar6czy vs. Wolf, l-t...Clb6 occurred here, whereupon White obtained a very superior game through IS f4. After this move, he has no more serious chances of attack. IS �xc3 E!e8 16 E!fe1 Alexander Alekhine New York 1924 less restrictive move of d3 on the part Neglecting to castle is a blunder with of White. serious consequences, all the more so as White presents his opponent with an 2 ...e5 3 f4 additional tempo. In order would have been 9 g3 iii'd4 10 iii'e2 0-0-0 11 c3 This and not 3 �f3, whereupon, after iii'xeS 12 0-0 iii'xe2 13 .llxe2 .lle7! and 3 ...�c6, there is not even a semblance . . .Af6, etc., with practically an even of an advantage for White, appears to game. us as the only logical continuation in the spirit of old Philidor. Thereafter it 9 . ..0-0-0 10 �c3 .llc5 behooves Black to fightvery strenu ously in order not to get the worst of it, Forcing the exchange of the queen's and for that reason this game is of theo bishop, whereupon the black squares in retical interest. the white camp become lamentably weak. 11 �e4 �e3+ 12 .\lxe3 .\lxe3 13 �e1 �h6 14 �g3 White evidently gets nothing from 4 fx eS �xeS S d4 �g6 6 eS �e4, fo l Likewise, after 14 �f2 �xeS 1S �g4 lowed by ... dS. Of interest is the sug �xg4 16 .llxg4+ �b8, etc., White could gestion of Dr. Lasker: 4 fx eS �xeS S scarcely have maintained a valid game �f3 �xf3+ 6 gxf3, but it appears that for long, on account of the overpower Black in this case also has the power of ing bishop on e3. fighting off successfully his adversary's mobile pawn fo rce in the center with 6 ... �hS 7 .lle3.Q.d6. With his text move White hopes to force the cramping of the black king's bishop through ... d6. 4 ...d5 This bold pawn sacrificeassures Black at least an even game. White can do no better than to accept it, because the con tinuation of S fx eS dxe4 6 exf6 exf3 7 iii'xf3 �d4 8 iii'e4+ .lle6 would be clearly unfavorable for him. 5 exd5 �xd5 6 fxe5 Ag4 7 .\le2 Decisive. White's subsequent attack with the queen, which merely hastens Or 7 c3 �xeS 8 iii'e2 .lld6 9 d4xf3 .ll his downfall, is dictated by despair, 10 gxf3 iii'h4+ 11 �d1 0-0-0 12 dxeS since passivity on his part would like Eihe8,with a penetrating attack. wise have left him without hope. For instance, 1S iil'd1 Eihe8 16 c3 �xf3 17 7 ... .\lxf3 8 .\lxf3 �h4+ 9 �fl iii'xf3 Elxd3 18 iii'fS+ Eld7 19 Eld1iii' a6+ 34 Second Round 20 Or 18 c3 (8) Mar.�hall,F - Tartakower,S Dutch Defense [A85] 1 d4 e6 2 c4 After this move, switching into the Dutch Defense is less risky for Black than after 2 35 New York 1924 13 f4 Here 19 �d3 (threatening e4) was im perative. Even 19 a3, to prevent the In order to transform the defensive po coming troublesome sortie ofthe queen, sition on the f- file into one of attack. would have been preferable to the text The weakness of White's pawn struc move. ture in the center is, of course, easily balanced by his surplus of material. 19... f1b4 20 §b1 13 ...�e7 14 §f3 If 20 e4 �xb2! (21 l"!b1 4:lxd4). This expedition with the rook, which 20 ... c5 21 '1!1d3 cxd4 22 �xd4 has been criticized by most of the com mentators, is not exactly necessary to More obvious and likewise better would be sure (simpler would have been 14 have been 22 exd4, followed by a3 and 4Jf3 �h5 15 4Jc3, fo llowed eventually 4Je4, still holding out excellent chances by 4Je5 or �d2, e4, etc.), but fu lfills of winning. the definite purpose of provoking the weakening ... g6, a luxury White could 22... §c8 23 e4 well afford. The real blunders, through which the victory is eventually trifled Only afterthis new blunder, permitting away, follow presently. complete liquidation of the respective pawn formations in the center, may the 14... �f5 15 §h3 '1!1e7 16 '1!1h5g6 strength of the black bishop as opposed to the knight be manifested at last. The 16 ...h6 would have invited an attack last chance was 23 b3, fo llowed per through g4-g5. haps by 4:le4. 17 '1!1e2 23 ... �xd4 24 f1xd4 Threatening to fo rce a fu rther deterio ration of Black's pawn structure through 18 4Jg5. 17 ...§f7 18 �g5 An unfortunate maneuver of which Black energetically takes advantage. With 18 4:lc3 (18... g5 19 fxg5 �xg5 20 4Jf3and e4, or 18 ... �b4 19 l"lb1 and a3), fo llowed by 4Jf3 and later on by e4, White could have turned his 24... d5 advantage to account without much difficulty. The sacrifice of the second pawn is quite correct. It will not take long be 18... §g7 19 �gf3 fore White, having all of his fo rces de- 36 Second Round centralized, will be forced to relinquish most part fa cilitates an exchange for his preponderance and, moreover, will Black. The most telling line of play be glad to escape with a whole skin. The here would be 7 'i{re2 c6 8 a4 second part of this game has been (Alekhine vs. Marco, Stockholm, 1912, handled by Dr. Tartakower very judi and Bogoljubow vs. Nimzovitch, ciously. Stockholm, 1920). 25 a3 �f8 26 exd5 exd5 27 cxd5 7 ...c6 8 .llb3 §d8 28 �e4 §f7 Likewise here 8 a4 was to have been Parrying the only threat of his opponent preferred in order to prevent ...bS once and attacking at the same time. and for all. 29 d6 §xf4 30 �c4+ �f731 �xf7+ 8 ...h6 9 .llh4 §e8 10 �d3 White clearly has no choice. 31 ...§xf 7 32 §e3 32 4:lg5§fS! 33 4:lxh7§xd6 might even have ended disastrously for White. 32... j}.xe4 33 §xe4 §xd6 34 §e2 §d3 35 §f1 �g7 36 §c2 §fd7 37 h3 §d2 1/rlfz (9) Lasker,Ed.- Bogoljubow,E White plays the opening incorrectly. In Philidor Defense [C4 1] order would have been IO .llg3 for the purpose of forcing Black to clear the 1 e4 e5 2 �f3 d6 3 d4 �f6 4 �c3 center, inasmuch as neither I0 ...4:lh5 �bd7 5 .llc4 Ae7 6 0-0 (on account of 1I 4:lxe54:lxg3 I2 4:lxf7) nor IO ....Ilf8 (on account of 11 dxeS As is well known, the sacrifice of the dxeS I2 4:lxe5) would be of any avail. bishop by 6 .llxf7+ is incorrect on ac IfiO... exd4 114:lxd44:lc5, White could count of 6 ...\t>xf7 7 4:lg5+ lt>g8 8 4:le6 have responded with I2 .llc4with quite '{{reS 9 4:lxc7 'i{rg6 10 4:lxa8 'i{rxg2 II a good game. After thetext move, Black §fl exd4 I2 '{{rxd4 4:le5.If, however, 6 at once seizes the initiative. dxeS (in order to bring about the fore going sacrifice, after 7 ...dxe5?) Black 10 ...�h5 11 �c4 obtains a wholly satisfactory game through 6 ...4:lxe5. Forcing the fo llowing protective move, for if Il...dS, I2 exdS 4:lb6 (or 6 ...0-0 7 .\lg5 12... Jlxh4 13 dxc6) I3 .Jlxe7 §xe7 14 '{{reS would fo llow with advantage. On This development of the bishop for the the other hand, the advantages which 37 New York 1924 Black gains from the subsequently 14 ... exd4 15 "\il'xd4 lf:lc5,etc., but 14 c3 fo rced exchange are much more impor- was certainly playable. tant than this temporary success. 14... a4 ll ...§fS 12 j}_xe7 Black, of course, declines to enter the If 12 .llg3, Black need not have been in transparent pitfall of 14 ...exd 4 15 a hurry with 12 ... lf:lxg3,but might have lf:lexd4 '\i:i'xe4 16 §fe1 "lil'f4 (or ..."\il'g4 continued with 12 ....ll f6 and exchanged or ... "\il'g6) 17 lf:le6, etc. the bishop when it suited him best. 15 J}.c4 b5 16 Jl.d3 Ab7 12 ... �xe7 13 .£je2 Threatening eventually ... c5 (if dxc5 Otherwise the entrance of the knight at then ...lf:lxc5, or ... dxe5 then ...c4) and f4 would have become really unpleas thereby causes the opponent to dissolve ant. Already the white pieces are be the unpleasant situation in the center. ginning to stand around a bit awk wardly. 17 dxe5 dxe5 18 §ad1 §fe8 n ...a5 A good move, the success of which probably surpasses the hopes of Black. The intention most likely, afterthe ob vious reply of 14 c3, was to lead into the variation, 14 ... exd4 15 "\il'xd4 lf:lc5, which, on account of the weakening of the d3-square, and the threat to drive away the bishop from the important di agonal with ... a4 would have gained still more ground. But that an advance along With the idea of planting the knight on the whole line would be granted him f4 by way of ffi-g6. could hardly have been expected by him. 19 .£lg3 .£lxg3 14 �c3 The white knight had to be kept from f5 . Black must forego now the expec Quite a peculiar idea. The bishop is tations with regard to the f4 -square, being conducted with the loss of a but obtains fu ll compensation, as the tempo to d3, where for a long time it strategic consequence of the doubling will stand practically stalemated, and of White's pawns, of the strong g4- thereby blocks the d-file, the eventual square, the possession of which could opening of which clearly cannot be be challenged only at the expense of avoided. Likewise 14 a4 was not to have additional weakness in the king's posi been recommended, on account of tion. 38 Second Round 20 hxg3 20 fxg3 would only have led to the iso lation of the e-pawn, without promise of any advantage. 20 .. .1��f6 21 4)h4 The knight will have to remain inactive on this square for a long time. However, it would have had little future else where. 31 ... �d4 21 ...g6 22 �d2 rt}g7 23 �e3 This move, so near at hand, and which White has now reached a deadlock and at first blush promised the win of a moves hither and thither without any pawn (32 §.blAa2), had in fact to be definite plan. Meanwhile Black calculated very closely, inasmuch as strengthens his position at every move White gets some counterplay through and it does not take very long before he the subsequent sortie of the queen. has a positive win. 32 �f2 �xb2 33 �c5 §c7 34 §hi 23 ...4)g4 24 �d2 �d4 35 §xb5 If 24 �b6 §.a6,etc. Seemingly White has managed fa irly well to emerge from the affair, since the 24... �c5 25 .Q.e2 4)f6 26 .Q.d3 simple continuation of35 cxb5 36 �xc7 §adS 27 �e2 .Q.cs 28 rt]hl .Q.g4 b4 37 axb4 a3 (or 37 ...§.d7 38 �c5) 29 f3 38 �aS a2 39 b5 would not have been quite convincing. The peculiar position If29 4:lf3, Black could have obtained a of the white rook, however, affords decisive advantage either by increasing Bogoljubow an opportunity for a sur the pressure in the center (doubling the prising diversion on the king's wing, rooks on the d-file, fo llowed by ...4:Jd7, which should yield him a material ad ...Ae6, etc.) or by means of a direct at- vantage. tack against the king with ...h5 and ... §.h8,fo llowed eventually by ... h4, etc. 35 ... g5 36 4)f5+ .Q.xf5 37 exf5 4)h5 29... .Q.e6 30a3 §e7 31 §del This is the point. White clearly has still In order to be able to play 31 �f2, which no time to exchange queens and 38'it'h2 at this stage would have been answered would be useless on account of with 3l...�xf2 32 §.xf2 c5, etc. But 38 ...4:lxg3, etc. from now on the game takes a decisive tum. 38 §el 4)xg3+ 39 rt]h2 �h4+ 39 New York 1924 40 �gl f6 42 �xe5+ �g8 43 §b4 Here, however, he fa lters when almost Of course not 43 �xc7, on account of near the goal and in so doing exposes 43 ...�d4+ , etc. himself to the danger of losing. With 40 ....§d5 41 �b6 cxb5 42 �xc7 �d4+ 43 �hl+ 44 �f2 §f7 (not 42 ...4Jxf5 at once, on account of 43 .§e4) 43 'it>h2 .£lxf544 .§e4 (if 44 Neither could 44 ...l"kd7 have altered �xf5, mate fo llows in four moves) the situation to any extent. 44 ... �c5, the game, thanks to two ex tra pawns, would have been easily won 45 §b8 for Black. The exchange of rooks leads to a draw. White, on the other hand, could have obtained a winning position with the simple 45 'it>xg3(thr eaten ing .§xa4 or even 'it>f2, fo llowed by .llc4), as the black rooks would have been fo und to be inadequate for the pro tection of the exposed position of the king. The finish of the game was very exciting. 45•.• §xb8 46 �xb8+ �g7 41 §xe5 Not 46 ....§f8, on account of 47 .llc4+ A pretty sacrifice,which suddenly gives 'it>g7 48 f6+ and wins. White the advantage. The seemingly stronger move of 41 .§b4(because of 47 �e5+ �f8 48 �b8+ 41.. . .§d4 42.§x eS!) would have allowed Black an immediate draw through After 48 f6 l"ld7 49 �e6 (if 49 �b8+, 41...e4, for instance, (I) 42 .llxe4 .£le2+ the king approaches the f- pawn, cap 43 'it>fl <£lg3+,with perpetualcheck; (II) tures it and then obtains freedom), 42 fxe4 �h1 + 43 'it>f2 �h4, and White Black fo rces the draw through has nothing better than to play again 44 49 ...�c l. 'it>g1, etc. 41.•• fxe5 48 •••�g7 49 �e5+ �f8 50 �b8+ �g7 51 �e5+ 1/z -1/z The acceptance of the sacrifice should have led to loss. The lesser evil would (10) Yates,F- Janowsky,D have been 41...�d4+ 42 �xd4 .§xd4 Ruy Lopez [C79] 43 .§ec5.£!h5 44 .§b6.£!f4, with a play able ending. Black probably still had 1 e4 e5 2 !z)f3!z)c6 3 Ab5 a6 4 jla4 visions of victory. !z)f6 5 0-0 d6 40 Second Round This defense has been preferred oflate, This, to our mind, is more consistent and especially by Rubinstein, and than 7 ...Ag4 as attempted by Janowsky Janowsky is also of the opinion that it against Dr. Lasker. In any event, this gives Black an even game. At any rate, continuation allows White a forced the variation adopted in this game is draw, but more than that he could not quite satisfactory to Black. achieve. 6 .§e1 8 d4 4)xb3 9 axb3 .Q.b7 In reply to the immediate 9 . . . 4:Jd7, White, through 10 dxeS 4::\xeS (or ...dxeS 12 iifdS) 11 4:Jd4, obtains the advantage. 10 dxe5 I flO 4:Jc3, Blackdefends his center with 10 ...4:Jd7, thereby surmounting the worst. Likewise 10 AgS (Dr. Lasker vs. Rubinstein, Maehrisch-Ostrau, 1923) is Permitting the exchange of the impor entirely without danger for Black, in tant king 's bishop. The fo llowing moves account ofthe simple rejoinder 10 ... h6. ought to come into consideration here: (I) 6 Axc6+ bxc6 7 d4, with which 10 ... 4)xe4 11 4)c3 Black with 7 ...4:Jd7 could leadup to a variation of the Chigorin Defense; Now White will still experience some (II) 6 d4 bS, whereupon, if he does not difficulties in establishing equality. A wish to bring about a position not un fo rced draw would result from 11 exd6 favorable for Black with 7 dxeS dxeS Axd6 12 iifd4, for instance: 12... iife7 8 iifxd8+ �xd8 fo llowed by 9 ...Ad6 13 4:Jc3 fS 14 AgS iifd7 15 4:Jxe4 fxe4 and ...4:Jd7, he could select the hitherto 16 l"!xe4+Axe4 17 iifxe4+�f7 18 l"!e1 insufficientlyexamined gambit varia l"!ae8 19 iifdS+�f8 20 l"!eS.§xeS 21 tion of 7 Ab3 4:Jxd4 8 4:Jxd4 exd4 9 4::\xeS 'l;'te8 22 iiff3+ �g8 23 iifdS+with c3 dxc3 10 4:Jxc3, in which case, in perpetual check. (Aurbach vs. Alekhine, view of his better development and Paris, Oct. 1922). the weakness of the black queenside which cannot readily be dissolved, ll... d5 White would have sufficientcompen sation for the pawn sacrificed. At any Now Black has a strongly posted knight rate, Yates obtained an advantage, and two bishops so that, in case he thanks to this treatment, in two games should be enabled to find safety for his against Rubinstein (London, 1922, king by castling on the kingside, he and Carlsbad, 1923). would have a clear advantage. 6 ...b5 7 Ab3 4)a5 12 4)d4 41 New York 1924 Making difficult the development of 19 4:lxb7, on account of 19 ... l"ide8) Black's king's bishop, on account of the .!lxc5 20 4Je6 (better than 4:l> In the unjustifiedhope ofbeing able still Insufficient would have been 14 .. :it>t7 to play for a win. Otherwise 22 4Jc5 15 4:lf3 4:lf6 16 4:lg5+ 'it>g8 17 �xe6+ would at once have forced the draw with �xe6 18 4:l> 22 ... Axc5 23 4)xc5 Black underratesthe ingenious evasion at the disposal of White. Otherwisevery Likewise the continuation of 23 bxc5 likely he would have chosen the more e3 24 f3 l"ie5 would have been favor promising 15... c5. For instance, 16 able for Black. �xd7+ l"i> This posting ofthe rook on the seventh rank will make matters very uncomfort able for White for a while. First of all, 24 ... e3 is threatened. 24 .§e3 In order to be able to meet 24 ...l"ix b2 with 25 f3. 24 ....§f8 25 .§fl .§xb2 26 4)xe4 Axe4 27 .§xe4 16 4)xe4 dxe4 The rook ending is somewhat more fa Or 16 ... .llxe1 17 4Jc5 �> 42 Second Round 27 ... §c2 28 §e3 §f6 29 h4 Through the establishment of this ad vance post, the threats of danger on the This advance of the pawn on the flank queenside are as good as neutralized. obtains for White good prospects on the kingside. The threat of 29... Eic6, for 32 ...§e6 33 §fe1 §xe3 34 §xe3 c5 instance, could now be adequately par ried only with 30 h5 Ei2xc3 31 Eie7. A good move, which, however, looks more dangerous than it actually is, for 29... <;!7d7 30 h5 §d2 Black, because of the weakness of the pawns at a6 and h7, is not in position to Or 30 ...Eic6 31 Eidl+, followed by Eie7. obtain two connected passed pawns. After White's next move, this becomes 31 f4 clear at once. 35 §e1 Of course not 35 bxc5, on account of 35 ...a5, etc. 35... cxb4 Likewise 35 ... c4 36 Eie3, fo llowed by �h2-g3, would have been fu tile, so far as winning was concerned. Threatening, by means of 32 f5, to fix 36 cxb4 §d4 37 §a1 §xb4 38 the pawn on g7 and thereby fo rce §xa6 §xf4 39 §a7+ <;!7c640 §xh7 Black's pieces into a defensive position. §h4 41 <;!7f2 42b4 §h8 b3 43 §bS §xh6 44 §xb3 <;!7d6 45 §e3 §h5 31. ..g6 32 h6 46 43 Third Round Somewhat more decisive play marked this round, only two of the games being drawn. Dr. Lasker, after meeting his chief rival in his firstgame, was called upon to fa ce the eventual third prize winner in his second. The opening was a Queen's Gambit Declined, in which Dr. Lasker, playing black, made admirable use of his two bishops. Timing his moves perfectly, he completely demolished the weak ened position of the white king. Capablanca vs. Ed. Lasker was another Queen's Gambit Declined. Presently it seemed to the spectators that Lasker's queen was getting into hot water, but care ful examination fa ils to reveal that there was any way in which a tangible advan tage could have been extracted from the situation. Afteran exchange of pieces, a symmetrical position was reached and a draw agreed upon. Bogoljubowoutplayed Marshall in a Queen's Gambit Declined, winning a pawn and getting the better position. By means ofpretty and energetic simplification he fo rced the American to the wall. Mar6czy had the worst of it in his game with Reti, who adopted his own opening. A hasty move of his, however, enabled the Hungarian to turn the tables on the kingside. Reti fo und the only defense, but could not prevent a perpetual check. Dr. Tartakower, with the move, again pinned his fa ith to the King's Gambit and won a pawn right after the opening. Nevertheless, it was problematical even up to the end whether or not he could turn his advantage to account. This he accom plished in a manner that made it a good endgame study. Dr. Tartakower assumed the lead with 211,points out of3. The honors between White and Black were even: each ?Y2. (11) Alekhine,A - Lasker,Dr. is more commendable. Now Black can Queen's Gambit Declined [D35] obtain equalization in several ways. 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 4)f3 4)f64 4)c3 6 ...c6 7e3 4)bd7 5 cxd5 Should White play 7 h3 in order to The best move here is 5 Ag5, for White keep his bishop, then the move intro has the option of exchanging during the duced by H. Wolf (Toeplitz latter phase of the game when the con Schoenau, 1922) namely 7 ...Ae7 8 e3 ditions are more favorable. <£Je4, fo llowed by .. .f5, can be made good use of. Now Black compels an s ...exd5 6 -'1_f4 exchange fa vorable to him, even though at the expense of his develop Here, too, the pinning move of 6 Ag5 ment. 44 Third Round 7 ••. .£)h58 Ad3 Even more precise would have been perhaps 15... a5. Of three possibilities undoubtedly the least fa vorable. Simpler would have 16 b4 Ab6 17 .£lf3 Af7 been 8 .ilg3, which, however, might have been modified still more by means of8 .ile5 and, if then 8 .. .f6, then 9 .ilg3, etc. The firstplayer conducts this game in a vacillating and inconsistent man ner. 8 ••• .£)xf4 9 exf4 .Q.d6 10 g3 Here, for example, he ignores his origi nal intention of playing 10 .•• l3••. f6 14 .£le3Ae6 15 .£lh4 22 �d6 Loss of time! From now on White loses Threatening 23 ...�f4 . quickly because at any cost he strives for an attack in utter disregard of his 23 .£lg2 Ac7 24 §fe1 h5 25 h3 inferior development. Had he been con tent to remain more passive (for in Through a double pawn sacrifice: 25 g5 stance: 15 l"!fd1 and, if 15... .ilf7, then fxg5 26 45 New York 1924 25 ... 4)h7 26 §xeS+ §xeS 27 §e1 erwise, turning it into the regular §bS 2S �c1 4)g5 29 4)e5 Queen's Gambit Declined is also to be considered. Or 29 flxg5 �h2+30 'it>fl f> 29 ...fxe5 30 �xg5 e4 31 f6 g6 Not logical. 5 ... �d6 would have neces sitated first the guarding of f4 (6 �d2 Likewise after 3l...�> 33 Ae2 Or 33 h> 33 ...g> (12) Bogoljubow,E- Marshall,F Queen's Pawn Opening [D02] White fo rtunately has avoided the ne 1 4)f3d5 2 d4 e6 cessity of playing g3 and in that way has gained an important tempo in de There is no need here to block the velopment. The manner in which bishop. Preferable, therefore, is 2 ... c5 Bogoljubow now proceeds to make the or flf6. most of his advantage is very instruc tive. 3Af4 ll . . . §dS 12 §e1 .lld7 13 4)df3 This interesting and not easily handled variation leads to complicated play in Black's position is already somewhat the center with the chances rather fa uncomfortable. White now threatens 14 vorable to White, chiefly on account of flg5 .lle8 15 f5, with the isolation of the strength of his black squares. Oth- the d-pawn. 46 Third Round n.. . h6 13 ...g6 also had its drawbacks, for in stance: 14 �g5 l"if8 15 'iil'f3, threaten ing 'iil'h3, etc. 14 g4 Played very energetically. Against this attack Marshall seeks his salvation at the sixteenth move through an atoning sacrifice, the acceptance of which would actually have saved him. 23 Ab1 14... .£jxe5 15 .£jxe5 Ac6 16 �e2 The simple retreat is decisive owing .£Je4 17 §ad1 to its twofold threat of 24 b4 fo llowed by �xe6, and 24 'iil'c2. The fo llowing If, by any chance, 17 �xc6, then pawn sacrifice on the part of Black 17 ... '/il'xc6 18 .>lxe4dxe4 19 '/il'xe4l"id2 enables him merely to enter upon an (not 19... '/il'xe4 20 l"ixe4l"id2 21 l"ib4), almost hopeless ending, which, nev with adequate compensation. ertheless, he defends for fu lly thirty moves with praiseworthy pertinac 17 ... §ac8 18 'it>g2 ity. And now the rook ending could not 23 ...Ad7 24 �c2 f5 have been won after 18 �xc6 '/il'xc6 19 .llxe4 dxe4 20 l"ixd8+ l"ixd8 21 Clearly, the queen must not be admit '/il'xe4 l"id2, etc. With the text move, ted to h7. White prepares to expel the knight from e4, thereafterto continue with his 25 gxf5 exf5 26 .£Jxf5 �g6+ 27 attack. .£lg3 18... Aa4 19 §cl 27 �f2 was also strong enough; but the perpetual d4-square for this knight is Threatening also 20 c4. beckoning to White. 19... f6 27... �xc 2+ 28 Axc2 .£je6 29 .£je2 §f8 30 f5 .£jd8 31 .£Jd4 .£lc6 Weakening thereby the e6-square and the bl-h7 diagonal, which, however, Otherwisestill another pawn would be could hardly be any longer avoided. lost. 20 .£Jf3 Ac6 21 .£Jd4 �d6 22 f3 32 Ab3 Axf5 33 Axd5+ 'it>h8 34 .£Jc5 Axc6 bxc6 35 §e5 Ad7 36 b4 47 New York 1924 Quite apart from the advantage in ma In case of 50 ...\t>gS, the exchange of terial, White's position remains far su rooks through 51 .§g2would have suf perior. The rest of the endgame is ficed to win. readily intelligible, but gains additional interest through a neat finaleon the part 51 §7e6 of White. An elegant simplification, winning a 36... §f6 37 §eel �h7 38 §a5 §c7 second pawn and curtailing fu rther re 39 §c5 sistance Threatening 40 b5. 51... 'ifi!f7 39... a6 40 a4 §c8 41 h4 §g6+ 42 Or 51... .llxe6 (51... .§xe6 52 .§xe6) 52 �h2 {lxe6+ lt>e7 53 {lf4+ lt>f7 54 -tJxg6 \t>xg6 55 .§e6+. Simpler would have been 42 ' Threatening 43 ... l"lf5, which, however, (13) Capablanca,J- Lasker,Ed. is easily parried. Queen's Gambit Declined [D52) 43 h5 §d6 44 §e7 �g8 45 §a5 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 .£lf3 .£Jf64 .Q.g5 §aS 46 §e4 �f7 47 §e2 .£lbd7 5 .£ic3c6 6 e3 �a5 White indulges, nautically speaking, in The much disputed Cambridge Springs a bit of tacking. Had his opponent re variation which, thanks largely to the mained passive, White would have re researches of Bogoljubow, has again sorted to an advance by f4-f5, fo llowed become somewhat fa shionable of late. by ' 48 Third Round moves transposed, Game 88, Marshall cal pawn structure White makes it vs. Bogoljubow. known that he is satisfied with a draw. As a matter of fact, after 21 Elfd1 �c6 7 ... 4)xf68 .Q.d3 .Q.b4 9 �b3 dxc4 22 f3 .!lg6, he would have no advan tage whatsoever. A businesslike preparation for the post ing of the bishop on the a8-h I diago 2l...bxc5 22 �e5 �c6 23 f3 .Q.g6 nal. 24 �fdl �fd8 25 �xd8+ �xd8 26 �dl �xd1+ 27 .il,xd1 1/2 -lf2 10 .il,xc4 0-0 11 0-0 .il,xc3 12 bxc3 b6 13 4)e5.il,b7 14 .il,e2 27 ...�b6 28 e4 f6 29 �c3 �b 1 30 �d2 might still have been played. And neither will any other method avail to prevent the liberating move that fo l (14) Reti,R- Maroczy,G lows. English Opening [A37] 14... c5 1 4)f3c5 2 g3 It strikes one as strange that Reti should here delay his fa vorite move of 2 c4, which is so indispensable to his system, without any apparent reason. The text move could be answered by Black prof itably with 2 ...d5. 2... 4)c6 3 Ag2 g6 4 c4 With this symmetrical disposition of his pieces, White, thanks to his tempo plus, Properly recognizing that the subse still has hopes of presently advancing quent crowding of the queen need not his d-pawn and to obtain thereby greater necessarily have any untoward conse scope in the center. quences. The game demonstrates dis tinctly the insufficiency of7 -'l_xf6. 4 ... .il,g7 5 4)c3 d6 6 d3 .ild7 15 4)c4�a6 16 �b2 .ll.d5 17 4)e5 In his endeavor to make more difficult the move d4, Black hesitates in devel Likewise 17 4Jd6 �aS (better than oping his king's knight. The idea is per 17 ... c4 18 a4) would have led eventu haps not a bad one, but is not carried ally to nothing. out here with sufficient consistency. 17... �c8 18 a4 4)d7 19 c4 .il,e4 20 7 0-0 �b8 4)xd7�x d7 21 dxc5 Preparatory to the advance eventually Through the fo rmationof this symmetri- of the b-pawn. Although Black is a 49 New York 1924 matter of fact is not likely to have time Herewith White has carried out the fu n to realize his intention, the text move is damental idea of the variation under not to be criticized because it removes very fa vorable conditions and now has the rook once for all out of the range of decidedly the better of it. the white king's bishop. 13 ...cxd 4 14 Axd4 �f6 15 �d5 8 Ae3 �d4 9 �d2 h5 0-0 The lesser evil would have been 15 ... .llxd5 16 cxd5 0-0, inasmuch as his d-pawn now becomes hopelessly weak. 16 �xf6+ exf6 17 Ae3 Preventing 17 ...d5, on account of the reply of 18 f4, winning a pawn. 17 ... �d7 18 E!fd1 E!bd8 19 b5 In order to develop the knight at h6 - so far everything logical and compre With this advance White obtains no hensible. material advantage, to be sure, but es tablishes for himself a decisive superi 10 E!ab1 Ac6 ority on the queenside. Now, however, he should have played 19... .Q.a8 20 c5 bxc5 21 Axc5 E!fe8 in proper sequence 1 0 ...�h6 and, if 11 b4, then ...�hfS (or else first ...b6). The Saving the d-pawn, for if now 22 'i¥txd6, bishop is not happily placed on c6 and then 22 ...'i¥tc8! and wins; and if 22 its removal was in any event not worth .llxd6, then 22... .ll f8 23 .llf4 'i¥txd2 24 a tempo. §xd2 §xd2 25 .llxd2 §e2, and White cannot save the a-pawn, on account of 11 b4 �xf3+ the threat of 26 ... .llc5. Black abandons the d4-square obvi ously in order to avoid a deterioration 22 �a5 of his pawn position in this variation: 11...b6 12 �xd4 .llxg2 13 �e6 fxe6 With this, however, the fate of the a 14 �xg2, etc. But after 14 ...�f6, he pawn and consequently, one would would have had a better outlook in imagine, of the game as well is sealed. this line of play than through the move Black attempts one more desperate in the text, which Reti utilizes with great counterattack. precision. 22 ... �f5 23 Axa7 Axf3 24 Axf3 12 exf3 b6 13 d4 �xf3 50 Third Round Black clearly has no time to bring over his rook, on account of the b-pawn. 32 'i!;lg1 �g4+ 33 'i!;lfl �h3+ 34 'i!;lg1 �g4+ 35 'i!;lfl lf2 -lh (15) Tartakower,S- Yates,F King's Gambit Accepted [C33] 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 .lle2 4)c6 A move wholly without purpose, after 25 b6 which White at once obtains the supe rior game. 3 .. .f5, 3 ...d5, or 3 . ...£le7 are With this move White lets slip an easy much more apt to assure Black a sub win. Black's next move could have been stantial game. prevented most simply by 25 'i Now everything just seems to fit to 10 .\lxf4�e4 gether again. The sacrifice of the c-pawn is risky, to 29 ... §xh4 30 gxh4 �g4+ 31 'i!;lfl be sure, but not wholly without pros �h3+ pects, inasmuch as Black, by correct 51 New York I 924 play, could obtain pressure later on upon 16 .Q.d3 �d5 the c-file.The bold move is explained possibly by the realization of Black that 16... §.ac8 would still have been more a tamer continuation (such as 'll1d7 or promising than this knight maneuver, 0-0-0) would leave him at a lasting dis which almost forces a surely won, al advantage, on account of the two op beit difficultending for White. posing bishops and the open file. 17 c4 .Q.xf3 18 gxf3 �c3 19 d5 �d4 20 'i!i'g2 Not 20 �f2, because he wanted to pro vide for the possibility of an eventual retreat of the queen 's bishop to f2 or el. 20 ...�de2 21 §e1 �xg3 22§xe S+ §xeS 23 hxg3 Now there begins an instructive ending 11 .Q.xc7 0-0 which is turned into a win by Dr. Tartakower in a manner quite as me After ll... Of course not 13 ... 52 Third Round 38 .E!h1 .§b7 In order to meet 39 .§h6 with 39 ....§f7. 27... 'it'f8 An interesting moment. Black cannot in anyway prevent 28 a5, for, after 39 itxf5 27 ..A:Jb7, would fo llow 28 a5 {lxa5 29 c5 bxc5 30 .§b5 c4 31 .lle2, and the The beauty of this conception lies not knight is lost! so much in the main variation as chiefly in the circumstance that the actual re 28 a5 .§b8 29 'it'e3 'it'e7 30 'it'd4 ply by Black seemingly refutes the sac 'it'd6 31 .§b1 .§b7 32 axb6 axb6 rifice and only by White's next move the real point becomes clear. 32 ... .§xb6cannot be played, on account of 33 .§a1, then .§a5, with an easy 39 .•• §f7 win. If 39 ...gxf5 , then 40 .§h6+ '!Jc7 41 33 .E!a1 .E!e7 34 g4 f!xh7+ '!Jc8 42 g6, and wins. Herewith commences the binding of the 40 §b1 'it'c7 weak points on the kingside. First of all, 35 g5 is threatened. After40 ... {la4,the simplest way to win would be 41 .lld3 .§xf4+ 42 '!Je3 fol 34 ... f6 35 .§b1 .§b7 36 f4 _E!b8 37 lowed by .§b4. g5 f5 41 d6+ After 37 .. .fxg5 38 fxg5, White would have penetrated via the f- file. Now ev- All this is forced. After 4l...'!Jxd6 erything seems to be blocked and at first would fo llow 42 .§xb6+ '!Jc743 .§f6; it is not apparent just what White has and, after41.. .'!Jc6 42 .lle4+. gained by his whole maneuver. The more surprising, therefore, is the sub- 41 •••'it'd8 42 ith3 §xf4+ 43 'it'd5 sequent winning process. .[)d744 §a1 'it'c8 45 §a7 1-0 53 Fourth Round In a measure, this round was a repetition of the third in that White won two of the games, lost one and drew two. Dr. Lasker won a most instructive Sicilian Defense from Janowsky, who was induced to weaken his kingside and was outplayed in the ensuing complications. Dr. Lasker won the exchange, but, astonishing to re late, he was guilty of a slight omission which might have made victory very un certain. Janowsky obligingly fa iled to take advantage and hereafter Dr. Lasker experienced little difficulty in working out a win. Capablanca, playing white against Alekhine's French Defense, had all the better of the opening, his play culminating in the gain of a clear pawn. Undaunted, Alekhine fo ught back and barely managed to save the game. Bogoljubow vs. Reti was another French Defense and a fine example of Bogoljubow's seemingly simple style. At his twentieth turn he deliberately went in for an ending, with bishops commanding squares of opposite colors! After a few moves, however, there came the realization that Reti's game, regardless of what he might play, was no longer tenable. Dr. Tartakower and Mar6czy played irregularly and the game was somewhat er ratic throughout. Neither the opening nor the middlegame was managed any too well. The ending (non-conflicting bishops) was very interesting, although this, too, was spoiled. Quite a complicated Ruy Lopez was played between Yates and Ed Lasker. The fo rmer'sillogical advance of the center pawns gravely compromised his position and thereafter it was necessary for him to play with the greatest precision in order to hold the game intact. Lasker weakened in the ending and Yates, declining to overlook his shortcomings, gained a fu ll point. Dr. Tartakower was still leading after fo ur rounds, but Dr. Lasker at 2 Yz-1 Y:, had the better percentage. The White pieces took a slight lead, with totals of I OY:.-9Y:.. (16) Janowsky,D- Lasker,Dr. cxd4 6 Af4 'if!/c7). Sicilian Defense [B83] 3 d4 cxd4 4 4)xd4 4)f65 4)c3 d6 1 e4 c5 2 4)f34)c6 6.Q,e2 e6 According to our judgment, this is bet An interesting deviation from the usual ter than 2 ...e6 , because Black, af method of development through ...g6, ter 3 Ae2, can accomplish the fo llowed by ...Ag7, which is by no blocking of White's c-pawn (.£lc3) means disadvantageous for Black. by means of 3 ... .£Jf6( 4 e5 .£lg4 5 d4 Black thereby weakens his d-pawn 54 Fourth Round (which, to be sure, White cannot attack with the text move against b6, is of very well) in order to dispute the d5- course, perfectly hannless. square with his opponent and to strengthen indirectly the action of the 13 ...l£)e5 t4 �f2 .§b8t5 Ad3 l£)c4 open c-file. t6 Act Ah7 t7 �g3 .§bc8 t8 .§fet 7 0-0 Ae7 8 .Q.e30-0 9 �d2 a6 tO .§adt All this in order eventually to be able to play f4, which perhaps may make possible shadowy threats. On the other hand, how harmoniously is the en semble of the black pieces developed! t8... .£ld7 t9 f4 Af6 Threatening 20 ...4Jxb2 (21 e5 dxe5 22 �xb2 exf4 23 �h3 .1lxc3 24 �xh7+ 55 New York 1924 32 a4 Janowsky has extracted from his infe rior position about all there was in it, and for the time being keeps back the black pieces. However, the organic in fe riority of his game, that is, the weak ness of the white squares caused by the disappearance of the king's bishop, can not be removed and because of it the game eventually goes to pieces. The drastic move of 32 e5, in order to force . ..dS (thereby cramping the bishop), would lead to a hopeless catastrophe; for instance: 32... 4:lh4 33 gxh4 .ilxh4 34 �e3 (34 'il1e2.ilf3, or 34 'ilJfl dxe5) 34 ... 'il1g4+ 35 l!i>fl .ilf3 and wins. By the more passive move selected Black Emanuel Lasker fo rces a decisive advantage through the pawn advance in the center. Threatening not alone to win the ex change, but the capture of the queen as 32... §b7 33 a5 f5 34 �e3 e5 well through 29 e5 dxe5 30 .ilb6. Yielding the d5-square, to be sure, but 28... �h5 29 .Q,b6 f!d730 f!d2 in return exposes the white king, who cannot any more be protected in time Threatening 31 e5 .ile7 32 4:le4, which by the pieces engaged on the queenside. could not be played right at this moment Dr. Lasker's entire winning play is very because of the unprotected rook on d I. impressive and especially considering Black has exactly the time necessary to the able defense of his opponent. parry all tactical threats. 35 f!flexf4 36 gxf4 Af8 30 ... .Q.c631 §edt Ae7 Making possible with one stroke the co operation of both rooks at the critical turningpoint. 37 4)d5f!f7 38 4)bc3f!e8 39 �d4 The c-pawn, now unimportant, is poor compensation for the e-pawn, but after the seemingly promising 39 4:lc7,Black, by sacrificing the exchange with 39... l"l.x e4 40 4:lxe4 fxe4, would have obtained an attack equivalent to victory, 56 Fourth Round for instance: 41 Elg2 ( ...4:lxf 4 was {lfl�g4 +, fo llowed by ....ll xe3 and threatened) 41...ite7!,and now it would ...�xf4. not do to play either 42 4:lxa6, on ac count of 42... c3, fo llowed by ...itbS, 49 t;'d2 or 42 �e2, on account of 42 .. :i:.he2 43 Elxe2 4:lxf444 Ele3Jlh7. Black, on the White also overlooks the move at hand, other hand, had threatened 42 ...4Jh4, 49 4Je4, whereby he would have ob winning back the exchange with a com tained a defensible position. Black, in manding position. The text move, how view of the threat of 4:lg5, would only ever, is of help for a short time only. have had the choice between surrender ing the exchange (49 ...Elxe4 50 �xe4) 39 ... fxe4 40 t;'xc4 .ild7 41 .lle3 and the sacrifice of the queen for two l£)h4 42 .§df2 .llh3 43 .!£)xe4 rooks (49 ...�xa5 50 4:lg5 �xgS+ 51 fxgS Elxf3 52 �dS+ Elt7).In both cases, The loss of the exchange clearly can on account of the unsafe position ofthe not be avoided. Before availing himself white king, Black would still have an of it Black forces an advantageous sim advantage, but the win, if at all possible, plification. would in any event not have been easy. 43 ... t;'g4+ 44 .!ilg3 .!ilf5 45 .§f3 49 ...d5 Jlxfl 46 t;'xfl l£)xe3 47 l£)xe3 t;'cS Now, on the contrary, it is very simple, inasmuch as Black in this forward After the establishment of a material pressing pawn has a strong weapon for advantage, the matter of winning should attack. White's position becomes quite become simply a question of technique. hopeless in a few moves. 48 t;'d3 t;'c5 50 �g2 d4 51 .!ilg4 Ad6 52 .!ilf2 t;'d5 53 c4 Desperation! 53 ...t;'xc4 54 .!£)ge4t;'d5 55 'ilxd6 t;'xd6 56 l£)d3 t;'d5 57 �g3 .§f6 58 �f2 .§h6 59 h3 .§f6 60 �g3 .§g6+ 61 �f2 .§e3 62 .!£)e5t;'e4 63 b4 h5 64 t;'dl .§f6 65 .!ild3g5 66 l£)c5 t;'d5 67 l£)d3 gxf4 68 l£)xf4 t;'e4 0-1 With this Black almost deprived him (17) Capab/anca,J- Alekhine,A self of the fru its of his deep strategy. French Defense [C 12] Correct would have been 48 ...dS 49 �xdS �cS+, fo llowed by . ..�xaS; 1 d4 e6 2 e4 d5 3 .!ilc3 �f6 4 Ag5 or 49 �xdS Elxe3 50 Elxe3 JlcS 51 Ab4 5 exd5 t;'xd5 6 .llxf6 Axc3+ 57 New York 1924 A questionable move to which the sec intention to complete the flank-devel ond player committed himself without opment of his bishop, but, later on, his fu rther investigation in consequence of undoing, permitted his idea to be side his experience in his game with Dr. tracked. Tarrasch (St. Petersburg 1914), and a somewhat stronger sub-variation later 9c4 found by enthusiasts of that city. It re quires no especially deep examination of the position in order to be certain that this exchange is quite untimely, inas much as White, afterthe simple 6 ... gxf6 (if7 �d2 �aS, etc., see Capablanca vs. Bogoljubow, game I 07), must exert himself in order to fo rce it. Through the move after the next on the part Capablanca, this game takes on a theo retical significance. 7 bxc3 gxf6 8 �d2 This prevents in good time the eventual occupation of c4 (through ....£Jb6, fo l- Until now, 8 4:lf3 has been almost in lowed by . . .�d7, ...a6 and ... �b5). The variably played, fo llowed by 8 . . . b6 9 check which fo llows means nothing to g3 �b7 (still stronger is the St. Peters White, for the queen is immediately burg innovation referred to: 9 ....£ld7 10 forced away with loss of time. �g2 �a6!, and if 11 .£Jh4 then 1l...�a5) 10�g2 �e4+, and White has 9 •••�e4+ 10 .£je2 .£jb6 nothing better than to play for equal ization with 11 �e2, inasmuch as 11 An unfortunate notion, through adher 'it>d2 (Dr. Tarrasch vs. Alekhine, St. ence to which Black soon gets into Petersburg, 1914), as well as 11 'it>fl trouble. Proper would have been 10... b6 (Reti vs. Bogoljubow, Berlin, 1919) 11 f3 �g6 12 .£lg3 (12 .£Jf4 �h6) would yield an advantage to the second 12 ... �b7 13 �d3 �g5, with a thor player. The lure of the queen's move oughly sound game, although White consists chiefly in the fact that Black even in this case would still have had cannot now very well play 8 ... b6, on the better chances after 14 f4 (not 14 account of9 �e2 (threatening �f3). �xg5 fxg5 15 h4 g4, etc.) 14... �h6 15 a4!. 8 •••.£jd7 11 f3 �c6 The alternative would have been 8 ... c5 9 �e3! .£ld7 (or 9 ... cxd4 10 cxd4 .£Jc6 Likewise unsatisfactory would have 11 c3) 10 .£le2, followed by .£Jf4, been 11...�h4+, on account of 12 g3 whereby the queen is driven from her �h5 13 .£lc3! (better than 13 .£Jf4�xf3 dominating post in the center. With the 14 �g2 �a3) 1l...�xf3 14 �g2 �h5 move in the text Black combined his 15 c5 4:ld7 16 4:lb5 0-0 17 .£lxc7 l"ib8 58 Fourth Round 18 0-0 a6 19 .§ab1,with a better game. Black must strike out and prepare him self for a sad ending, inasmuch as no 12 c5 .£ld5 other moves offer themselves for the improvement of his position, and an 12 ... ac4 will not do, on account of 13 other freely given tempo ( ... lt'f8, for �c3 b5 14 a4. instance) would enable White to decide the encounter in his own fa vor during 13 c4 .£le7 14 .£lc3 the middlegame. Threatening very strongly 15 ae4, etc. 19 d5 Consequently, Black is forced submit to a fu rther weakening of his center, The files hereby opened offer to the after which the eventual threat of d5 first player a winning position fu ll of becomes still more unpleasant. promise, due to the fact that it is im possible for Black to reunite his rooks 14 ...f5 15 Ae2 §gS in time. After 15 ...Ad7 16 0-0, Black would be 19 ... �d6 compelled to play 16... .§g8, because 16 ... b6 would be still impossible, on The only move, for 19 ...exd5 20 {Jxd5 account of 17 f4. �d6 21 .§ab1 decides matters quickly. 16 0-o Ad7 20 dxe6 �xe6 21 �xc5 �b6 22 �f2 f4 And now it is not possible to play 16... b6, on account of17 Ad1 !. Black's A sacrifice, for it is clear that the pawn situation, due to his mistake on the tenth cannot long survive on this square. move, was really no longer tenable. Black selected this desperate continua tion in the fu ll understanding that, after 17 �e3 22 ...�xf2+ 23 1t'xf2 Ac6, White could have materially increased his advantage Threatening 18 d5. through quite simple moves, for in stance: 24 ab5 .!lxb525 cxb5 .§g6 (or 17 ...b6 18 §fd1 bxc5 25 ....§d8 26 .§xd8+lt'xd8 27 .ilc4,etc.) 26 .§ac1 .§c827 .§c5,and in the hope, through the immediate surrender of the weakling, possibly to distract the atten tion of the opponent. 23 §ab1 Not 23 .§d4, on account of 23 .. .'�b2 24 �e1 .ilh3. 23 ...�x f2+ 59 New York 1924 After 23 ... �e6 or ... �g6, there would striven not to exchange the bishops, but fo llow 24 §b7. a pair of rooks, because the adversary's only counterstroke, consisting in the 24 �xf2 .llc6 25 E!.d4 advance of his a-pawn, would have been as good as nullified,for instance: Even now 2S 4JbS would have been 32 §d2 aS 33 Ad3 a4 34 §b1 §xb1 very strong.The winning of the pawn, 3S Axb1 §b8 36 Ad3 a3 37 Ae2!, to which White gives his attention, at threatening, by means of 38 §d3, to least permits the second player finally limit the black rook to the defense of to connect his rooks. his pawns, whereupon the conversion of his superiority on the kingside 25 ... 4)g6 26 .lld3 4)h4 27 .\lfl would present no further difficulty. 4)g628 4)e2 �e7 29 E!.el E!.gb8 The selected continuation is quite to the point, but does not seem sufficiently Because of this open file Black gets a forceful on account of the change in the chance for some counterplay. The pawn pawn "constellation." As a matter of loss, to be sure, could not be quite com fact, the second player, through a care pensated for. ful defense, is enabled to escape with a draw. 30 4)xf4+ �f8 31 4)xg6+ 32 ..• E!,b2+ 33 E!.e2 E!.ab8 34 .lle4 Perhaps the simplest, because the es tablishment of a passed pawn on the far Otherwise the a-pawn can no longer be kingside is made possible thereby. The protected. plausible 31 4Jd3 would have invited greater technical difficulties after 34 •.. E!,xe2+ 35 �xe2 .\lxe436 fxe4 31...§d8 32 §xd8+, etc. �e7 37 E!.d2 �e6 38 �e3 c6 31.•• hxg6 A necessary preparation for the even tual posting of the rook on the fo urth rank. 39 h4 In this endgame Capablanca's famous thoroughness fa ils him (compare also his fifty-sixth move). Premature would have been 39 cS, on account of39 ... §bS 40 §d6+ �eS 41 §xc6 §aS, but 39 h3!, in order to be able to meet 39 ... §h8 with 40 cS and threaten �d4-c3, would have 32 .lld3 set Black a much more difficult prob lem than the move in the text. White overvalues his chances in the subsequent rook play. He should have 39 •••E!,h8 40 g3 E!.h5 60 Fourth Round The placing of the rook on the fourth Capablanca endeavors as a last resort rank is equally effective for defense and to utilize the circumstance that the black attack, and White's plan to force a king dare not abandon g6. passed pawn on the h-file is now shown to be impracticable. 50 §c4 �g7 41 §h2 §a5 With the dangerous threat of 42 ...'it'e5. 42 �f4 f6 Again preventing 43 g4 , because 43 ...g5+ would halt the h-pawn. 43 §c2 §e5 Necessary, because 44 c5, fo llowed by 51 §d4 g4, was threatened. Through the return of the extra pawn 44 c5 the rook forces its way to the seventh rank and the hostile king, of course, is Through this move, which confines fo rced back. More than this could not somewhat the free movements of be expected from the position after the Black's rook, his own rook is commit thirty-ninth move, but such as it is there ted to the defense of the c-pawn, and henceforth it is necessary for Black seems to be no real danger for the sec merely to keep an eye on the threat of ond player. 'it'g4-h3,fo llowed by g4. 51. .. §xc5 52 §d7+ �fS 44... §h5 45 §c3 Not 52...'it'h6 53 §f7,etc. Threatening 46 §a3. 53 �f4 �gs 54 §a7 �fs 55 a4 45... a5 46 §c2 §e5 47 §c3 §h5 �gS 56 g4 48 �f3 �e7 49 �g4 �f7 After 56 'it'e3 §c3+ 57 'it'd4 §xg3 58 Necessary, for Black must be prepared §xa5 'it'f7 59 §a8. to be in a position always to reply to 'it'h3 with g5 and, in case White there 56 ...g5+ 57 hxg5 §xg5 58 §a6 upon should attack the rook with 'it'g4, §c5 59 �e3 �f7 60 �d4 §g5 61 to defend it with 'it'g6. Next he would §xc6 §xg4 62 §c5 §g5 lf2 -lf2 exchange on h4 and play his rook from e5 to h5 and back, whereupon White If 63 §xg5 fxg5 64 'it'e5 'it'g6 65 'it'd6 could make no fu rther advance. 'it'f7, etc. 61 New York 1924 (18) Bogoljubow,E- Reti,R In two other games in this tournament French Defense [C 12] 7 ...gxf6 was essayed, this having the advantage of challenging the posting of 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 4Jc3 4)f6 4 .Q.g5 the white knight on e4 through the threat .llb4 5 4)ge2 of driving him off with f5 (and not so much through the act of driving itself, This move, introduced by H. Wolf and which in earlier stage ofthe game would elaborated by Bogoljubow, deserves have considerably weakened Black's more attention than has been given to it center). The recapture with the bishop hitherto. Its main idea is to take up, af can only have the purpose of continu ter the partly forced ...dxe4, a com ing as soon as possible either with ...e5 manding post in the center with one of or ... c5. Inasmuch as these moves, how his knights on e4, from which the op ever, do not seem to lead complete ponent cannot dislodge it without con equalization, 7 ...gxf6 must be regarded siderable effort or weakening of posi as the more promising. tion. Whether or not Black can fight successfully against this method of play 8 4)xe4.Q.d7 is a question for the fu ture to decide. Up to now, really convincing counterplay has not been found. 5 ...dxe4 Aside from this rejoinder, which seems the most natural, the classical counter 5 ...c5 comes into consideration before everything else. White, however, can thereupon obtain a clear advantage in development through the simple 6 a3 .llxc3+ 7 Gxc3 cxd4 8 �xd4 4Jc6 9 From now on the game loses all theo .llb5. It would also be interesting to try retical interest, for the bishop maneu out thoroughly the pawn sacrifice, de ver, carried out in three moves, in order cidedly not without prospects, by means eventually to exchange it for a knight of 5 ...h6 6 .llxf6 �xf6 7 exdS 0-0. In under stress of the hostile development, any event, by this line of play, White should never have been taken earnestly would be left very much behind in de into consideration. Nevertheless, it must velopment. be conceded that a desirable mode of development for Black is by no means 6 a3 .lle7 easily to be fo und. Upon the plausible 8 . ..e5, White would do well to beware 6 ....lla5 7 b4 .llb6 8 4Jxe4 would have against breaking up the pawn position resulted only in the exclusion of his own with 9 d5, for in that case Black would bishop. obtain superiority through 9 ....ll e7, fo l lowed by ... 0-0 and .. .fS. He would 7 .\lxf6 .\lxf6 rather try with 9 �d3! (eventually fo l- 62 Fourth Round lowed by 0-0-0), to maintain the bal Bringing to a stop the hostile fe int-at ance in the center in the knowledge that, tack and, at the same time, assuring him after 9 ...exd4 10 €lxf6+ 'i;";xf6 11 iii'xd4 self of the control of the important c5- iii'xd4 12 €lxd4, fo llowed by 0-0-0, he square. would keep, at any rate, a small advan tage in development. Just this very im 17 ... �b6 18 /ilc5 4)xc5 possibility on the part of Black to re move the d-pawn without suffering in If 18 ...€Jf6, there could have fo llowed position is a fineargument, in our judg with advantage 19 ,J;tg2!fo llowed by g5. ment, in favor of the vitality of 19 dxc5 �b7 20 Ad3 a5 Bogoljubow's adopted child, 5 €Jge2. 9 �d3 .Q.c6 10 0-0-0 .Q.xe4 11 �xe4 �d5 12 �e3 Naturally, White does not oblige his opponent with an exchange of queens, the more so as 12 ...iii' a2 would lead to the loss ofhis queen: 13 €Jc3 iii'a1+ 14 'it'd2 iii'xb2 15 ,J;l.b5+, fo llowed by 16 §a1 and 17 §hb1, etc. 12... 0-0 13 /ilc3�a5 14 4)e4/ild7 Thereupon White forces a winning end 15 h4 ing. But after 20 ...'i;";a6 21 )t>b2 (the simplest), fo llowed by c3, g5 and iii'e4, Inasmuch as White is not threatened, he he would finally have pressed through prepares a king's attack through pawn with a direct attack upon the king. moves that are not weakening. 21 �e4 15 ... Ae7 16 g4 b5 The egg of Columbus. After the ex Black becomes uneasy in fa ce of the change of queens, Black would be fet hostile advance and, therefore, decides tered through the defense of the open upon this counter-movement, which d-file and would not be in a position compromises entirely his position on for that reason to save the b-pawn. Af the queenside. With 16... §a d8, fol ter its loss, the superiority of pawns on lowed eventually by c5, he would still the queenside must be decisive, not have had some chance of holding the withstanding bishops commanding game. The subsequent winning continu squares of opposite colors. Black's sub ation by Bogoljubow is most instruc sequent desperate struggle, in order to tive in its simplicity and stamps the obtain counterplay at any cost, merely game as one of the best in the tourna accelerates his defeat. ment. 21... �xe4 22 J;txe4 §adS 23 c3 17 b4 axb4 24 axb4 f5 63 New York 1924 Against 25 .Jlc6, nothing can be done . course, the intended sacrifice of the exchange is very quickly decisive. 25 gxf5 e5 26 h5 43 •.. §ed7 44 §xd8+ §xd8 45 White, in the knowledge that his prey §xc7 1-0 (the b-pawn) cannot escape him, plays economically and allows his opponent Now the passed pawns march right on not the slightest chance in the subse- to queen. quent moves. (19) Tartakower,S-Maroczy,G 26 ... .Q.g5+ 27 �c2 �f7 28 .ll.c6 IrregularOpening [AOO] �f6 29 .Q.xb5 �xf5 30 .Q.c6 �e6 31 f3 .Q.e7 32 §at lb4 Preparing for the siege of the c-pawn. An old move, the chief drawback of which is the fact that White discloses 32••• .Q.g5 33 §a7 §f7 34 .Q.e4 h6 his intentions before knowing those of 35 §hal his opponent. He need not necessarily be at a disadvantage thereby, but is not Threatening 36 l"ila6+ 'ifi'd737 l"ixc7+. that altogether too small a satisfaction for the first player? 35 •.. §d2+ 36 �b3 .Q.ds 37 b5 §fd7 38 §la6+ �f7 39 .Q.f5§e7 1 .•• 4)f6 2 .Q.b2 e6 40 .Q.g6+ �f8 41 §aS §ed7 42 §e6 §e7 It is not clear why Black at the very start should close the diagonal to his queen 's bishop. More logical at all events seems to be 2 ...d5 at once. 3 b5 d5 4 e3 .Q.e75 f4 White has a definite opening purpose the command of the black squares. To neglect development on that account, however, is surely unsound strategy, which, too, with more energetic counterplay, would have met with its punishment. 43 §c6 5 ..•0-0 6 .ild3 Or still simpler 43 l"id6!l"id7 ( 43 ...l"ixd6 44 cxd6, fo llowed by dxc7 and wins) Why post the bishop on a bad spot when 44 l"ixd2 l"ixd245 b6cxb6 46 cxb6l"id7 firstof all the knight may be developed 47 .Jlf5 l"id6 48 'ifi'c4 and wins. Of to a good one (6 4::lf3)? 64 Fourth Round 6 ...a6 Now Black as a matter of fa ct has no adequate compensation for the weak ness of his black squares. 12... 4:)d6 13 �c1 .ilf6 14 4Ja3 The knight will remain here for a long time inactive and exposed. After the immediate 14 .£Je5, however, Black would have been able to reply with 14 ... Axe5 15 fxe5 ll:Jc4 16 li.xc4 dxc4 17 .£la3 LZ:Jb6, fo llowed by �d5, etc. More energetic utilization of the 14 ...c6 15 bxc6 bxc6 16 4Je5 adversary's eccentricities here would have been 6 ... c5, for then (apart from After 16 .£Jd4, there could have fo l 7 bxc6 bxc6, which clearly would lowed 16 ... LZ:Jb8,and after16 c4, then have been equivalent to an avowal of 16... li.a6. Afterthe text move, through bad play) White would have had only the forced sequel of which the e4- a choice between 7 c4 and a further square is yielded to Black, the game development by means of 7 LZ:Jf3. In takes on a drawish character. the first case, after 7 ...dxc4 8 li.xc4 LZ:Jbd7, White's backward d-pawn 16... .1}.xe5 17 fxe5 4Jf7 18 d4 4Jg5 would be a clear positional disadvan 19 c4 Aa6 20 §e1 �aS 21 Ac3 tage; in the second, however, after 7 ...a6 8 a4 c4 9 Ae2 axb5 10 axb5 White wrongly hesitates to strike out .!hal 11 li.xa1 �a5 12 ll:Jc3 li.b4 13 and in consequence is placed slightly �b1 ll:Jbd7 14 0-0 ll:Jc5,the opening of at a disadvantage. 21 cxd5 cxd5 the a-filewould in any case have given (21...li.xe2 22 dxe6) 22 .£Jb5 li.xb5 promise of greater initiative than before 23 Axb5 l='!c8, fo llowed by . ..LZ:Jb6, the move ...c5. would have made the peace pact easier for him. 7 a4 axb5 8 axb5 §xa1 9 j},xa1 4:)bd7 21... §b8 22 �c2 4:)e423 .ild3 9 . .. c5 was still strong, even though in the variation 10 bxc6 bxc6, etc., the If 23 ...LZ:Jb6 at once, then 24 l='!al,and disappearance of the a-pawns and the if 24 ....£Jxc3 25 �xc3 ll:Ja4 26 �a5, etc. rooks would have been rather a relief for White. The leap of the knight to e4, 23 ... §b7 24 §c1 4:)b6 25 .1}.e1 prepared by the text move, leads to nothing, as the knight may easily be dis Now 25 l='!alcould have been answered lodged. with 25 ...l='!a7. 10 4Jf3 4:)e4 11 0-0 f5 12 Ae2 25 ... h6 65 New York 1924 Loss of time! 32 ... g5 could have been played without hesitation. Thereupon White would have been obliged to ex change queens, as the complications associated with 33 g4 would have re sulted in favor of Black, for instance: 33 .. .fxg4 34 'iil'c2 {Jf835 'iil'xe4 'iil'b3. 33 �b4 �xb4 34 Axb4 �d7 35 Aa5 g5 36 �f2 �es Here there is nothing for the king to do. 26 Axe4 With 36 ...�g6 the game could have been easily drawn, as the white king, He should have prepared for this ex on account of the possible .. .f5, could change, which could not have been not then wander offto the queenside. avoided in the long run, with 26 h3, for now Black can obtain a decisive advan 37 �e2 c5 tage. Hereupon Black actually gets a lost 26 ...dxe4 position, because the white king will at last come into play. After 37 ... �t7,the Correct would have been 26 ...fxe4 27 game would still not have been lost. cxd5 (if27 c5 .lld3, and the black pieces would fo rce an entrance) 27 .. .'�H8! 28 38 �b5 .llf2 'iil'xa3; whereupon neither 29 'iil'xc6 exd5, nor 29 dxe6 .llb5, nor 29 dxc6 Black dare not take this intruder, for, .§.c7 need have been feared by Black. after 39 cxb5 and Ac7, his knight The text move not alone permits the would be captured through the advance victory to slip out of hand, but even af of the b-pawn. Consequently, there re fords the opponent a chance in the cen mains nothing for him except to seek ter, which, with a little care, however, safety on the kingside. attains no decisive significance. 38 ...�f7 39 �d2 cxd4 40 exd4 f4 27 �c3 �d7 28 .§b1 .§xb1 29 41 �d6+ �g6 42 �c3 e3 43 �d3 �xbl �b7 30 �a3 �b6 Threatening to win a pawn with 44 Inasmuch as Black cannot avoid an ex �e4, which is first of all prevented by change of queens, he would have done the next move of Black's knight. best to prepare for counterplay on the kingside (30 ...�t7, fo llowed by ...g5 , 43 ... �b8 44 �e4 �c6 45 Ac3 e2 etc.). As is easily to be seen, Black's line of 31 Ad2 �f7 32 g3 �fs play is dictated. 66 Fourth Round 46 gxf4 gxf4 d6 8c3 0-0 This is the best. It is not necessary for Black to continue at once along the lines ofChigorin's system of defense ( ....£laS, fo llowed by ... c5), inasmuch as White as the games of this tournament espe cially demonstrate-must lose a tempo with h3 in order to force him to do so. 9d4 Because ofthe improvement introduced by Bogoljubow in 1922 in the variation 47 .1l,d2 beginning with ...Ag4, the move of 9 h3 must be regarded as essential to the White, who until now has conducted the retention of the slight opening advan interesting ending faultlessly, permits tage. victory to slip from him here. Correct would have been 47 Ael!, whereupon 9 ...Ag4 the advance of the center pawns would have been decisive: 47 .. .f3 48 d5 exd5+ Bogoljubow, to be sure, played first 49 cxd5 .£le7 50 e6 'ittf6 51 Ah4+ 'ittg6 (against Capablanca in London, 1922, 52 'itteS 'itthS 53 .llel 'ittg6 54 .£lf7. With and against Dr. Lasker in Maehrisch the text move the opponent is presented Ostrau, 1923) 9 ... exd4 10 cxd4 and then with the tempo he needed for a draw. . .. Ag4, which is not so good by far, in asmuch as it permits White (as actually 47 ... f3 48 '\!lxf3 done by Dr. Lasker in the game referred to) to play, instead of 11 Ae3, much Likewise 48 Ael no longer leads to the better 11 .£lc3, and, after ll.. . .£la5 12 goal after 48 ....£lb4! 49 'ittxf3 .£ld3! 50 �c2 cS, to fo rce a very fa vorable end 'ittxe2 .£lb2 fo llowed by ....£lxc4, and ing, fo llowing an exchange of queens, White's remaining extra pawn would by means of 13 dxcS dxc5 14 eS! not sufficefor a win. Bogoljubow's idea in itself, however, is quite correct, but must be carriedout 48 ... 4)xd4+ 49 '\!le3 4Jf5+ 50 in the exact sequence 9 ... Ag4 10 Ae3 'l!;lxe2 4)xd6 51 exd6 .1l,xc4+ 52 exd4!, as happened in the games be '\!;le3 53.1lb5 'l!;ld4h5 54 '\!;lc5.1l,a4 tween Yates and Bogoljubow and Yates 1/2-% and Capablanca in this tournament. (20) Yates,F - Lasker,Ed. 10 .ile3 Ruy Lopez [C91] White has no choice, as, after 10 dS 1 e4 e5 2 4Jf34)c6 3 .1lb5a6 4 .1l,a4 .£laS,fo llowed by the opening of the c 4)f6 5 0-0 .1le7 6 §el b5 7 Ab3 fileby means of ... c6, Black obtains a 67 New York 1924 promising game on the queenside-as 15 Ab2 �c8 16 �bd2 �fd7 Rubinstein, among others, has demon strated in several excellent games in In order to recapture with the knight recent years. after 17 dxcS (not so good would be 17 ... dxcS, after which White, by 10... �a5 means of 18 e5, fo llowed by 4Je4, would obtain a playable game), and, moreover, to force the opponent with ... Af6 to a clearance in the center. Black has now obtained a most promising game. 17 h3 A move due to embarrassment and which merely fo rces the bishop to bet ter squares. This, however, is not consistent, inas 17 ... Ah5 18 e5 much as White, after 11 dxe5 ltxf3 (ll ...dxeS 12 'li:txd8 §axd8 13 11 ,ilc2�c4 12 Act exd4 13 cxd4 Of course not 19 .Jlxd4,on account of c5 14 b3 �b6 19... dxeS 20 AxeS 4::lxe5 21 §xeS Axf3, fo llowed by . . . Af6, etc. A deviation from Bogoljubow's method of play in the aforementioned games 19 ... ,ilxd6 20 ,ilxd4 Ab4 ( ...4JaS-c6, in order to renew his pres sure upon d4 and eventually to ex Verygood. Now White suffers fr om a change White's king's bishop by means double pinning and, in order to avoid of ...4Jb 4). Although it seems to be the destruction of his king's position, somewhat less consistent, the departure has nothing better than his next move. is not to be criticized, inasmuch as the knight on b6 guards the d5-square, and 21 �e2 �d5 can also assist eventually in an enter prise on the queenside, beginning with Bringing about a most dangerous situ c4. ation for his opponent. 68 Fourth Round 22 .ll.f5 A rather harmlesseffort to turn the tem porary absence of the black rook from Unfavorable also would have been 22 the seat of war to an advantage in the g4 Ag6 23 Axg6 fxg6 24 §cl Ac3!. ending. The veryingenious text move isthe only one to hold the game intact. 28 .. ."th5 29 g4 .ll.g6 30 .ll. xg6 hxg6 31 E!,c6�xd 2 The exchange of queens was neither necessary nor pleasant. After 3l...b4 (3l...i;j 32 .£1xd2 E!.aS 33 a4 Gaining control ofthe c4-square for the 22 ....£\c3 knight, and eliminating all unimportant elements on the queenside in order the This merely leads to a series of ex better to utilize the weakness of Black's changes. Black, however, selected this a6. variation doubtless only after examin ing and correctly estimating the result 33 ...bxa4 of the very misleading 22 ... Jlc3, for instance: 23 .!Lle4 (not 23 §e4 Alxal 24 Of course 34 axb5 axb5 35 §b6 was i;j 69 New York 1924 Likewise 36 ....§.b8 37 aS would have Still another trap: 45 .§.b5.§.x b5 46 axb5 been in vain. a4 47 b6 a3 48 b7 a2 49 b8i;i< ali;)< 50 i;l Desperation. 45 §b6 §d4 46 §xg6 §xa4 47 §h6+ 'i!;lg548 §h5+ 'i!;lf4 49 §f5+ 40 �xd5 §xd5 41 §xg7 'i!;lf6 42 'i!;le4 50 h4 'i!;ld3 51 'i!;lg3 §al 52 §b7 'i!;lg5 43§b4 'i!;lh444 'i!;lg2 a5 h5 a4 53 h6 §hl 54 §h5 1-0 70 Fifth Round This round provided a genuine sensation, with Richard Reti as the hero of the day. Capablanca had drawn fo ur games in succession and his friends, no less than he, were looking fo rward to his first victory. Instead there came an astounding defeat, which, while highly creditable to Reti, gave the world's champion, after finishing one-quarter of his fu ll schedule, a rating of less than fifty percent! The manner in which he pulled up from then on, without losing another game outright or even being seriously endangered, until finally he landed in second place, dem onstrated as little else could have done the sheer greatness of Cuba's chosen son. ''Reti wins from Capablanca!" This was on everybody's lips, and soon the tidings traveled to the far comers of the earth. Next to the actual victory of Dr. Lasker, this was the best news item of the tournament. Reti took his hard-earned honors with becoming modesty, but he was the lion of the hour. Such moments are to chess players what the flush of victory is to generals in the field. Of course, it was a Reti opening. But what about the play of the champion? What was the underlying reason for this, his only defeat? The opening, it seems, he treated soundly enough. If anything, he even had a slight shade the better of it. Then he made his eighteenth move, evidently under the impression that he would win a pawn. The outcome, however, was an inferior position. Reti timed his moves with the greatest nicety and presently was rewarded by capitulation of the one man who most seldom turns down his king in token of surrender. Dr. Lasker's game with Dr. Tartakower was a Sicilian Defense adopted by the latter and conducted by both carefully and conservatively. Neither side was able to make any impression. Marshall vs. Yates was an Indian, the earlier part ofwhich was indifferently played by the American, who lost a clear pawn. Afterhis good opening, however, Yates fa iled to make fu rther headway and played the ending rather poorly. With more effort, perhaps, the game might have been won, but Marshall came away with a draw. Mar6czy and Bogoljubow discussed a Queen's Pawn Opening, in which Mar6czy endeavored to build up a winning kingside attack. Bogoljubow's defense was invincible, so much so that the admission of unsoundness was fo rced home to his opponent. Mar6czy missed a chance to draw and lost. Ed Lasker and Janowsky fo llowed the lines of an irregulardefense to the Queen's Pawn Opening. Janowsky was outplayed right from the start, but Lasker weak ened after gaining the upper hand. Janowsky seized a chance to initiate a pretty combination, after which he remained with queen against rook and knight. This was an unfortunate loss for Lasker to incur. 71 New York 1924 At this stage, Dr. Tartakowerand Bogoljubow both had scores of 3 Y2 -1 Y2 and Dr. Lasker, 3-1. As between White and Black the score was again even, 12Y2-12Y2. (21) Lasker,Dr.- Tartakower,S Against this White had nothing better Sicilian Defense [B43] than the fo llowing offer of a sacrifice which Black, however, rightly de 1 e4 c5 2 �f3 e6 3 �c3 clines. More to be recommended here is 3 .lle2 8Af3 �c6 so that, according to whatever defense Black might adopt for the next moves, he could play 3 •.•a6 4 d4 cxd4 5 �xd4 "(fJc7 In this fo rmation the Paulsen defense is quite playable, although Black must guard himselfvery carefully against the After 8 ...Axc3 9 bxc3 'itxc3, there attack successfully carried out by could have followed 10 .llf4 and e5, Bogoljubow against Rubinstein (Lon with a strong attack. After 8 ... 72 Fifth Round no compensation for the sacrificeof the This move by Nimzovitch (Carlsbad, bishop on g3. 1923) surely can be played without dis advantage. It seems to us, however, that ll ...e5 in this way Black can findcounterplay more easily than with the symmetrical �aking possible a further simplifica development of3 g3, 4 .!lg2etc., which, tion of the game. Under consideration at any rate, promises to White a chance also came 11. . ..!ld6, in order to meet of retaining his tempo, which is not by 12 3 ... Ag7 4 Ab2 o-o 5 g3 b6 Capablanca treats the opening simply as well as soundly and, after a few moves, obtains a perfectly even posi The two bishops hold out no prospect tion. of a win, inasmuch as the king's bishop 6 Ag2 Ab7 7 o-o d6 s d3 �bd79 is tied up because of the protection of �bd2 e5 the e-pawn and has, moreover, no out look on account of the respective pawn After this move, which makes fu tile the formations. possible advance of d4, on account of the subsequent pawn exchange and like wise prevents an eventual 73 New York 1924 12 a3 h6 good prospects for an attack, and be cause of the weakness at a3, would have This move, which is difficultto under had more than sufficientcompensation stand, is the best proof that Capablanca for the pawn sacrificed. After the text was poorly disposed that day. Could it move, of course, White has nothing to have been his idea to render fe asible the be afraid of, but his chances of winning knight maneuver of ... 4:lh7-f8 or ... g5? (b6 in the ending!) are also extremely Be this as it may, all he succeeds in do slight, because of the blocked position. ing in this game is to weaken his kings ide. 14... 4)f8 13 4)f1 14 ... d5 would yield the c4-square to the opponent after 15 cxd5 4:lxd5 16 4:l3d2. Protecting the e-pawn in preparing the combination of 4:lxe5 and seemingly 15 e3 threatening to win a pawn. Black, how ever, accepts the offer. In view of the weakness of c4 afterthe intended d4, this is a bold strategem which leads to complications. With 15 n . ..c5 e4, fo llowed by the establishment ofthe A clever positional trap, quite in the knight at d5, White could have easily champion's style. Its only disadvantage drawn the game. lies in the fact that White need not meddle with it at all. 15... �c7 16 d4 Jl.e4 It was essential at this very moment to force the removal of the queen. 17 �c3 Not a happily chosen spot, since Black can open the diagonal of the bishop at g7. Better would have been 17 �c1, although Black even then, by means of ...exd4 and ...4:le6, could have retained a satisfactory game. 14 b5 17 ... exd4 18 exd4 4)6d7 Reti rightly declines the Grecian gift. A miscalculation. Capablanca probably After 14 bxa5 l''lxa5 15 4:lxe5 1l.xg2 16 overlooked the check of the queen on 4:lxd7 ll.c6 17 4:lxf6+ ll.xf6 18 ll.xf6 the twenty-second move, by means of �xf6 19 �d2 h5, Black, on account of which White protects his b-pawn; oth his excellently posted bishop, which in erwise he would undoubtedly have se connection with the open a-fileheld out lected the simple move of18.. . 4:le6,the 74 Fifth Round strength of which was patent. After 19 dxc5 (there is hardly anything better) 19 ... dxc5 20 �cl, Black's position, because of the effective distribution of his pieces, would have been somewhat preferable. After the move in the text, Reti suddenly gets the better of it and from now on plays the game to perfec tion. 19 �d2 By means of his last move, Black has 26 /ild4 considerably weakened the d-file and, moreover, the exchange of his king's The most compelling move. White, to bishop, so essential to the protection of be sure, by means of the surprisingcon his king, is next to inevitable. The lesser tinuation of26 l"lld5 .!lxd527 g4 Axf3 evil for him now would have been 28 gxh5 .llxh5 29 .llc6, would have won 19 ... l"lad8,fo llowed by 20 dxc5 dxc5 the queen for a rook, knight and pawn, 21 Axg7 'it'xg722 �b2+ \figS 23 <£le3, but the final tussle in that case would and White's advantage might, perhaps, have been much more difficult and te still be overcome. dious than after the best defense pos sible against the move in the text. 19 .••cxd 4 26 ..• jlxg2 27 �xg2 �e5 Still hoping to win a pawn. Of course, he could not play 27 ...l"l xe3, 20 Jl,xd4 �xc421 jlxg7�xg7 22 on account of 28 fxe3 �xdl 29 {Jf5, �b2+ �gS 23 §xd6 but it would have been possible to make a stouter resistance by means of Not quite sufficient would have been 27... <£le5, inasmuch as White could not 23 <£l3d2�c2, but now it does threaten. then capture the b-pawn on account of 28 ... <£lc4.Thereupon he would have had 23 ... �c5 to be satisfied with an ending holding forth promise of victory, after 28 'ii'Je2 Likewise 23 ...�c7 24 l"ladl <£Jc5 25 'ii'fxe2 29 {Jxe2,etc., or else increase his <£le3 was unsatisfactory. With the text pressure by means of 28 �b3 (threat move Black endeavors to obtain a coun ening both <£ld5 and l"lxb6). In either terattack. case, by correct play, the result could not have been doubtful. 24 §adl §a7 25 /ile3 28 /ilc4 Threatening 26 <£lg4. The unfortunate queen will presently be unable to find another square. 75 New York 1924 28 ... t\'cS29 .£)c6�c7 30 .£le3-tleS Now White has no compensation at all 31 �1dS 1-0 for his loose center pawns. If now 31...4Jc4 32 E!> (23) Marshaii,F - Yates,F Even after 13 ..Q.e2, which was some Pirc Defense [B07] what better anyway, 13 ...4Je4 (14 ..Q.c4 �f5, etc.) the weakling could not have 1 d4 .£)f6 2 4:)f3g6 3 .£)bd2 been held much longer. This move, instead of the development of the queen's bishop, should, to our way of thinking, be avoided on general principles, because White obligates himself unnecessarily without influenc ing the development of his adversary. The consequences of such strategy be come apparent very soon. 3 ....Q.g7 4 e4 d6 S .Q.d3 Likewise this posting of the bishop is here without effect. n ... 4:)xd4 After this simple gain of a pawn (and not 13 ...�xa2 14 4Jc4, etc., which For an exception this knight move, oth White probably had hoped for) Black's erwise not suitable to the "Indian," is victory, despite Marshall's tenacious here opportune, a circumstance which defense, should have become merely a very clearly shows how colorless were matter of time. the first moves of White. 14 Axd4 �xd4 15 4)xd4.l;txd1 16 6 c3 0-0 7 0-0 e5 8 .£)c4 �fxd1 �xd4 17 4)b3�d6 An evident mistake which affords Black Not 17 ...E!d7, because of 18 4Jc5. Af an immediate advantage. With 8 d> 76 FifthRound 19 Jlf3 c6 20 �a5 .§e7 21 .§c4 �d7 36 �b5 axb5 37 .§xd7 .§xd7 �d5 22 g3 .§fe8 23 h3 �c3 24 38 .§xd7 .1l,xc5 39 ..Q.d5 .§f8 40 .§d2 Jlh6 .§xb7 Axa3 1/z -112 From now on Black begins to elaborate (24) Maroczy,G - Bogoljubow,E and in that way gradually spoils his Colle Opening [DOS] position. He was not being threatened so that he could have played ... .llf6 and 1 d4 4)f6 2 4)f3 e6 3 e3 ...'it'g7 and then made an attempt to ex change a rook. In view of the present theory of the Queen's Gambit, there is no good rea 25 .§h2 �d5 26 h4Ag7 son why White should evade the varia tions resulting from 3 c4. Here 26... a6 at once would have been better. 3 ... c5 4 Ad3 d5 5 h3 �c6 27 .§h3 a6 28 .§c2 Black desires to hold the center in abey ance for a while in order later on to be able to operate through the threat of ...c4. Likewise worthy of consideration would have been 5 ... cxd4 6 exd4 Jlb4+, which, to our way of thinking, could have been best answered by White with 7 'it'fl . The forfeiture of castling would there be fu lly compen sated for by control of the center and the more mobile pawn formation(even tually c4). In preparation for a4, which, on account 6 0-0 .Q.d67 Ah2 0-0 8 4)e5 of . ..4Jb6, would not do right away. 28 ...4)b 6 29 .§d3 4)d7 30 4)c4 As little effective as 8 4Jbd2, with .Q.fS which Bogoljubow came to grief against Capablanca. In such fas hion, of course, no game can be won! 31 '\tg2 .§bS32 a3 c5 This clever maneuver of the knight, with the idea of increasing the action Under the circumstances, this simplify of the rook on the c-file later on and ing process is the most sensible; other at the same time guarding the wise (perish the thought!) White soon kingside, had already been employed could start playing for a win. successfu lly by Bogoljubow in his match with Rubinstein (Stockholm 33 .§cd24)f6 34bxc5 .§c735 4)d6 Goteborg, I920). Black indeed seems 77 New York 1924 to obtain a satisfactory defensive posi tion thereby. Still better, however, is 8 . ..'lii' e7 9 f4 cxd4, after which the ex change of the adverse bishop is forced. 9 o£ld2b6 10 f4 Ab7 11 �f3 White can retain attacking prospects only if he contends for the possession of e4 with the hostile knight. ll ...,!:!c8 12 o£lg4 16 g4 The consequences of12 g4 c4 13 bxc4 A fa ulty combination which leads to a dxc4 14 'lii'xb7 cxd3 15 cxd3 14 o£lf3 Or 17 .lle2cxb3, fo llowed by . ..l"lc2. Inadequate, for the purpose of obtain 17 ...lil xf4 ing an advantage, would have been 14 .llxg6 hxg6 15 78 Fifth Round :Jded. is enabled to bring about a play ther to part with the e-pawn or the two �-=-leending. Decisive would have been pawns on the queenside. Afterthis the . . :'=:xf5 21 E!xf5 exf5 22 cxd3 "itfe7 ending, after 30oo.a6 31 .>lc7b5 32 .lla5 > -;;rf3 Elc2 24 Elb1 (24 .llc1 Elxcl +) <;!;>g7 33 <;!;>e3 Ab1 34 <;!;>xe2 .iba2 .:-t..."i'fxg5+25 "it!g3 "itfd2 26 ..lla3 f4 27 (3400 .b4 35 <;f;>d2)35 b4 <;!;>xg636 <;!;>e3, · h:3..ilc8 and wins. would very likely have led to a draw, notwithstanding the unequal material. 21 g6 h6 22 Aa3 §xf5 23 §xf5 exf5 24 �xf5 �f6 26 ...�xd 4+ 27 �h1 �f6 0-1 Since his omission on the twentieth (25) Lasker,Ed. - Janowsky,D :llOYe, all of Black's moves have been Queen's Pawn Opening [A50] :·l,rced. 1 d4 4)f6 2 4)f3 b6 3 c4 Ab7 4 4)c3 d6 This deployment of the pawns on black squares promises no positional advan tage for Black, but certainly has a bad feature in that it weakens the white squares in his own camp. The supple mentary move to 00 .b6 is oo.e6, exactly as in the King's Indian Defense oo.g6 is supplemented by 0 0 .d6. 25 §e1 5 Ag5 4)bd7 6 �c2 e5 This should lead to a less unfavorable The lesser evil would have been 6oo.c5 ending than 25 Elfl "itfxf5 (but not in order, after 7 d5, to fianchetto the 2'5oo."itfxd4+ 26 <;f;>h1 "it!f6 27 "it!e6+)26 second bishop. After the text move, a :'=:xf5 Elc8 27 lt'f2 Ele8 28 Ele5 Elxe5 line clearance fa vorable only to the bet 29 dxe5 .>lc8, and Black would have ter-developed opponent becomes inevi won the g-pawn also. table. 25 ...§e2 7e3 h6 Clearly fo rced. Leading, in connection with the next move, to a decisive dissolution of the 26 §fl king's position, the utilization of which is made easier for White by the open Inconsequent and immediately disas ing of the h-file. Therefore, White's trous. After26 Elxe2 dxe2 27 "it!xf6gxf6 position after the eleventh move may 28 lt'f2 .lla6 29 itd6 .lld3 30 .llb8, already be regarded in the light of astra Black would have been compelled ei- tegic victory. 79 New York 1924 8 Ah4 g5 9 Ag3 4)h5 10 o-o-o Still better than 21 A furtherinjury to the position. However, 21 ...c5 Black by this time stands so poorly that it seems next to impossible to find a In order to open up some prospects at satisfactory plan of defense. Of course, least for the bishop. 12 ...lhf3 13 gxf3 exd4 14 exd4 ilxd4 22 4)xg4 cxd4 23 !!xd4 4)c5 24 would not do on account of 15 ile4. 4)xc5+ 13 4)h4 exd4 14 exd4 �g5+ 15 Herewith White unnecessarily compli <;!;lb1 0-0-0 cates his chances of winning. Much simpler would have been to take along Black after all succeeded in landing his another pawn with 24 16 Ae4 !!he8 24 ... bxc5 25 !!e4 �c6 26 4)f6!!e6 27 !!f5 If16 ... c6, then 17 �a4 'l/c7 18 27 ... <;!;lb8 28 f3 Jl.g7 29 4)d5 !!d7 30 b3 In order to able to reply to 30 ...l"ib7 with 31 l"ixf7. 30 ...a5 31 a4 Here, however, 31 �e2 at once was simpler, inasmuch as the continuation 3l...a4 32 l"ixe6fxe6 33 �xe6 axb3 34 19 4)f5 axb3 was not to be fe ared (34 ...�a6 35 �e8+, or 34 ...l"ia7 35 �g8+, and wins). Decisive. The pawns on the black kingside can clearly not be defended 31 ...§a7 and may be picked otTby the opponent in any order he may prefer. A clearance move for the queen which makes White's winning line somewhat 19... Af8 20 !!h5 �a6 21 4)e3 more difficult. 80 Fifth Round 32 'itfe2 itfeS 33 �f6 itfcS34 �h5 45 itfeS+ .,a.d435 �f4 f!e5 36 g4 The first miracle: the simple 45 fxeS -\ well calculated pawn sacrificewhich would have won at once, for instance: Black would do better to decline with 45 ...�g2+ (or 45 ...:1'1b 2+ 46 �c3, etc.) _'- 6 . . . Eiae7,for, after the acceptance, the 46 f1e2f1b2+ 47 �c3 and, if47 ...�xe2 ,;arne must be lost for him in a few or ... Eixe2, then mate in fivemoves be :-rwves. ginning with 48 �e8+. 36 ...,E!x f5 37 gxf5 'itfxf5 38 g4 �h7 39 'i!}cl .Q.e540 �d5 And here's the second; not to mention '\ow the position has been clarified. that 46 fxe5 would even now have won -\gainstf4 and the subsequent entrance similarly as on the previous move, he of the white pieces Black no longer has could have brought about in addition a a defense. victory-yieldingending by means of 46 �e7+ �xe7 47 {lxe7, etc. 40 ... f5 41 gxf5 f!g742 f4 46 ....Q.xf 4+ It is not necessary for White to bother himself about the consequences of the This obvious check, which makes pos loss of the exchange on e5, inasmuch sible the decisive entrance of the black as the plan he thought out on playing queen, was evidently completely over .36 g4 is fu lly adequate. looked by White. 42 ... ,E!gl+ 43 'i!}d2 E!bl 44 itfh5 47 E!xf4 'itfb2+48 'it'e3 itfxb3+ 49 itfg7 'i!}f2 'itfc2+ 50 'it'g3 A final trap, for the success of which After50 �f3 §fl + the king would have two miracles are required. been fo rced to the g-fileanyway. 50 ... ,E!gl+ 51 'it'h3 E!hl+ 52 'it'g3 f!gl+5 3 'it'h3f!xg6 54fxg6 itfxg6 Afterthe capture of the queen, the game of course is quite easily won. 55 'i!}h4 'i!}b7 56 'it'h3 itfeS 57 'i!}h4 'i!}c6 58 E!g4 'itfe2 59 'it'g3 itfd3+ 60 'i!}h4'itfc2 61 �e7+ 'i!}d7 62 �d5 itfh2# 0-1 81 Sixth Round This round at last brought victory to Capablanca and, at precisely the same time, the first defeat for Dr. Tartakower. The only draw was between Dr. Lasker and Ed Lasker, which required three sessions and went to I 03 moves! But for this the white pieces would have made a clean sweep on all the boards. As it was, Black suffered to the extent of 4Yz-Yz. The game between the two Laskers has been characterized as the greatest fight ing game of the tournament, and rightly so. The different phases cannot very well be dealt with here, but have received the most painstaking scrutiny from Mr. Alekhine. Suffice it to say that Dr. Lasker fa iled to exact the maximum penalty when tribute was coming his way. Thereafter Ed Lasker's defense was superb and, toward the last, he was actually in the ascendancy. Dr. Lasker, with a lonely knight, drew against rook and pawn in a classical ending. A Dutch Defense by Dr. Tartakower against Capablanca was the firstreally plea surable game on the part of the champion, and a fine example of his machine-like precision and superior technique. The ending came to a classical position, with king on f6, pawn on g6, and rook at h7. Although Dr. Tartakower was two pawns ahead, he could not stem the tide. Alekhine vs. Janowsky was another irregulardefense to the Queen's Pawn Open ing and mismanaged strategically by Janowsky, who castled on the queenside in the fa ce of a grilling attack promptly worked up by Alekhine. The black queen's bishop remained out of the game after six moves. A second setback came to Marshall at the hands of Mar6czy in a Three Knights Opening. The Hungarian cunningly induced the American to sacrifice a pawn for an attack which was not sufficiently compensating.The manner in which Mar6czy improved his position thereafter was most instructive. He fo rced the exchange of queens and, timing his moves with precision, won the rook ending, despite Marshall's stubborn resistance. Reti played another fine game against Yates, the development of the opening being peculiarly his own. He placed his pieces as fo llows: queen on al; bishops on b2 and g2; rooks on c I and c2. When the break came Yates could not hold the position in the center. Thanks to the great drawing effort against his namesake and Capablanca's vic tory, Dr. Lasker, after completionof all the games of this round, was tied with Alekhine and Bogoljubow at 3Yz-l Yz, fo llowed by Dr. Tartakower with 3Yz-2Yz. White went ahead in the race between the colors, the score reading: White 17, Black 13. 82 Sixth Round (26) Lasker,Dr. - La.�ker,Ed. the older method of 12 ... 4Jc6whereby Ruy Lopez [C99] Black fo regoes an immediate counter sally, appears nevertheless to be some 1 e4 e5 2 .£)f3 .£)c63 Ah5 a6 4 Aa4 what more enduring . .£)f6 5 0-0 .lle7 6 §el b5 7 .llb3 0-0 13 cxd4 Ad7 14 .£)fl §fc8 This move may also be made in advance The other rook is to be utilized either of ... d6; if properly answered, however, on the a- or b-files. Black, however, it amounts merely to a transposition of does not get so far. moves. 15 §e2 8c3d6 This move, to be sure, is quite good Simply because the pawn sacrifice by enough, but appears somewhat strange 8 ...d5, attempted by Marshall against and, therefore, furnishes the opponent Capablanca (New York, 1918), was re something new to think about. Some fu ted by the latter in the fol lowing man what more natural and at least quite as ner: 9 exd5 4::lxd5 10 4::lxe5 4::lxe5 11 good would have been 15 .lld3, as ::"\xeS4Jf6 12 §el .lld6 13 h3 4Jg4 14 played by Mar6czy against Reti. d4 'ii\'h4 15 �f3 4::lxf2 16 §e2, and Black 15... .£)h5 was unable to obtain proper compensa tion for the fo llowing sacrifice of The pawn sacrifice involved is quite 16 ....llg4. ingenious and interesting, but in the end turns out to be incorrect. The proper 9h3 continuation would have been 15 ...b4 16 .lld3 �b8, in order to ease the de This preparatory move is necessary here fe nse through an exchange by means of in order to prevent the very unpleasant .. Jl..b5. White's superiority, however, pinning by means of ...Alg4. Aside from would have been evident even afterthat this, it prepares the way for an eventual line of play. demonstration against the kingside. 16 dxe5 dxe5 9 ... .£)a5 10Ac2 c5 11 d4 ttfc7 12 .£)bd2 cxd4 In the hope of being able to make use of the c-file as a base of operations. As, however, is shown by this game, and especially so by the one between Mar6czy and Reti (Game 89), White can easily dispute this file with the op ponent and thereafter, by cramping the hostile fo rces with the eventual d5, gain an advantage. In consequence of this, 83 New York 1924 17 4)xe5 29 b3 4)d2 Dr. Lasker does not allow himselfto be After 29 ...4Jb6 (if 29 ...4Jd6 30 4Je3), frightened by the approaching compli White, by means of 30 §c6 ..lla3 31 cations and quietly accepts the proffered § 1c2, could next fo rce the exchange of gift. The fo llowing intricate combina a rook, thereby lessening the pressure tions are splendidly handled by him upon the d-file. The text move leaves until a winning position is reached. the knight in a sort of blind-alley. 17 ... .Q.xh3 18 4)xf7 30 4)e3 With the terrible threat of 19 �d5. Now the threat is §dl, fo llowed by driving the bishop off the e l-aS diago 18 ... .Q.e6 19 4)g5 Ac4 20 .Q.d3 nal, with the gain of a piece, while the §d8 21 §c2 counter-combination of 30 ...4:lxe4 31 fxe4 §xe4 would be neutralized by This leads to a more fa vorable defen means of 32 §c8. Being of the opinion sive position than the immediate ex that he has discovered a hidden defense, change, for instance: 21 ..llxc4+ {Jxc4 Black surprises the adversary by fo rc (21...�xc4 22 �c2 �xc2 23 §xc2 §d1 ing him to execute his threat at once. In 24 {Jf3) 22 �b3 4Jf4 23 ..llxf4 �xf4 the end, however, he is doomed to dis 24 4Jh3 (if 24 4Je6 �g4) 24 ...�e5, appointment. [Aiekhine overlooked that with drawing chances as in the actual §cB fa ils against §eS. The flagon Ed. game. Lasker's clock was about to fa ll and, fo rced to move immediately, he did not 21...4)f4 22 .Q.xf4 �xf4 23 .£lh3 risk the sacrifice. It would have won the �e5 24 Axc4+ 4)xc4 25 �e2 game. - Note by Ed. Lasker, 1961.] Now White has a substantial pawn to 30 ... .Q.a3 31 §d1 .Q.b4 the good and it is merely necessary to drive away the black knight from his Clearly insufficient would have been commanding post which in the long run 31... ..1ld6, on account of 32 4Jg4. cannot be prevented. The temporary control of the black squares does not 32 a3 compensate Black for the pawn. It was necessary to calculate this win 25... §d4 26 f3 §adS 27 §acl .Q.c5 ning maneuver with great exactness. 2s �h1 Ab4 32 ... .Q.a5 33 b4 Ac7 The exertions of Black have resulted merely in emphasizing the threat ofb3. The threatened mate cannot now be The invasion of d2 by the knight, con properly met with 34 4Jg4, on account templated with the text move, is an act of the reply 34 ...4Jxe4. White, however, of desperation which should not alter has prepared a much more effective re the fa te of the game. ply. 84 Sixth Round 34 f4 for 38 ... .llb6 would be met by 39 E!c8+ <;!;>f740 <£lxe4f!xe 4 41 'li1xe4,fo llowed Leaving Black with but one answer. by 42 <£lg5+. After that, of course, the game would be over. The text move, on the other hand, makes it at least very difficultto win the game. Now not 35 fxe5 �g3+ 36 <;!;>h2 �xe2 37 f!xc7 f!xd1 38 �xd1 f!xd1 39 �g5 37 ... �xc7 38 �xe4 �c4 E!d8 40 E!a7, which to be sure, gives promise of fa ir winning chances, but lf38 ...f!x d1 39 'li1e8#. White's continuation is far more fo rce fu l. 39 �e7 35 'i!ilh2 Neither here nor later can White win if he exchanges the queens, because Black The next move is fo rced. would spread himself in the endgame over the queens ide of the board by cap turing the a-pawn, in addition to ex changing the pawn on b4, whereupon Or 35 .. :li1e7 36 �f5. the remaining pawns on the kingside would not sufficeto bring about a win. 36 /dxdl Through the avoidance ofthe exchange, however, he presently reaches a defen sive position in which he is not entitled Of course not 36 fxe5 .llxe5+ 37 g3 to expect a legitimate win. Neverthe f(1d 2. less, he persists in trying to win-and in that lies the explanation of the sacrifice 36... �e7 on the fifty-first move. 39 ... �c8 40 4:)df2 The queen ending, after 40 <£lg5 E!xd1 41 'li1f7+ <;!;>h8 42 'li1h5 h643 'li1xd1 hxg5 44 'li1h5+ lt'g845 'li1xg5 'li1cl, promised only slight winning chances, and 40 <£le3 would not do on account of 40 ... E!e8. 40... h6 41 �a7 37 §xc7 41 <£le4 offered better chances, for, af ter 41...E!e842 'li1c5'li1xc5 43 <£lxc5f!e3 Here, however, he loses the fruits of his 44 <£lxa6 f!xa3 45 <£lc5, the white b solid position play. The simple 37 <£ldf2 pawn can be held. Consequently, Black E!d4 38 'li1e3 would have won a piece, would have to answer 42 'li1c5 with 85 New York 1924 42 ... iife6-atany rate with a more diffi 51 .!£lxh6+ cult defense than in the actual game. The hopes of victory bound up with this 41 ... 'li\'e6 42 'li\'b7 'li\'d5 43 'li\'b6 combination are shattered by the cir cumstance that the knight, because of Exchange of queens, as well as 43 iifxa6 the unsafe position of the king, cannot Ela8 fo llowed by Elxa3, could not, of co-operate at the right time. Moreover, course, be considered as part of a win through persistent avoidance of draw ning plan. ing possibilities, White, in consequence of his weak a-pawn, actually drifts into 43 ...§d6 44 'li\'e3 45§e6 'li\'c3'li\'c4 the shallows of defeat. Black's position has been improved 51 ... gxh6 52 'li\'g6+ \t'f8 53 'li\'xh6+ quite considerably during the last eight \t'e8 54 'li\'g6+ 55\t'd8 'li\'g3 moves. A simple draw could have been reached 46 'li\'f3'li\'c6 47 'li\'d3§d6 48 'li\'b3+ here through 55 iifb6+ 'ifte8 56 iifb8+ 'li\'d5 49 'li\'bl §e6 'ifi'e7 57 iifa7+ 'ifi'f8 58 iifb8+ Ele8 59 Now the rook threatens a counterattack iifa7,after which Black would have had (particularly upon the a-pawn) and nothing better than to resort to 58 ...Ele2. White, should he not be satisfied with Similar opportunities also will offer a draw through repetition of moves, themselves to White during the next few must now positively "discover" some moves. thing. 55... §e8 50 .!£1g4§e2 After 55 ...Eld2, threatening ... Eld3, Black has correctly weighed the fu til White, by means of a series of checks ity of the sacrifice contemplated by the beginning with 56 iifh4+,could always opponent and quietly allows it, the more have fo rced a cessation of the threat so as, by some other continuation, the ened mate at g2. posting of the knight on e5 might have brought White slight winning chances. 56 'li\'f2 §g8 57 'li\'b2 Here likewise iifb6+ would have com pelled the draw. 57 ...'li\'d6 Safeguarding the king against fu rther checks and preventing attack by the knight. 58 'li\'c3 \t'd7 59 'li\'f3 \t'c760 'li\'e4 §g7 61 'li\'f5 86 Sixth Round White has carried through his plan fully More compelling, however, would have and, by means of finequeen maneuver been 67 ...�d6, thereafter driving the :ng, assured the co-operation of the knight from d5 by means of l"!dl,and knight. It seems, however, that this last to play for the capture of the b-pawn in IS at this stage of minor importance and conjunction with a direct attack upon does not in any way prevent the fa ll of the king. the a-pawn. 68 �g2 6I ....§e7 62 /ilg5 Of course not 68 \t>g4, on account of There was still time to make the 68 ...�e2+, etc. queenside safe by means of 62 �c2+ �d8 63 �c3. The tempting move of the 6S... "If/h7 69 "lf/xh7 knight, on the contrary, should cost the game. White cannot avoid exchange of queens, because, after 69 �e5+ or 62 ... .§e3 63 /ile4 "lf/e7 �f8+, he would have had no more checks and his king would have been Threatening to win the queen by obliged to succumb eventually to the 64 ...�h4+. combined attack of the two black pieces. 64 /ilf6 �bs 69 ....§xh 7 70 �f3 �b7 71 g4 �c6 Whereby the fate of the a-pawn is 72 �e4 sealed. Black, since his thirty-eighth move, has defended himself quite fa ult lessly and has now attained a winning position. 65 g3 Aimless would have been 65 65 ... .§xa3 66 �h3 .§al 66 ... �xb4 would have permittedWhite a draw by perpetual check: 67 �e5+ 72 ... .§h8 \t>b768 �d5+. This plausible move grants White a hid 67 /ild5.§hl + den possibility for a draw. Correct would have been 72 ... l"!d7, which By means of this move and the follow would have forced the retreat of the ing Black fo rces the exchange of queens knight without taking the rook from the and a winning, albeit difficultending. seventh row; for instance: 72 ... l"!d773 87 New York 1924 4:\e3 (if73 4:lf6§d8 74 gS aS 7S bxaS 79 ...�b6 80 l!i'e3 \!i'xa781 4:\b2would b4 76 g6 b3, and wins) 73 ... aS 74 bxaS lead into the variation outlined above. b4 7S gS (or a6) 7S ... I!i'cS 76 4:\c2 b3 77 4:\a3 b2 78 g6 �b4 79 4:\b1 (or 79 80 g5 §.xa7 81 g6 §.d7 82 .£jb2 4:\c2+ �b3) 79 ...§d1 80 g7 §g1, fo l §.d2 83 'itlf3 lowed by ... §xg7, and wins. The point of the whole defense: the 73 .£le3 knight, of course, cannot be captured on account of84 g7, and Black, there After 73 4:\f6, 73 ... §d8, followed by fore, in case he desires to continue play ... aS, would have been decisive. ing for a win, must permit the approach of the hostile king to his passed pawn. 73 ...§.e8+ 74 'itld4 §.dB+75 'itle4 83 ...§.d8 84 'itle4 §.d2 85 'itlf3§.dB White will not permit his king to be 86 'itle4 'itld6 separated from his passed pawn and eventually he is seen to be right. After 7S �c3, Black most likely would have With this move, to be sure, White's two continued with 7S ...§d6, so that, after passed pawns are forcibly captured, a move of the knight, he might have nevertheless the ending, despite the occupied d I with his rook, but, after a great advantage in material, strangely pawn move, to cross over with his king enough cannot be won. to the defense. A direct loss for White does not appear in this variation; the text 87 'itld4 §.c888 g7 'itle689 g8"®'+ move, however, which leads to a clear §.xg890 'itlc4§.g3 91 .£la4'itlf5 92 drawing position after a short and sharp 'itlb4 'itlxf4 struggle, is more convincing. 75 ...a5 76 bxa5 b4 77 a6 The only move. Obviously insufficient, for instance, would have been 77 gS b3 78 4:\c4 1!i'cS 4:\b279 §d2 80 4:\d3+�c4 81 4:\eS+ �c3. and wins. 77 ... 'itlc5 Richer in possibilities than 77 ... b3 78 4:\c4 �bS 79 4:\b2 l!i'xa6 (79 ...§d2 80 a7 comes to naught) 80 �e3 �bS 81 93 .£lb2 'itle494 .£la4'itld4 95 .£jb2 gS I!i'b4 82 g6 1!i'c3 (or �a3) 83 4:la4+ §.f3 (or 4:\c4+), and Black dare not venture upon ...�c2 or ...l!i'a2, on account of An attempt to bring over the king to d2 fS, fo llowed by g7. behind the rook. Meanwhile, however, White had time to post his king on b2 78 a7 b3 79 .£ld1 §.aS so that fu rther attempts to approach 88 Sixth Round must remain fu tile. An unusual game Discounting this intention in the most rich in vicissitudes. simple manner, since, after9 . . . �h5, 10 e4 would fo llow with advantage for 96 /ila4§e3 97 lilb2 �e4 98 /ila4 White. Black, therefore, applies himself �f3 99 �a3 �e4 100 �b4 �d4 to the task of simplification. 101 /ilb2 §h3 102 /ila4 �d3 103 �xb3 �d4+ 1f2-% 9... /ile4 10 .llxe7 /ilxc3 11 bxc3 �xe7 12 a4 (27) Capablanca,J- Tartakower,S Dutch Defense [A85] In order to answer 12 . ..0Jc6 with 13 §ful(threat ening a5) 13... 0Ja5 14 c5 , 1 d4 e6 2 'ilf3 f5 3 c4 !ilf6 4 .llg5 fo llowed by §b5 . .lle7 With this and the fo llowing moves, 12 ... .Q.xf3 Black's main disadvantage in this open ing, that is, the difficulty of developing This exchange is made clearly in order his queen's knight at the proper time, to avoid the aforementioned variation. without weakening his basically un Now, however, it happens-as usual in sound pawn fo rmation still more, is by mobile pawn fo rmations-that the no means eliminated. More. suitable for bishop is superior to the knight. The rest this purpose would have been 4 ...�b4+ of the game is a very fine example of 5 0Jbd2 (5 0Jc3 c5) 5 ..."Zl c6 6 e3 0-0, the utilization of such an advantage. fo llowed eventually by ...d6 and ... e5. 13 �xf3 /ilc614 §fb1 §ae8 5 /ilc3 0-0 6 e3 b6 7 .lld3 .llb7 8 o-o �e8 Not yet necessary. 14 ... 0Ja5(15 c5 bxc5 16 §b5 c4), as well as 14 ...g5, could At all events better than 8 ...0Je4, which safely have been played. occurred in the game between Marshall and Dr. Tartakower. Black now even 15 �h3 threatens a light-horse attack through ...�h5, fo llowed by ...0Jg4. Gaining time for f4, whereby Black's ...e5 is retarded for a long while. 9�e2 15... §f6 This move also might well have been replaced with 15 ...g5, which after.all was inevitable 16 f4 /ila5 17 '(i!/f3 d6 After 17 ...c5, White could have launched an attack beginning with 18 g4. After the text move, however, he 89 New York 1924 obtains even better objects for attack in the center. 1S .§e1 '®'d7 - After 18 ... e5, there fo llows 19 e4, and the opening of the file would only ben • efit White. 19 e4 fxe4 20 '®'xe4 g6 21 g3 The plan ofattack is clear; afterproper preparation, the h-pawn must advance. � ��_-.- �-��- -� . l� 21 ... <;!tfS 22 <;!tg2 .§f7 ��"' . .-1 Or 22 ...�c6 23 �xc6 4:Jxc6 24 c5, threatening .£lb5. Jose Rmil Capahlancu 23 h4 24 cxd5 exd5 25 '®'xeS+ '®'xeS 26 .§xeS+ <;!(xeS 27 h5 That is the calamity-the rook now en ters the hostile camp by way of the h file. 27 ....§f6 2S hxg6 hxg6 29 .§h1 <;!tfS 30 .§h7.§c6 31 g4 �c4 32 g5 Threatening l"lh6, fo llowed by f5, and against it there is nothing to be done. 23 ...d5 32 ...�e3+ 33 90 Sixth Round is 3 ...g6, fo llowed by .llg7, because for the time being it obligates Black the least. 4g3 The correct reply which obtains for White the fo rmation of a powerful center. 4 ... c6 5 .Q.g2 .!£lbd7 6 e4 .Q.g6 7 -tlge2 e5 35 Ci!7g3 In order, among other things, to reserve Decisive! White sacrifices material in the opportunity still to develop the order to obtain the classical position king's bishop. On the other hand, d6 is with king on f6, pawn on g6 and rook marked as a potential weakness, while on h7, whereupon the black pawns the black pieces, as before, are without tumble like ripe apples. a fu ture. 8h3 35 ••. §xc3+ 36 Ci!7h4 §f3 37 g6 §xf4+ 38 Ci!7g5 §e4 39 Ci!7f6Ci!7g8 40 §g7+ Ci!7h8 41 §xc7 §e8 42 A necessary positional move to safe Ci!7xf5 guard permanently the g4-square, and thereby make Ae3 possible. Again the simplest. 42 'it'f7 would not yet have been disastrous, because of 8 ... �b6 9 0-0 0-0-0 42 ...§d8, etc. This supplies the opponent with an ob 42 ...§e4 43 Ci!7f6 §f4+44 Ci!7e5 §g4 jective for a direct attack which, owing 45 g7+ Ci!7g8 46 §xa7 §gl 47 to the unfortunate disposition of Black's Ci!7xd5 §c1 48 Ci!7d6 §c2 49 d5 §cl pieces, will have catastrophic conse 50 §c7 §al 51 Ci!7c6 §xa4 52 d6 quences. After 9 ....fl.e7 10 Ae3 fJc7,it 1-0 would not have been so easy for White to transform his positional advantage (28) Alekhine,A - Janowsky,D into victory. Old-Indian Defense [A53] 10 d5 1 d4 .!£lf6 2 c4 d6 3 .!£lc3Af5 Demolishing all of Black's hopes for The course of this game demonstrates an eventual delivery by means of d5. in the most convincing manner that the The temporary release of c5 is, in com development of the bishop at f5 is not parison with this main motive, alto desirable here. The most effective play gether immaterial. 91 New York 1924 16... �xb 4 17 Axa7+ �a8 18 §.fh1 �a5 19 Ae3 .£lc5 20 E!.b5�c7 21 a5 .£lfd7 Black has weathered the firstonset suc cessfully; but, inasmuch as White can attack the hostile king with all of his seven pieces, while Black's kingside is wholly undeveloped and his queen's bishop has long since fo rgotten that he is able to move, it is only a question of time when White must win. 10 ... .£lc5 11 Ae3 cxd5 12 cxd5 �a6 22 .£1c1§.c8 23 .£lb3 .£1a6 Acceptance of the pawn sacrificewould After 23 ...{Jxb3, would fo llow 24 a6, have led to a clearly losing position. For forcing 24 ...b6, for after 24 ... {Jxa1 (or instance, 12 .. :{;1-xb2 13AxeS dxc5 14 ... {Jxd2)25 axb7+ would mate in a few �a4 �b6 15 f4 exf4 16 gxf4, etc., but moves. the continuation in the text is likewise without prospects. 24 .£1a4Ae7 13 f3 Black makes up his mind to give up the exchange, knowing that, if 24 ...<;>b8, Simple and decisive. Black has no White would have proceeded to insti longer a defense against b4. tute a decisive attack with 25 §cl �d8 26 §c6. If 13 ... �d3, then 14 �cl. 14 b4 .£lcd7 15 a4 But this is lack of precision, which per mits the opponent to regain control of c5, and in that way to resist a while longer. 15 �d2 �c4 16 §ab1, fo llowed by §fcl, would have deprived him even of this last chance. 25 .£1b6+ The crisis. After 25 ... {Jxb6 would fa t Even now 16 §b1 would have been low 26 axb6, �moves 27 §xa6+ and very strong. wins. 92 Sixth Round 2S ... '\tlb8 26 .§.c1 .£jdc5 27 .£ixc5 tempo plus, which, however, merely d•c5 28 .£jxc8 .§.xeS 29 .!lf1�d7 sufficesfor equalization. 30 .§.b6 c4 4 ... d5 5 exd5 .£lxd5 6 Ad2 0-0 7 ::::>esperation, for after 30 ....1ld8 31 Elb2 .!le2 .£jc68 0-0 .Q.e6 :'::s pawn could not be defended. But this move does not fitinto the sys 31 .§.xc4 .§.xc4 32 .!lxc4 �xh3 33 tem, inasmuch as he makes additional �g2 exchanges possible for the opponent, thereby easing up on the position. More The conductor of the white pieces per promising and analogous to the Ruy .:eived quite well that 33 .llxa6 was Lopez would have been either 8 ...�xc3 also possible, with the fo llowing 9 bxc3 .llaS,or 8 ... .1lxc39 bxc3 �d6. \ ariation: 33 ..."�xg3+ 34 ittg2 itte1 + 'I') 33 ... �xg2+ 34 '\tlxg2 Jl.d835 .§.b2 16 �d2 .§.e6 17 .§.e3 .§.g6 18 g3 '\tlc8 36 .!lxa6 bxa6 37 .!lb6 .!lg5 38 .§.c2+ '\tlb7 39 d6 f5 40 d7 1-0 Of course, 18 Elg3 could have been played; the text move, however, is (29) Maroczy,G- Marshall,F somewhat cunning, for by creating a Petroff Defense [C42] weakness that is not dangerous, he in duces the opponent to undertake a di 1 e4 e5 2 .£if3 .£Jf6 3 .£ic3 Ab4 rect offensive. In this variation, a "Ruy Lopez" for Black, frequently made use of by Pillsbury, White is able in simple fash ion to obtain the advantage oftwo bish ops: 4 �xeS 0-0 5 .lle2 Ele8 6 �d3 .llxc3 7 dxc3 �xe4 8 0-0, etc. 4d3 This defensive move, on the contrary, is in no way intended to retain the ad vantage of the opening. White is now playing the Steinitz Defense with a 18... f5 93 New York 1924 After 18 ... §e6 19 §ae1 §fe8, the last driven back, as 37 ...'/!j 19 §xe5 f4 Among other things, Black threatens, by means of 20 .. .fxg3 21 hxg3 'i!j After 24 ...§f2, there would fo llow 25 44 ...�f1 + 45 �h2 h5 §e8! After45 ...§f2+ 46 §xf2 '/!j With this move the hostile queen is at 47 d6 94 Sixth Round Xhich could now be defended with 48 58 ...'i!?e3 59 §el+ 'i!?d4 �e8+ it'h7 49 'ii:1xh5+ �g8 50 'li¥d5+ �-any 51 §e2. After 59 ...�d3, would fo llow 60 l::ie7 bxc5 61 bxc5 aS 62 l::ixg7 §xeS 63 hS, o�"'.. . �dl 48 �e6+ 'i!?h749 �e2 winning. \\.hite sacrifices a pawn for the sake of 60 §dl+ 'i!?e5 ;1mplification in order to force ex :hange of queens. In the subsequent Otherwise would fo llow 61 §d6. �ook ending, however, Marshall under ;tands, by interposing technical diffi 61 §cl 'i!?e4 :ulties, how to prolong the game con ;iderably. And now we again have the position afterWhite's fifty-eighthmove, with the o�9... §fl 50 �xdl §xdl 51 b4 diffe rence that it is his tum to move. � xd6 52 §c2 'i!?g6 53 'i!?g2'i!?f5 54 c5 §c6 55 'i!?f3 'i!?e5 g456 62 a4 'i!?e3 63 b5 If now (or on the next move) 56 cxb6, Decisive. then, of course, not 56 ...l::i xc2 57 b7, but simply 56 ...§x b6, with excellent 63 ... §g6+ .::hances for a draw. Or 63 ...l::i xc5 64 §xeS bxe5 6S aS c4 56 ... hxg4+ 57 'i!?xg4 'i!?e4 66 b6 axb6 67 axb6 e3 68 b7 e2 69 b8'ii¥ cl 'ii¥ 70 'ii¥f4+, winning the queen. 64 'i!?h3 bxc5 65 §xc5 §f6 66 §c3+ 'i!?f2 67 §c7a6 68 §c2+ 'i!?f3 69 §c6 §f4 70 §xa6 §g4 71 §a7 §g3+ 72 'i!?h2 §g2+ 73 'i!?hl §g4 74 b6 §xh4+ 75 'i!?gl g5 76 §f7+ 'i!?g3 77 b7 §b4 78 'i!?fl g4 79 a5 'i!?h3 80 §h7+ 'i!?g3 81 a6 1-0 (30) Reti,R- Yates,F Reti Opening [A13] White in splendid fa shion gains a deci sive tempo. 1 4:lf3 d5 2 c4 e6 58 §cl This defense to the new opening (also employed in game 34, Reti vs. Ed. Not at once 58 a4, on account of Lasker; Game 58, Reti vs. Bogoljubow; 58 ... �d3 59 l::icl �d2. Now, however, Game 52, Alekhine vs. Bogoljubow 58 ...�d3 can be successfully met by and, with colors transposed, Game 47, §dl + and §d6. Marshall vs. Capablanca) fa iled to stand 95 New York 1924 the test, which is not to be wondered at e5 in the variation d4, ...e4. For that at, inasmuch as the queen's bishop is reason the queen had to be posted on thereby imprisoned from the start. On a 1-square. But Black managed to pre the other hand, the London system vent this easily as will be seen. (Aiekhine vs. Euwe and Capablanca vs. Reti, London, 1922) essayed by Dr. 11... 4)f8 12 �c2 Ad7 Lasker against Reti seems to insure equality for Black. A good alternative here would have been 12 ...�f5, in order, after 13 i;Ya1, 3 g3 4)f6 4 .i1,g2 ,il.d6 5 b3 0-0 6 to retire the knight to d7, where that 0-0 �e8 7 ,il.b2 4)bd7 8 d3 piece would have been posted to bet ter advantage than at g6, as in the game. 13 �a1 4)g6 14 �fc1 ,il.c6 A double error of judgment. First, the f5 -square is left unguarded, and sec ondly, nothing is done to counteract the opponent's plan as outlined. In order would have been 14 ...i;i'e7 so as to con nect the rooks and, at the same time, to provide ample protection for the e5- Thereby White unnecessarily allows the square. Thereupon, for instance, could move ... eS, with the subsequent devel have fo llowed 15 4Jfl l"iac8 16 l"ixc8 opment of the queen's bishop, thus re l"ixc8 17 l"ixc8+ �xc8 18 d4 e4 19 4Je5 moving the main disadvantage of i;Yc7, with speedy equalization. After Black's position. 8 d4 instead (see the text move, White at last obtains free Marshall vs. Capablanca and Reti vs. play. Bogoljubow) would have retained the opening advantage. 15 4)f1 �d7 8 ... c6 9 4)bd2 e5 Somewhat better would have been 15 ... i;i'e7 in order to reply to 16 4Je3 This had to be done at once, otherwise with 16 ... Ad7 17 4Jd2 Ae6.Black does White (as in the game Alekhine vs. not seem to have noticed the intention Bogoljubow) might have hit upon the of his opponent. idea of getting on the right track by means of 10 d4. 16 4)e3 10 cxd5 cxd5 11 �c1 16 d4 at once should have been played. After the text move, Black had a safe The beginning of a ponderous maneu position. ver, purposing chiefly the preparation for the eventual entrance of the knight 16... h6 96 Sixth Round The decisive blunder. After 16... d4! 17 1S 4)e5 Axe5 .:::d!J.. c7, Black would still have had a !enable position. Hereafter Reti utilizes Clearly fo rced. his chances splendidly. 19 dxe5 4)h7 20 f4 The control ofthe black squares and the weakness of the hostile d-pawn are now decisive fa ctors in favor of White. By the subsequent exchange, in conjunc tion with the tour of the knight to h3, the opponent, of course, makes victory easy. 20 ... exf3 21 exf3 4)g522 f4 4)h3+ 23 'i!;lh1 d4 17 d4 Desperation. 24 j}_xd4§adS 25 §xc6 Clarifyingthe pawn position in the cen ter at the right moment and thereby gain By means of this energetic maneuver ing either d4 or e5 for his knight. From White brings about an absolutely win now on Black's game deteriorates rap ning ending. idly. 25... bxc6 26 Axc6 4)f2+ 27 'i!;lg2 17 ...e4 "il\'xd4 2S "il\'xd4 §xd4 29 AxeS 4)e4 30 e6 §d2+ Also after 17 ...exd4 18 {Jxd4, fo llowed by the doubling of the white rooks on The fa miliar spite-check. the d-file, the game couldnot have been saved for any length of time. 31 'i!;lf3 1-0 97 Seventh Round On the whole, this was a field day for the "favorites." Dr. Lasker, Capablanca, Reti and Janowsky were the winners, with a hard-fought draw between Alekhine and Marshall. Dr. Lasker in his game with Maroczy started out with Alekhine's Defense, which was transposed into a French Defense. Maroczy sadly mismanaged his side of it and indulged in an ill-fated advance on the kingside. Dr. Lasker's play was beau tifully timed. He made the best possible use of his pieces on the strong lines opened up and completely repulsed the attack. Without moving his queen once, he rendered White's game quite hopeless! A highly interesting Queen's Pawn Opening was developed between Capablanca and Yates, the Cuban displaying genuine artistry in his treatment. In the ending Capablanca had three pawns and two knights, and Yates, one pawn, bishop and knight. Had the latter been able to exchange his pieces for the other's pawns he still would not have been able to avert defeat, because of the inconvenient pawn at e3 ! That this possibility came within an ace of actuality in a masters' tourna ment was most refreshing. Alekhine obtained slightly the better of it against the Indian Defense adopted by Marshall and increased this advantage with a fine combination in the middle game. After that the Russian relaxed twice, thereby reversing matters, and it required all his skill to hold the game intact. Altogether it was a very pleasing game through out. Reti's Own again made its appearance on the board between him and Ed. Lasker, the latter being outmaneuvered. The black queen's knight was practically stale mated at a6 when Reti posted his bishop at d6. Next came the advance of the b pawn. All this with queens on the board and an exposed king! The game was a little beauty. Janowsky played his best game of the tournament against Bogoljubow in this round. In order to win a pawn the latter permitted his opponent the use of two bishops-deadly weapons in the hands of Janowsky at his best. So well did the representative of France maneuver them that he gradually gained control of the board, holding the white king in a vise-like grip from which he never escaped. With six completed rounds Dr. Lasker, 4Yz- l Yz , held the lead, trailed by Alekhine and Reti, each 4-2. White and Black divided the points, the total record being 19Yz- 15Y, in White's fa vor. 98 Seventh Round (31) Maroczy,G- Lasker,Dr. f6 9 g3 (otherwise the kings ide can French Defense [C II] hardly be developed) 9 ... cxd4 10 cxd4 fxe5 II fxe5 Ab4+ I2 �c3 0-0 13 ollf4 1 e4 �f6 2 �c3 d5 lle7 14 iifd2 g5, winning a pawn. The best reply, in our judgment, is 8 �f3 0-0 9 g3 cxd4 10 cxd4 2 ... e5. switching into the Vienna game, because White, after the text move, White should make use of his opportu has the option of bringing about, by nity to bring his knight into action by means of 3 exd5 �xd5 4 .ftc4, a fa way of I 0 �exd4, and then, instead of vorable variation of the Scandinavian an illusory kingside attack, to play for opening. the maintenance of the balance in the center. After the text move, Black gets 3 e5 �fd7 4 d4 e6 his cue for attacking the queenside on the strength of the open c-file, all the Here 4 ...c5! is more energetic. In the more so since White's pieces are de game between Bogoljubow and ployed somewhat clumsily for an as Alekhine (Carlsbad, 1923) there fo l sault upon the hostile king. lowed 5 .ftb5 �c6!6 �f3, after which Black, instead of the impetuous 6 ... a6 1o... �b6 11 Ah3 (7 .ilxc6bxc6 8 e6!) was able to obtain a fa vorable position with the simple 6 ... e6. However, Black also obtains excellent prospects by means ofthe text move which turnsinto Steinitz's attack. 5�ce2 It is truly a psychological riddle why Mar6czy should select a variation he himself refuted years ago! More con sistent at least would have been the double-edged offensive by means of 5 f4 c5 6 dxc5 �c6 7 a3 ollxc5 8 iifg4 Undeniably, the bishop here acquires a 0-0 9 .ild3,for then White, because of certain range of action, yet that neither his fu tile endeavor to sustain his pawn solves the problem of the misplaced fo rmation in the center, should experi knight on e2 nor initiates precaution ence dire embarrassment. ary action for the defense of the queens ide. A better method of overcom 5 ... c5 6 c3 �c6 7 f4 Ae7 ing these disadvantages would have been II �c3, fo llowed by Ad3, 0-0, This, however, grants the opponent too "il'fe2,.ll e3, in order to divide his fo rces much time. In the game between A lapin as much as possible between the two and Mar6czy (Vienna, 1908) there oc wings and hence prepare for any emer curred the much stronger 7 ...iifb6 8 �f3 gency. 99 New York 1924 11 ... -'td7 12 o-o �cs 20 .. ,.£jxf5 21 .£jxd5 -'td6 22 -'txf5 Black's position on the queenside grows After 22 �f4, would fo llow not steadily more menacing, while White 22 ...exd5 23 �xfS �xf4 24 �xh7+ 'it>h8 still has difficulty(on account of...4:Jc4) 25 4:Jh4, but 22 ...4:Jb4 23 4:lxb4 �xb4, in getting his queen 's bishop into the with a winning position. game. For that reason he plays his trump card on the kingside, thereby merely 22 ...exf5 23 .£!f4 effecting, however, the opening of an And if now 23 �f4, then 23 ... �e6! other file, which works out in fa vor of the better developed opponent 23 ...�e4 13 g4 f6 14 exf6 Axf6 15 g5 Ae7 The signal for the counterattack. 16 <;!lh1 24 �b3+ Clear loss of time. Immediately 16 4:lc3, fo llowed by �e2, would have been in Upon a move of the knight would fo l order. Of course, White's position was low 24 ... 4:Jb4,with deadly effect. already so poor that a tempo, more or less, hardly made any difference. 24 ... <;!lh8 25 .£ih4 .£lxd4 26 �h3 �c2 27 g6 Ac6 28 .£lf3h6 29 .£je6 16... .£Jc4 17 .£lc3Ab4 18 �e2 �es .£jxe6 30 Axh6 �h4 0-1 19 �d3 .£ld6 (32) Capablanca,J- Yates,F Queen's Pawn Opening [000] 1 d4 .£lf6 2 .£lf3 g6 3 .£lc3d5 This reaction against 3 4:lc3 does not seem positionally opportune, because the king's bishop thereafter may be given an outlet only by means of time robbing efforts. More in the spirit of the fianchetto is the move 3 . ..d6, employed by Mar6czy in two games in this tour nament with the object of attacking as 20 f5 soon as possible White's center with ... c5 and thereby obtaining scope for the A somewhat premature act of despair. bishop. In fa ct, Mar6czy gained an ad To be sure, 20 �d2 4:Ja5! (threatening vantage by means of this maneuver. ...�xc3 and ...�b5), fo llowed by ...4:Jc4, was not very cheering, still some 4 Af4 -'tg7 5 e3 0-0 6 h3 sort of resistance would have been pos sible thereby. What fo llows now is plain Not exactly necessary, as neither butchery. 5 ... .1lg4 (6 h3), nor 6 ...4:lh5 (7�g5) 100 Seventh Round was to be feared. For that reason 6 .!ld3 Threatening not alone 12 4Jc7, but also would probably have been the most suit 12 .!ld4 followed by .tlxa7, therefore able. After the text move, Black obtains forcing the reply. some counterplay, the defense of which will demand all of the world's 11 ... 4]e8 12 .Q.xg74Jxg7 champion's care. 6 . . . c5 7 dxc5 .\t firstblush this makes a strange im pression, but it is based upon a profound conception of the position. White may permit his only pawn to disappear from the center, inasmuch as he commands it sufficiently with his pieces. 7 ... th5 8 4]d2 13 h4 This unpleasant maneuver, which is now forced by the threat of ... 4Je4, would not have been necessary for And yet some will say that Capablanca's White had he played 6 .!ld3 and been play is altogether too dry! His plan able to castle here. ning of the game under consideration (apart from the not wholly exact sixth move) is so full of that freshness of 8 ... �xc5 his genius for positional play that ev Unsatisfactory would have been ery hypermodern player can only envy him. Of course, he did not for a mo 8 ... 4Je4, on account of 9 4Jcxe4 dxe4 10 c3. ment hope by means of this unex pected move to checkmate his oppo 9 4Jh3 �b6 10 .Q.e5 nent without more ado, but through the threat of opening the h-file to mis Leading up to an exchange of pieces by lead Black into creating a new weak which the black squares in the oppos ness (on his fifteenth move), where ing position are considerably weakened, upon White will bring about an end a circumstance which will tum out to ing which is partly won from the very be determining factor in the approach start. ing ending. This is Capablanca! 13... a6 144Jc3 4Jc6 15 .Q.d3 f5 10... e6 It is becoming uncomfortable for Black. Clearly forced on account of the threat After 15 ...-tleS, there might follow, for of 11 .!lxf6 followed by 12 .tlxd5. instance, 16 h5 .tlxd3+ 17 cxd3 .tlxh5 18 g4, followed by �f3, with a very 114Jb5 promising position for attack. 101 New York 1924 16 �d2 31 §hdl .!ild5 32 g3 §f7 33 .!ild3 In order to be able to bring the knight In order shortly to force a simplifying eventually to c5 by way of a4, without exchange of rooks and, in addition, to being disturbed by ... �b4+. bring over the knight to c4 for an attack on the a-pawn. 16.• .l�)e5 17 j}.e2 .!£}c4 33.•• §b7 34 .!ile5 §cc7 35 §d4 If17... Jld7,then 18 �d4�d 6 or18... �c7 'i!;lg7 36 e4 (1 8... �d 4 19 e> 18 A> Played under the conviction that the knight, following the exchange, can be kept out of play for only a very short time. 20 .•• �> Forced, on account of the threat of 24 §d 6. 24 .!ilc5 §b6 25 a4 40 .!ilc3 Very convincing. The solid chain of black pawns on the queenside must dis A remarkable winning maneuver! This appear in order that the knight may knight makes five moves one after the thereafter pounce upon the remaining other in order by main force to travel weaklings. from a4 to aS, and there to dispose of a pawn. The remaining not difficult, but 25 ... .!£}h5 26 b3 C> 40 .•. §c5 41 .!£}e4 §b5 42 .!£}ed6 The pawn might better have remained §c5 43 'ilb7 §c7 44 .!£}bxa5 Ab5 on a6, where it was protected by the 45 .!£}d6 Ad746 .!£}ac4§a7 47 .!£}e4 bishop. Altogether it was not easily to h6 48 f4 j}.e8 49 .!£}e5 §aS 50 §cl be foreseen at this point in just what Af7 51 §c6 Ag8 52 .!£}c5 §e8 53 manner White could capture it. §a6 §e7 54 'i!;la3 Af7 55 b4 .!ilc7 102 Seventh Round 56 ftc6� b5+ 57 �b2 �d4 58 fta6 can readily evade it by firstof all play Ae8 59 g4 �f6 60 �e4+ Cit'g7 61 ing 2 . ..g6 in order, after 3 -tlc3, to hold �d6 Ab5 62 fta5 Afl in reserve the possibility of 3 ...d5! (Griinfeld). Thereby the bishop is at last dislodged from the kingside and the ending en 3 �c3 g6 4 e4 Ag7 5 f4 ters upon a decisive stage. For 5 -tlf3, see the game Marshall vs. 63 EtaS Reti (Game 3). Threatening 64 -tle8+ \t>h7 65 -tlf6+ 5 ... 0-0 6 �f3 .Q.g4 �g7 66 g5, followed by mate. In addition to this move, which, as will 63 ... g5 64 fxg5 hxg5 65 hxg5 .Q.g2 be seen, does not yield a satisfactory 66 §e8 ftc7 result, there have been tried here with out particular success, 6 ...-tlbd7 (Dr. Or 66 .. .l'he8 67 -tlxe8+\t>f8 68 g6, etc. Tarrasch, Hamburg, 1885); 6 ...-tlfd7 (Sir George Thomas, Carlsbad, 1923); 67 §dB �c6 68 �e8+ �f8 69 and 6 ...-tlc6 (Yates, Hastings, 1923); �xc7+ �xd8 70 �c3 Jlb7 71 and not until the game, Alekhine vs. Ed. �d4 Ac8 72g6 �b7 73 �e8 �dB Lasker, in the sixteenth round (Game 74 b5 �g8 75 g5 �fS 76 g7+ �gS 78) of this tournament, was the inter 77 g6 1-0 esting novelty 6 ...e5! introduced, which affords Black outlook for a playable Afterwhich mate in three or four moves game. is not to be prevented. 7 Ae2 �c6 (33) Alekhine,A- Marshall,F King's Indian Defense [E76] 1 d4 �f6 2 c4 d6 This permits the opponent to select a method of attack known for years (Schwartz vs. L. Paulsen, match of 1834, and Englisch vs. Dr. Tarrasch, Hamburg, 1885), the characteristic theme of which is the immediate ad vance of the four center pawns. The result of the games played with this This move, so well thought of in En opening in the last few years was gen gland, should be replaced, however, erally in favor of White, albeit that the with the more logical 7... -tlbd7 (Price defense in most cases was not always vs. Yates, Hastings, 1923 ), whereupon of the best. This method of play has only White, as in the game under consider a relatively theoretical value, as Black ation, should take seriously into account 103 New York 1924 the reply of 8 4Jg5,in order to exchange At first this appears only somewhat the inactive king's bishop. dangerous, but in reality is the introduc tion to a decisive attacking maneuver. 8d5 13 ... dxe5 14 fxe5 4:\g4 15 .ll.f4 This must be done at once, inasmuch as Black, after 8 Ae3, would obtain Threatening, of course, 16 h3. counterplay by means of 8 ....Jlxf3 9 .Jlxf3 e5 10 fxe5 dxe5 11 d5 4Jd4! (1 2 15 ...exd5 Axd4 exd4 13 �xd4 4::lxe4). In order to reply to 16 cxd5 (or also 16 8 ...4:\b8 9 0-0 4:\bd7 h3) with 16 ... 4Jgxe5 17 4Jxe5 4Jxe5 18 AxeS Ele8 19 �f3 Elxe5 20 �xf7+ Somewhat better here would have been �h7. It happens differently, however. 9 ....Jlxf3, although he would have yielded to the opponent a pair of bish ops for weapons. 10 4:1g5 Much stronger than the common 10 h3, for, after theenforced exchange ofbish ops, the threat of e5 again becomes acute, added to which the disturbing position of the knight on g5 sooner or later forces an appreciable weakness of Black's kingside. 16 e6 10... .!1.xe2 11 �xe2 h6 Concerningthis advance, which consti After 11...4Je8, in order to prevent tutes the point of the maneuver initiated e5, the sacrifice of a pawn by 12 e5 by White on the thirteenth move, Black clxe5 13 f5 would have been full of has not much choice, inasmuch as he prospects. cannot play 16 .. .fxe6, because of 17 �xe6+ and �xg4; not 16... 4Jc5, be- 12 4:\f3 e6 cause of17 e7, and, after16 ... �f6, then simply 17 exd7 �xf4 18 4Jxd5 �d6 19 lf 12 ...e5, White would have been sat Elad1 with a clear advantage. isfied with the variation 13 dxe6 fxe6 14 4Jh4 'it>h7 (14 ...�e8 15 4Jb5) 15 16 ...�e8 17 exf7+ ctlxf718 �d2 Elf3 . After the text move, however, he has still more forceful continuation at Now, however, when the time seemed his disposal. to be ripe to gather the fruits of his strat egy up to this point, White stumbles and 13 e5 thereby surrenders almost his entire 104 Seventh Round advantage. The correct move would .llxe5 Ele8 28 �f5, etc. But even in this have been 18 �c2!, which above all case Black would have been at a slight would have confined Black's exposed disadvantage. king to the defense of the g6-square. Thereupon Black would have been left 25 h3 ftxe6 26 dxe6 .£!h5 27 4)e4 without a fully satisfactory reply, for �c6 instance: 18 ...dxc4 (or 18 ...d4) 19 4Jd5; or 18 ...4Jdf6 19 4Jxd5 18... 4)df6 19 cxd5 Or (I) 19 4Jxd5 19 ... g5 20 .Q.g3 �e7 The best. Black threatens exchange of queens and, after 21 Elae1, there would 28 j},xc7 follow 21...�c5+ 22 l!i>h1 4Je3 with advantage. Herewith White again lets the win slip 21 �h1 through his fingers and this time actu ally gets a disadvantage. With 28 4Jfxg5! Threatening 22 h3. he could have won a pawn and by that means doubtless the game, for, after 21 ... �g8 22 ftfe1 28 ...4Jxg3+ 29 4Jxg3 hxg5 30 �xg4, he would have obtained in addition to ma White still hopes to profit from the po terial superiority, a direct attack against sition of the knight at g4. The move the exposed position of Black's king as nearest at hand, 22 4Jd4, would have well. led only to a draw after 22 ...4Je3 23 4Jf5 4Jxf5 24 Elxf5 4Je4 25 4Jxe4 �xe4 26 28 ... �xc7 29 hxg4 4)f4 Elafl Ele7. Capturing the fine passed pawn and 22 ... �c5 23 Ete6 ftad8 24 �e2 thereby, in consequence of the strong �h8 position of the bishop and White's weakened kingside, obtaining good Better would have been 24 ... Elxe6 25 winning chances. �xe6+ (25 dxe6 is likewise good enough) 25 ...'it>h8 26 4Je5 4Jxe5 27 30 �e1 4)xe6 31 .£!g3 105 New York 1924 The beginning of the plan by means of which the game is eventually saved. White relinquishes the attempt to sal vage the threatened b-pawn in order, on the other hand, to force an exchange of rooks, which will permit him, with the aid of the queen and knights, to insti tute a lasting counterattack. The final phase of the contest is quite as exciting as the middle game. 31 .•. 4)f4 37 ... �cl + 38 �h2 �c6 39 �d3 Threatening to win a piece by means of �c7+ 40 �hl Jl,h8 32... Otherwise White would play 41 32..• f!x dl AfterBlack has been convinced that he Of course not 32 ... Not 35 'l;i After37 106 Seventh Round .'\ecessary, on account of the threat of After 54 ...h5, White's best answer -)0 -tl3d4. would have been 55'ii'f c2. 50 '(Nxa7 55 g3 It will soon become apparent that Black, Again the simplest. It is interesting, in consequence of his fettered condi however, that Black would not have had tion, is not so situated as to be able to a win even after 55 \t'xg4,for instance: defend the b-pawn. A few pretty varia (I) 55 ...'ii'f f4+ 56\t'h5g4 57 .£\xh6Axh6 tions are yet to come. 58 'ii'fc2+ or 'ii'fb7+, etc. (II) 55 ...'ii'f e4+ 56 \t'h3 (not 56 56 50 .•• b3 51 '(Nb7 b2 52 �3d4 �e5 \t'h5 Axd4 57 'ii'fxd4 'ii'f e2+ followed by 58 ...'ii'f e8#) 56... Axd4 57 'ii'fxd4 If 52 ..."i11 e5+ 53 g3 .£\h4,White would 'ii'fxf5+ 58 \t'g3,and with correct de not answer 54 .£\xg7 "i11xg7 55 "i11e4+ fense the queen ending should remain .£Jg6, but 54 \t'h3 .£\xf5 55 .£\xf5 and, a draw. after the inevitable exchange of the re maining minor pieces, the queen end 55 ...'(Ne4 ing would be drawn. Still another and a last trap. After 56 53 '(Nxb2 .£\xg7 Black obviously would have at tempted to try his luck further in troubled waters with 56 ....£\e3! 57 \t'h2 And not 53 \t'h3,on account of53... h5! .£\fl + 58 \t'gl (58 \t'h3 'ii'fhl + 59 'it'g4 54 gxh5 'ii'ff7. .£\e3 •) 58 ....£\xg3. White's reply puts an end to these hopes. 53 ...� xg4+ 54 �h3 56 '(Nc2 As will be shown, 54 'it'g3 could have been played, inasmuch as 54 ...'ii'f e5+ Forced. was not to be feared seriously. The text move, however, is simpler. 56 ... '(Nxc2 57 �xc2 h5 58 �ce3 � xe3 59 � xe3 .Q.d460 �f5 .ll.c5 54 ... '(Ne5 61 g4 �g6 62 �h4+ V2-V2 (34) Reti,R- Lasker,Ed. Reti Opening [Al3] 1 �f3 d5 2c4e6 There is no urgent reason to lock in the bishop in this fashion. We consider 2 ...c6 to be the best answer. 3g3c6 107 New York 1924 3 ...c5, after 4 cxd5 exd5 5 d4, would have led into the Rubinstein variation of the Queen's Gambit. Better than the text move, however, would have been first to develop the kingside by means of ...4Jf6, ... ..Q.. d6 or ... ..Q..e7, followed by ...0-0, and only then, after the opponent's plan of mobilization had become clearer, to build up the other side. 4 h3 4)f6 5 .llg2 4)e4 10 4)bd2 4)xf3+ 11 4)xf3 Jlf6 12 Original, but costing time and hence d4 unprofitable. The idea manifestly is to prevent 6 Ab2 for the moment, because In accordance with the principle that Black would thereupon have won a exchanges should be avoided where pawn through 6 .. .-�b6 7 0-0 dxc4. possible in positions where the oppo However, even in this line of play White nent is cramped. Aside from this the would have obtained excellent chances move tends to control the e5-square. for an attack wh.ch would have made up fully for the loss of the pawn, for 12.•. §e8 13 e4 instance: 8 �c2 4Jd6 9 bxc4 4Jxc4 10 ..Q..d4 i:1"a6 11 �c3 f6 12 Axf6 gxf6 13 �xf6 §g8 14 4Jg5. In order to answer 13... dxe4 with 14 4Je5! Black's best chance would then 6�c2 have been 13 ...dxc4 14 bxc4 (14 e5 cxb3) 14 ...e5, in order in this way fi But this simple reply, which makes pos nally to set free his queen's bishop. sible the contemplated plan of de Having neglected this opportunity velopment, is still more logical. also, he will now be smothered com pletely. 6 ... .lle7 7 .llh2 0-0 8 0-0 4)d79 d3 4)g5 n ... 4)b6 14 4)e5 .lld7 15 4)g4 This roving about with the same piece, Very good! Black now has the choice only to exchange it in the end with the between 15... ..Q.. e7, with next 16 c5 4Jc8 loss of a tempo, is by itself enough to 17 e5, followed by 4Je3, f4, and even lose the game. It is instructive,however, tual break by means of f5, or permit to observe how Reti with seemingly ting the exchange of his king's bishop, matter-of-fact moves gets the best of it. as in the actual game, whereupon the Comparatively better would have been black squares in his position become 9 ... 4Jd6, with the idea perhaps of un hopelessly weak. dertaking some counter-action on the queenside by means of ...b5. 15 ... §c8 16 4)xf6+ �xf6 108 Seventh Round White now commands the entire board After 27 .. :i;t'xf4 28 �g2+ �h8, White and, after straightening out the center, would win by 29 .lle7 Ag6 30 h4 sooner or later will break through suc �xd4+ 31 l:"!f2, etc. cessfullyon one of the wings. From this point on there are several ways that 28 �e3 �g7+ 29 �g2 �xg2+ 30 "lead to Rome." '\tlxg2 17a4 �ed8 18 a5 4)a8 19 e5 �g6 White, with correct positional insight, 20 �e2 apprehends that he no longer needs to retain the two bishops here, inasmuch It is clear that for the execution of his as his queen's bishop alone sufficesfor plans of attack White's queen has to the purpose of disposing of the hostile play an important role. knight. 20 ... 4)c721 Aa3 30 ... .Q.h5 31 .llxh5 �xh5 32 �g1 '\tlf733 '\tlh1 �g8 Preventing among other things 21...4Je8, on account of the reply of 22 tJ..e7. The exchange of this rook is utilized very cleverly by White for the capture 21 ... 4)a6 22 �fe1 Ae8 23 .lld6 f5 of the knight. But 33 ... 4Jc7 would not do on account of34 iii'g3 iii'h635 Axc7; The only possibility to bring about the and, also after 33 ... 4Jb8, White, by co-operation of the bishop. Thereby, means of34 l:"!cl!(threatening 35 cxd5) however, the opponent is supplied with 34. ..dxc4 35 bxc4, would have obtained a welcome object for attack and, if a decisive advantage in position. Black on the move after the next had not decided upon the desperate advance 34 �xg8 '\tlxg8 35 cxd5 cxd5 of ...g5, then, after proper preparation, would have followed the break by White with g4 with decisive result. 24 f4 �h6 25 Af3 g5 26 �a2 A complicated, typical Reti move. In stead of compelling the furtheradvance of the g-pawn with 26 Ae7 and there after preparing for the opening of the h-file with h3, Reti, by means of the text move which threatens nothing at all, inveigles the opponent into open ing the g-file, a maneuver which will 36 b4 surely tum out disastrous to Black on account of his lack of mobility. White's last moves were played to ob tain just this position. The threat of b5 26 ... gxf4 27gxf4 �d7 can be defended by Black only through 109 New York 1924 the eventual removal of his queen from �h5+ �xh5+ 49 'i;tlxh5 the kingside, but then would follow a direct attack which would compel the And now at last the game is at an end. surrender of the knight. The finish is quite simple yet attractive because of 49 .•• 'i;tlg750 bxa6 bxa6 51 .ll.c5 its unremitting logic. 'i:t'f752 'i;tlh6'i;tlg8 53 .ll.xa7 'i;tlhS 5,4 .ll.b6 'i;t'g8 55 AdS 'i:t'hS 56 .ll.h4 1-0 Not at once 37 b5, because of37 ...<£lc7 (35) Bogoljubow,E - Janowsky,D 38 ..a.�c7 �d1 + 39 �g2 (3 9 �g1 �f3 +, Queen's Gambit Declined [040] drawing) 39 ... �c2+ and ��c7. 1 d4 d5 2 .£lf3 .£Jf6 3 c4 dxc4 4 e3 e6 5 .ll.xc4 c5 6 .£!c3 .£Jc6 7 0-0 Jl.e78 �e2 0-0 Threatening ... �el+, followed by ... <£J�b4. As is well known, the pawn cannot be maintained after 8 ...c�d4 9 l"!dl, and 38 �fl White, after its recapture, obtains freer scope for his pieces. The completion of the maneuver. Now there remains for Black only the with 9 §dl �c7 10 a3 a6 drawal of the queen in anticipation of 39 b5. 38••. �dB 39 �h3 'i:t'gS Manifestly forced. 40 �g3+ 'i:t'f741 �g5 �c8 Exchange of queens, of course, would be equivalent to resigning. With the text move he threatens a few checks, but White calculates exactly that his king In a consultation game, Alekhine and will soon be in safety. A. Schroeder against Janowsky and L.B. Meyer (New York, January 18, 42 b5 �cl + 43 'i;t'g2 �d2+ 1924) there occurred here 1 O ... e5, which was refuted by 11 d�es 110 Seventh Round _.\fter12 ....ll d6 13 ..llb2, Black could not \ ery well have played either 13 ... b5 (on account of14 .llxb5), nor 13 ... 4:Je5. For instance, 14 4:lxe5 .llxe5 15 f4 .llxc3 16 �xc3 b5 17 .llxf6 'ili'xc418 'ili'g4 g6 19 �g5, winning. 13 .ll.b2 .Q.d7 \1ore suitable for defense than 13 ...b5 14 .lld3 .llb7 15 §acl, followed by .;Je4. 19 ... .£Je5 14 §acl §ac8 15 .ll.d3 §fd8 16 4)e4 A correctpawn sacrifice, which prom ises Black a game with powerful pres Up to here White has played correctly. sure on the unguarded white squares of However, by this exchange, which frees his opponent. To be sure, it should not the opponent, he allows his opening suffice for victory. White indeed only advantage to slip from him. He really loses because in the course of the game had two good continuations to make the he strives to maintain and capitalize at most of Black's somewhat cramped any cost his material preponderance. position: (I) 16 4:Ja4, in order to post this knight 20 .\l.xh7+ on c5 and so, sooner or later, force the exchange of one of the adverse bish Clearly, White could accomplish noth ops; ing with 20 'ili'h34:Jg6. (II) 16 4:Jg5,followed by 4:Jge4,to open a free passage for the queen to the 20 ... \t'xh721 �h5+ \t'g822 �xe5 kingside, and, with her help, to insti .ll.f6 23 �h5 .ll.a4 24 §e1 �d6 25 tute a direct attack. h3 .Q.c2 16 ... .£jxe4 17 .ll.xe4 .\l.e8 Premature would be 25 ...b5, on account of 26 §c5. The threat was 18 4:Je5, to be followed by an exchange on c6 and the winning 26 �f3 of a pawn. White would have done best to assure 18 .£ld4 �b6 19 �f3 himself if, after 26 'ili'e2 .lla4 (26 ... ..1le4 27 §ed1, etc.) 27 'ili'h5, his opponent 19 'ili'g4 could also have been answered was satisfied with a draw. His text move by Black in the same vigorous man merely induced a strengthening of ner. The simplest way out was the ex Black's game. change on c6 and d8, with a drawn game. 26 ... b5 27 �e2 Ill New York 1924 And here 27 .llal would have been in ening ... Eixe2). Now, however, the order. Only after the loss of the tempi squares e3 and g2 are decisively weak does White's position become precari ened. ous. 35 ••• �d2 36 �g3 27... -'\.a4 28 �f3 Or 36 'it'f2 exf4, threatening to win the The move probably intended by White, queen. 28 4Jf3, will not do on account of 28 ...Eixcl 29 Eixcl..ll dl; and 28 'i At all events, more passable would have been 29 Eixc4 bxc4 30 .ilc3. 29••• �dc8 30 �bl e5 31 .£ie2 Likewise, after31 'i 31.•• -'\.c2 32 �bel Ae4 33 �g4 39 �g4 -'\.xe5 40 fxe5 �xe5 41 Ab7 Cjfjlh2 On this diagonal the bishop is invested In order to be able to answer 41...§g5 with deadly range. with 42 4Jf4. 34 �xc4 �xc4 35 f4 4t •••�d2 42 �g3 f6 43 h4 Ad5 44 �f2 Ac4 0-1 Forced, for if 35 'i 112 Eighth Round Dr. Lasker, Alekhine and Marshall were the winners in this round, Capablanca being held to a draw by Mar6czy. Thus the first-named maintained a half-point lead. Bogoljubow played the Ruy Lopez against Dr. Lasker and the game went to 71 moves before the former resigned. Taking advantage of the opportunity offered by his opponent on the thirteenth move, Dr. Lasker gradually began to get a grip on the game and then steered for the ending-one of the most interesting in the tournament-in which he had a rook and knight against a rook and bishop. The superior position, coupled with subtle play of a high order, enabled Dr. Lasker eventually to reach his goal. A Queen's Pawn Opening, the black side of which was handled very well by Mar6czy, served to hold Capablanca in check. At no time did the Hungarian per mit the champion to make the semblance of an impression. Reti resorted to the Indian Defense againstAlekhine and the game which resulted was of great theoretical interest. Reti 's play can hardly be censured, but, through a weak d-pawn. the defense got the worst of it nevertheless. The final storming of the kingside with only three minor pieces is very instructive and once more the great power of two bishops was illustrated. Marshall, in a very lively Reti Opening (reversed), defeated Janowsky in 75 moves. The American outplayed his adversary at the start, but, once he had obtained a winning position, he relaxed. There upon, Janowsky immediately seized the chance to escape from his major troubles, although he was still leftwith a very difficult game. Thanks to force ful tactics, Marshall again obtained the upper hand, but, missing the right con tinuation, he emerged with a queen against three minor pieces. Janowsky hesitated and Marshall, with a pretty surprise, won a piece and the game. Dr. Tartakower, with the move, essayed a Scotch Gambit against Ed. Lasker, treating it in his own individual style. Lasker was forced to play with the greatest care in the ending to avoid drift ing into a bad game. Frank Marshall 113 New York 1924 The scores: Dr. Lasker, 5'/z-1 Y:t; Alekhine, 5-2; Capablanca, 4'/z-212; Reti and Dr. Tartakower, each 4-3. The black pieces had the better of it by 3-2 this day. (36) Bogoljubow,E - Lasker,Dr. with his two bishops he would have a Ruy Lopez [C65] splendid game. Afterthe text move, the position assumes a distinct similarity to 1 e4 e5 2 �f3 �c6 3 .Q.b5 �f6 4 a much played variation in the Scotch d4 Game. This move, before castling and the ad 7... bxc6 8 Ad3 d6 vance of Black's d-pawn, permits, as is well-known, Black's easy equalization. Much better would be 4 0-0. 4 ...exd4 5 �xd4 Or 5 e5 114 Eighth Round :erior game, for instance: 11 e6 .llxe 6 14••. ..1lxc3 :2 3e1 <£le 5 13 .llxe5 fxe 5 14 .§xeS ..:d6 15 i£re 2 'it>d7,and White's bluster By means of this and especially the sub :s at an end. The move selected, to be sequent exchange, White's prospects sure, is harmless, but above all yields for attack are reduced well-nigh to zero :o White a comfortable initiative. and, moreover, his pawns on the queens ide are split up and the e4-square 9 4)c3 0-0 10 f4 �e8 11 �h1 additionally weakened. The open b-file which White obtains holds out but a _-\somewhat old-fashioned move. For slight compensation, inasmuch as the merly it was the custom to tuck away entrance of the rook can be easily pre the king quickly in the comer when the vented. f-pawn has been advanced, so that, per ish the thought, he might not be checked 15 bxc3 �xb1 16 �xb1 c5 17 c4 on the diagonal. Nowadays greater care is exercised in making such moves with the king, because, as in this instance, they signify for the most partnot alone an immediate loss of a tempo, but be sides may become more often a decid ing factor in a possible ending due to the further removal of the king from the center; and as a matter of fact, it soon becomes apparent that the move h3, which quite as much as the text move had prepared for .lle3, could not have been avoided. After 11 ... 4Jd7 12 .lle3 Sooner or later this was unavoidable .!lf613 �d2, to be followed by .§ae1 because of the eventual threat of ...c4. (if13... .§b8, then 14 b3), and the trans The white king's bishop, however, is fer of the knight to the kingside, White thereby practically degraded for the would have obtained a verypromising time being to the rank of a pawn. position for attack. 17 ...'1!\'e7 18 h3 n ... 4)d7 12 Ae3 Af6 13 'l!\'f3 Compare with the comment on White's This insufficiently considered move is eleventh move. immediately utilized by Dr. Lasker in energetic fashion. 13 i£rd2 .§bB 14 b3, 18 ...4)f6 followed eventually by .§ae1 and <£le 2, would still have offered betterchances. Hereby Black permits dissolutionof the center through e5, which opens up new u ... �b8 14 �ab1 lines for the white bishops, thereby al lowing White drawing chances. More The alternative of14 <£!d1 appeared still in order would have been to halt the e less inviting because of 14... c5. pawn by means of18 .. .f6 in order there- 115 New York 1924 after to proceed with ...4Jf8, followed The ending initiated hereby is favorable by ... .!ld7-c6. In that case, to be sure, to Black, to be sure, principallybecause White, after ... 4Jf8, could have weak of the dominating position of his knight, ened the attack on the e-pawn by means but still offers White good drawing of Elb8 .!ld7; Elxe8 �xe8; but in that chances. Much more convincing, there case an eventual sortie of the black fore, would have been the simple pawn queen to a4 was to have been dreaded capture by 24 ... .!lxg2+ 25 lt>xg2 (or 25 and in any case this line of play by lt>h2 �xf5 26 ..llxf5 .!le4) 25 .. :ii'rc6+ 26 White would have set a more difficult �f3 �xc7, whereupon White's game problem than ... 4Jf6. could not have been maintained for long. 19 .Q.f2 Ad7 25 Jl.xf5 .Q.e4 26 Jl.xe4 4::lxe4 27 Of course not 19 ... 4Jxe4 20 .!lxe4 ftb6 i;j-xe4, on account of 21 Elel. Now, however, a quadruple attack on the e This attack upon the queenside pawns, pawn is threatened with 20... ..ll c6 and which, as a matter of fact, is possible White, therefore, is forced to the sub only because the black king has no exit sequent dissolution. yet, is here White's only chance but by no means one to be underestimated. 20 e5 dxe5 21 fxe5 �xe5 22 .Q.g3 �e6 23 .Q.xc7.Q.c6 24 �f5 27... fta8 28 ftc6 h5 Black, because of the superior position Not 28 ... Elc8, on account of 29 Elxa6. of his pieces and pawns, unquestion Now, however, there looms up a threat. ably has the advantage, but there surely was no sufficient reason for this pawn 29 .Q.b6 h4 sacrifice. After 24 i;j-g3 (24 ... 4Jh5 25 i;j-h4 or 24 ...4Je4 25 �e3), there would Herewith the isolated corner position of have been no immediate danger in store the hostile king is utilized for the pur for White. The text move, on the other poses of a direct attack. White finds the hand, should have led to direct loss. best defense. 30 'i!i'g1 Because the capture of the c-pawn would have brought him into difficul ties, for instance: 30 .!lxc5 Eld831 .!lgl Eld2 32 Elxa6 f5! 33 c5 (not 33 a4, on account of 33 ... f4, with the threat of .. .f3, when White could only parry with Elg6) 33 ...Elxc2 34 c6 g5, and White could not long hold the c-pawn, for in stance: 35 Ela8+ �f7 36 Ela7+ �e6 37 24 ...�x f5 c7 f4!, etc. The possibilities for attack 116 Eighth Round by Black on the kingside are quite re- of the black rook on the seventh row markablein view of the reduced forces. becomes quite uncomfortable. 30 ... �e8 31 ..llxc5 32 ...�d2 33 a4 �ow, however, White plays inconsis tently. The apparent purposeof the last move was to withdraw the king from his cramped position in the comer and this plan could have been carried out successfullywith 31 ' 117 New York 1924 continue with an attack full of promise overcome great technical difficulties of success without stopping to gain before he wins the ending. Had White, material. But likewise 35 'it'e1, which however, played 33 a3, and as a result would have tended toward more com the pawn been captured on that square, plicated positions, would not have suf then Black would have been obliged to ficedwith correctplay. After 35 ...El>< g2 adopt the following method of play: 36 Elc8+(if 36 El> 36 Jlel !:!xa4 37 .Q.xh4 38 .Q.dS .£)xc4 39 g4 In order to prevent the black f-pawn from being eventually used to advan tage at the moment of attack and also at last to afford the king greater freedom of movement. The move, to be sure, is not altogether an agreeable one, as he weakens the pawn position, but it is af ter all necessary. 39 •.• .£)d240 !:!cS 118 Eighth Round �h6 47 .ilb6!, threatening .lle3, fol 54 <;!;>f2 and, if 54... 4Jf4, then 55 .llc7 _0wed by h6. Black must now tack 4Jd556 .!ld8,White could have offered .=.oout in order further to weaken the a much longer resistance. Doubtless, af -,.hite pawns where possible, for victory ter 54 <;!;>f2, Black must have decided _r�s only on the kingside. upon the march of the king, but in any event the proposition would still have +4h4 been very difficult. This move was not to be avoided even 54••• �f4+ 55 <;!jlf2 �d3+ 56 <;!jlg2 Jfter 44 .l.tb6 4Je6. Now Black will at �e5 57 g5 �g6 58 .Q.f2 �f4+ 59 t�mpt, through an attack with the knight, <;!jlh2 �g6 60 �a7 a5 61 Ag3 �a2+ to force the further advance of the g 62 �hl �h5 63 .Q.e5 pawn which will make possible the ac tive participation of his king. If 63 .!.te l, then 63 ...Elal (or simply 63 ...a4) 64 Ele7<;!;>f5 65 'i!ig2 (65 fl> If 53 .l.td6, Black would have been able 1 d4 �f6 2 �f3 d5 3 Jlf4 to play 53 ...a5 54 Ela7 f6. This deployment of the bishop offers 53 .•. �a3+ 54 <;!jlg2 prospects only after Black has locked up his queen's bishop by means of ...e6 (as, for instance, in the game, Bogoljubow-Marshall). 3 ••• c5 4e3 �b6 From here the queen exerts a lasting pressure on the queenside of the adver sary. Right from the first move Black assumes to play first fiddle and retains his initiative until the end, which, after all, is quite peaceful. Permitting the knight to go to e5, after which he goes downhill quickly. With 5 �cl I 19 New York 1924 Even less desirable would have been 5 gether too unpleasant. Less suitable to lilc3 c4 6 E!b1MS. that end would have been 14lile5, be cause the then possible exchange on c6 5 ... �c6 6 c3 .1l.f5 7dxc5 would reinforce still more Black's pawn formation, while White would expose So as to develop at least his queen's unnecessarily two pieces-his king's knight with the gain of a tempo. After 7 knight and queen's bishop. .l1e2 e6, followed by ... E!c8,White like wise would have had no prospects for 14... Jbd3 15 '/txd3 �fe8 16 �xf6 a counterattack and even fewer chances, �xf6 17 �fd1 as in the actual game, to bring about simplifying exchanges. 17 e4 would be contrary to all position judgment here or on the next move, 7 .. :{�•xc5 since every attempt to open the posi tion would increase the potential power From now on White must reckon for of the opponent's bishop. some time with the threat of ...lilb4. 17 ... §ed8 18 'lte2 �e5 19 �xe5 8 �bd2 §c8 9 �b3 'ltb6 10 'ltd2 .ll.xe5 20 §d2 e6 11 Ad3 White is content to limit himself to de fense, knowing that his position is hardly assailable. Maroczy undertakes to break through in the only plausible way, but soon convinces himself that, even if successful, there is nothing to be gained by it. All in all, this is a game quite readily comprehended. 20 ... .Il.f6 21 §ad1 §c4 22 �c1 §deS 23 �d3 a5 24 a3 'ltc725 g3 b5 26 �g2 .ll.e7 27 �g1 .ll.d6 ll. . . .Q.e4 If27 ...b4 28 cxb4 axb4 29 axb4 Axb4 Better than 11 ...lile4, which would have 30 lilxb4 E!xb4, White would play 31 caused a half-pinning rather favorable E!d4, and, if Black should avoid the to White. As it is, White must lose an exchange of rooks, open a file for him other fulltempo with his queen, because self with e4, whereupon a draw would 12 0-0 .llxf3 13 gxf3 gS 14 -'l.g3 hS be certain. would certainly not be without disad vantage. 28 §a1 'ltc6 12 'lte2 Ae7 13 0-0 0-0 14 Ag5 And now 28 ... b4 would be parried by 29 axb4 axb4 30 cxb4 Axb4 31 lilxb4 White strives for simplification before E!xb4 32 E!c2.Further exertions, there the opponent's pressure becomes alto- fore, seem to be quite useless. 120 Eighth Round 29 E{dd1 h6 30 'lth5 frc7 31 fre2 Thomas, Carlsbad, 1923). On the other 11z-V2 hand, there comes under consideration 8 ... aS in order to secure the c5-square (38) Alekhine,A - Reti,R to the knight for awhile; but in this case King's Indian Defense [E62] also White would maintain his superior position by means ofh3, .lle3, 'l!i'c2,b3, 1 d4 .£)f6 2 c4 g6 3 g3 a3 and, finally,b4. In order to avoid the main variation of 9h3 the Griinfeld defense (3 <£lc3 d5!). The best reply thereto seems to be 3 ... c6, although White even in that case, after -f ilg2 d5 5 cxd5 cxd5 6 <£lf3 .llg7 7 0-0, will for sometime retain the advan tage of the move (in a narrowersense the tempo). 3 . ...Q.g7 4 .Q.g2 0-0 5 -tlc3 d6 With this Black changes into the Indian defense, in connection with which, however, the fianchetto of the white It was important to clear up the situa king's bishop is verymuch in order. tion before the opponent concluded his development. 6 -tlf3 4)c6 9 ... .Q.xf3 10 exf3 If Black has nothing better-and this seems to be the case-than to induce the Much better than to recapture with the advance of the white pawn to d5 by bishop, by which process either the e means of such efforts (where, to be sure, pawn would have remained inactive a he shortens for the time being the di long time or, if advanced, would have agonal of the bishop, but on the other restricted the action of his own pieces. hand, brings considerable pressure After the text move, however, he takes upon Black's position), then his plan of over the guarding of the important e4- development surely is not to be recom square, and, aside from this, Black must mended. reckon with an eventual hostile action on the e-file opened hereby. 7 d5 4)b8 8 0-0 .Q.g4 10... e6 The exchange of this bishop contem plated herewith is not reasonable and The e-pawn had to be exchanged, but it merely lessens the power of resistance would have been relatively better for in Black's position. Likewise unsatis him to have done so through lO ...eS. factory would be 8 ... e5 on account of9 White thereupon would have had only dxe6 fxe6 10 .llg5 (Alekhine vs. Sir G. one good reply (11 dxe6), inasmuch as 121 New York 1924 11 f4 exf4 12 .Q.xf44Jbd7 clearly would 16••• b6 17 b3 have been quite tolerable for Black. After the actual move, on the other This move has the additional purpose hand, White has the pleasant choice of further protecting the queen in an between two good continuations. ticipation of the subsequent complica tions. How important this is will very 11 f4 soon become apparent. Even more fa vorable than 11 dxe6 fxe6 17 ...§fd8 18 §d3 12 §e1 \!;id7, whereupon it would have been by no means easy to profit from It would have been premature to play the weaknesses in Black's center. 18 4Jb5 at once, on account of 18 ... d5. Now, however, White threatened to ll . ..ex d5 12 cx d5 make this move afterdoubling the rooks and, therefore, Black endeavors, Now, however, Black has to make his through an exchange, to relieve the choice between three distinct evils: (I) pressure exerted by the white queen. Weakness on c7, in case he should al low the pawn position to remain intact. 18 ... 4:le7 (II) Weakness on c6 in case, after ...c5, dxc6, he should recapture with the pawn In this way indeed it cannot be done and later on to be forced to play ...d5. and Black right away is at a material (III) And, finally, the line actually se disadvantage. Somewhat better would lected by him, through which he obtains have been 18... 4Ja5 19 \!;ia3 .Q.f8 20 an isolated d-pawn, the protection of §fd1, with a difficultgame for Black, which, made difficultthrough the pow to be sure, but yet making defense pos erful co-operation of the hostile bish sible. ops, will soon lead to a decisive weak ening of his queens ide. 12•.. c5 13 dx c6 4:lxc6 14 Ae3 �d7 15 �a4 A most effective square for the queen from which that piece will exert a troublesome pressure upon the black queen 's wing. 15.•. §ac8 16 §ad1 Both players follow out the same idea, 19 4:lb5 d5 that is, the b-pawns must be removed beyond the reach of the hostile bishops. Clearly forced. Incidentally, 16 .Q.xa7 would not do here, of course, on account of16... §a8. 20 4:lxa 7 122 Eighth Round This line was also made possible by ing chances, but 32 .llxc6 dxc3 33 a4, White's seventeenth move. winning. 20 ...laa 8 21 .1l,xb6 '/txa4 32lad2 h6 Black had nothing better, because, af If at once 32 ...�e4, then 33 {\xe4dxe4 ter 2l...§db8, White would have con 34 §dB+ .llf8 35 f5! and wins. tinued simply with 22 "€i'xd7 �xd7 23 33 a4 ...le3 §b7 24 .llxd5 {)xd5 25 §xd5 3axa7 26 .llxa7 §xa7 27 §fdl, with Threatening 34 .llb6, and thereby forc decisive superiority. ing Black's next move. 22 bxa4lad7 23 �b5laxa4 33 ...�e4 34 � xe4 dxe4 35lad S+ �h7 36 Axe4lax a4 Threatening also 24 ... §b4 25 §b3 3xb3 26 axb3 §b7. If 36 ...f5 , then 37 §d7 'i!lh8 (or 37 ...fxe4 38 .lld4 §d5 39 §xg7+ 'i!lh8 24 �c3laa 6 25lahl lab 7 26 Ac5 40 §d7+, fo llowed by exchange of laxbl+ 27 �xbl �c6 rooks and winning) 38 .lld4 .llxd4 39 §xd4 fxe4 40 §xb4 and wins. The position is now cleared up, White having maintained his passed pawn, while Black's d-pawn still remains weak. 28 �c3 The quickest method of winning. While he relinquishes the a-pawn, White for its return is enabled to force 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 37 f5 stubborn resistance after 28 ... §a5 29 .lle3 §b5. The initiation of the deciding pawn charge. For the present 38 fxg6+ fxg6 39 §d6 is threatening. Gaining time. 37 ...laa 6 38 h4 h5 Forced on account of the threat of 39 h5. After3l... d4, then would fo llow not 32 .llxd4 �xd4 33 §xd4 �d5!, with draw- 123 New York 1924 Or 39... h> Now, after 44.. . §h8, White wins quite easily by the advance of the h-pawn. Inasmuch as White need worry no longer over the possibility of ... eS, he (39) Janowsky,D - Marshall,F is quite justified in keeping his bishop London System [A48] on the cl-h6 diagonal. 1 d4 4)f62 4)f3 d6 3 h3 g6 4 .Q.f4 12... �c8 13 4)g5 .Q.g7 5 4)bd2 Quite good, and sufficient for the re tention of the advantage. More in the Herewith White enables the opponent style ofJanowsky, however, would have to switch at once into a variation of the been to make preparation for this sortie Reti system. With 5 c3! this could have with 13 §e1, whereby all subsequent been avoided. threats would have been strengthened. 5 ... c5 6 e3 c>< d4 n ....Q.d7 Marshall has an outspoken predilection for clarifiedpawn configurations(com pare his treatment of the Queen's Gam bit) and eschews hanging positions whenever possible. In the present state, however, it was a direct advantage for him to keep his opponent in the dark for a little while longer about his inten tions and to castle first. Now his plan to play ...eS is adroitly prevented by Janowsky and, because oflimited scope for development, he gets a little the worst of it. 14 �b3 7 e>< d4 4)c6 8 c3 0-0 Herewith White enters upon a compli cated sacrificial combinationand only Threatening now 9 ...e5. at the last moment assures himself that it is not sound. With 14 .1lf3! .£lb6 15 9 .Q.e2 �e810 4)c4.Q.e6 .£l> 124 Eighth Round :night have retained some minor posi dynamic treatment of the position and tional advantage. The inadequate text this circumstance is the more painfulas :nove is made the most of by Marshall the procedure of Black-utilization of in veryenergetic fashion. the h-file for a direct attack-is plainly indicated. White, with his knight move, 14... h6 seems bent on a new sacrificing con tinuation. This simple move required long and exact calculation. 22 ...�c4 23 Jl.c1 d5 15 Jlf3 The alluring sacrifice of the knight is thwarted only by the fo llowing line of play: 15 4::lxf7 'it>xf7 16 .llf3 Ae6! (Af ter 16 ...e6 17 4::lxd6+ 'it>g8 18 E!fel!, White would have had splendid chances) 17 Eifel! 4Jc7! (17... '<»"d7 as well as 17 ...4Ja5 are insufficient on ac count of the possibility of 18 Elxe6,or first 18 4Jxa5) 18 Elxe6 4::lxe6 19 Ad5 ( 19 d5 4Jc5) 19... '<»"d7 20 .llxe6+ i;lrxe6 Safer would have been first 23 ...'it>g7. 21 d5 (or 21 Elel 4Ja5) 21...'<»"e2 22 dxc6 (or 22 Elel4Jd4) 22 ...d5 23 cxb7 24 �f1 :3xc4.But comparatively better than the In place of this retreat, with which text move, which allows an exchange that strengthens Black's pawn group, White condemns himself to unresisting annihilation, he could have attempted would have been the simple retreat of by 15 4Jf3 and, if 15 ...'<»"c7, then 16 a4, means of 24 .llh5!(?) 24 ...gxh5 with a satisfactory game. (24 ...'it>g7 25 Axg6) 25 i;lrxh5 Ac6 (25 ... Ele7) 26 Axg5 .llxg5 27 i;lrxg5+ 15... hxg5 16 Axd5 e6 17 Jlf3f!/c7 '<»"g728 '<»"h4,threatening 4Jh5,to con 18 �e3 tinue fishing in troubled waters with two pawns in return for a piece. Cer Likewise 18 .llxg5 4Jxd4 19 cxd4 i;lrxc4 tainly a desperate resort-but the posi 20 i;lrxb7 Elc7, fo llowed by ...'<»"xd4, tion was ripe for despair! would have been advantageous for 24 ... 'it'g7 25 Ae2 �d6 26 Jld3 Black. Now White is fo rced into a gen }3h8 27 13e3 13h4 eral retreat. Black's attack plays itself. 18 ... �a5 19 f!/d1 b5 20 }3e1 f5 21 �f1 .llf6 22 �g3 28 13g3 White suffers from a lack of anchorage The rook ventures into a blind alley. But for his pieces, with no prospects of a otherwise the doubling of the rooks on 125 New York 1924 the h-file, fo llowed by . ..g4, would be whereby he would have won the ex decisive. change without diminishing the pres sure noticeably). 28 ... .£)f729 .£)h2e5 33 �xf4 Jl,xf4 34 Jl,xf4 t\'xf4 35 This should compel the gain of mate g3 t\'h6 36 gxh4 t\'xh4 rial. If now 30 -tlf3, then of course 30... e4 31 ?:lxh4 gxh4. After36 ... gxh3, White would have had a sufficient defense in 37 .lle2. Now, 30 dxe5 Jl,xe531 .£1fl however, there is a very strong threat in 37 ...�xh3, fo llowed by ...E!h8. lf31 -tlf3,then would fo llow 3l.... lb g3 32 fxg3 f!xh3! 33 gxh3 �xg3+, fo l 37 Jl,e4 lowed by ... �xh3+ and ... g4, with a winning attack. A splendid move, which, with the gain of a tempo, places the bishop on the 31... f4 right diagonal. It becomes apparent now how Black aggravated the difficultyof After 31.... .1l xg3 32 fxg3, fo llowed by his work by his thirty-second move. .lle3-d4+, White could still have main tained some resistance. The text move 37... �c4 is more forcible. As 37 ...dxe4 38 �xd7 and �xb5 leads 32 �f3 to nothing, he at least utilizes the op portunity to get his rook effectively into the game. His own king 's position, how ever, has meanwhile become somewhat unsafe. 38 .Q.xd5 If 38 �xd5 (?), then 38 ....ll c6. 38 ...�f4 39 �d2 gxh3 40 �e1 t\'g5+ 41 .£1g3 .£1e542 �e3 32 ...g4 From this point on Black begins to dawdle. It is quite true that the exchange for which this move prepares yields winning chances because of White's disorganized kingside position, but sim pler would have been 32 ....1lf6 (33 g3? E!xh3 34 gxf4 .llg4, fo llowed by ....tle5, 126 Eighth Round Despite his ingenious defense, White's �dl + 53 \t'f2�gl + 54 \t'f3 �dl + situation has grown worse. The text 55 \t'f2 move constitutes a last attempt to parry the terrible threat of 42 ...h2+ or Herewith the same position is brought 42....£!g4. about for the third time with the same player to move and White, therefore, 42 ..:t;tf6 might have claimed a draw. However, he does not avail himself of this right The sacrificeof a piece which he now clearly in the hope of gaining an advan plans turns out not to be decisive. On tage himselfthrough furtherattempts to the other hand, a win would have been win on the part of his opponent. Both led up to by 42 ...h2+! 43 \t>hl( 43 \t>xh2 are playing with fire. §xf2+, winning, or 43 lt>g2 §h4 44 >!i'hl .£!c445 .Q.xc4 .Q.c6+,etc.) 43 ....£lg4 55 ... �c2+ 56 \t'f3 �xb2 57 f!f4 44 §f3 .£!xf2+!45 §xf2 (45 'l';t'xf2'l';t'xd5 or 45 \t>xh2§h4+, winning) 45 ...'i;t'xg3 Threatening 58 §h4+. with the threat of mate on g I. 57 ...�xc3+ 58 \t'g4 �d259 .Q.e4 43 �el h2+ 44\t'hl �g4 �d7+ Note the only continuation for the at If there is anything to be gained, it could tack. only be through 59 ...'ii1t xa2 60 §f6\t>g7 61 §xg6+ lt>f7. After the text move, 45 f!e7+ \t'h6 46 f!xd7 �xf2+ 47 White retains his a-pawn. \t'g2 �h4 60 \t'f3 \tlg5 61 f!f8 And not 47 ...'i;t'g5 (threatening ...hl 'ii11), on account of 48 .Q.g8!!. The only move, but it suffices. 48 �xf2 61 ... �dl+ The queen sacrifice is fo rced, for 48 Or 6l...'ii1!d2 62 §g8, etc. .Q.e6 .£!e4! 49 ..Q.g8 .£!f6 would fo llow with advantage. 62 \t'g2 �gl + 63 \t'h3 a5 48 ... f!xf2+ 49 \t'xf2 �g4 In spite of his material inferiority, Black attempts to profit from the circum stance that the white pieces for the time being are tied up by his passed pawn and accordingly avoids a draw. He could, however, have fa red badly be cause of it. 50 f!f7 �dl 51 .Q.g2 �gl + 52 \t'f3 127 New York 1924 64 .Q.d5 This at last decides the issue ofthe day. A game rich in vicissitudes. Janowsky had so far accomplished a great deal. Afterthe matter-of-course 64 68 §f3 �xe4 69 4)f2 �d5 70 a3 E1g8 (threatening 65 E1xg6+ \t>f4 66 b4 71 axb4 axb4 72 4)h3+ 'ifilg473 64 ••• �d4 65 j}_e4 1 e4 e5 2 4)f3 4)c6 3 d4 exd4 4 4)xd4 4)f6 5 4)xc6 bxc6 6 4)d2 There is no longer a wholly satisfactory move. After 65 E(d8, then 65 ...�h 4+ 66 \t>g2\t>f4 would have been unpleas ant, and after 65.Jlf3 �d7+, the a-pawn likewise would have been lost. 65 ••• �d7+ 66 'ifjlg2 This singular move had been tried by Dr. Tartakower in several earlier tour nament games (for instance, against Teichmann at Carlsbad, 1923, and against Rubinstein at Maehrisch Ostrau, 1923) and is also recommended Losing a piece, but even after 66 \t>xh2 in his last book, Die Hypermoderne �d2+ and ...�xa2, the three pawns Schachpartie. Predicated upon a few would finally have decided. positional traps, it is not likely that it will open a new horizon for the sober 66 •••h1'i1t+ and colorless Scotch opening. A painful surprise. 6 ••. j}.c5 7 e5 �e7 8 'l1te2 4)d5 9 4)b3 .Q.b6 67 4)xh1 This, in connection with the next move, Or 67 \t>xhl �h 3+. is stronger than 9 ... 0-0 (as played by Rubinstein in the game referred to), whereupon White, after 10 .Jld2 .Jlb6 128 Eighth Round can play 11 0-0-0 without having to itte4 {)b4 15 c5 d5 16 �e3 ..llxfl 17 make the weak move of a4. l"ihxfl ..llxc5. 10 .Q.d2a5 11 a4 13 exd6 cxd6 14 tJ/xe7 �xe7 15 .Q.f4 d5 16 .Q.d6 §e8 17 Ac5 This is now forced, inasmuch as 11 0- 0-0 would be answered by 11.. .a4 12 Now White, in consequence of the <£la1 a3 13 b3 .>ld4, with advantage. weakness of the black squares, has even some advantage. 11 ... 0-0 12 0-0-0 17... .Q.xc5 18 �xc5 �g6 White clearly has no time to prepare for 0-0. Black at once proceeds to take measures in order to exchange or drive off the annoying hostile knight and, inciden tally, equalizes the position again. 19 Ad3 �f4 20 g3 �e6 21 Ethel �f8 22 �xe6+ If 22 <£lb3, there could have fo llowed 22 ...g6 23 .>lfl .>ld7 24 .>lh3 f5, fol lowed by ... l"ie7, with an easy defense. 22 ....Q.xe 6 23 Ete3 h6 24 §del 12... d6 §ab8 25 b3 .Q.d726 �d2 §xe3 27 §xe3 §e8 28 c3 So far Black has conducted the open ing properly. The text move, however, Likewise after28 l"ixe8+'it'xe8 29 'it'e3 which makes possible a premature sim '3Je7 30 ' 129 Ninth Round This was the day of Marshall's great opportunity, which he only partially grasped a draw with Dr. Lasker, after a thrilling contest which went to 62 moves. The American, with the white side of a Queen's Gambit Declined, had the satisfaction of outplaying the former world's champion. Unfortunately for him he missed a forced win. After that he still maintained the advantage, but Dr. Lasker barely managed to work out a draw in a stalemate position. Bogoljubow vs. Capablanca was a Queen's Pawn Game, characterized by the champion's incomparable precision. Bogoljubow's queen's bishop, developed at b2, was exchanged by Capablanca by means of ....ll a3. The weakness on white squares thus created sufficed Capablanca to render his adversary's position more and more untenable with every move. Nothing daunted, Dr. Tartakower came at Alekhine with another King's Gambit and headed into a prepared variation. Lacking precision on his thirteenth move, Alekhine permitted the institution of a strong attack, which was fearlessly pur sued by Dr. Tartakower. In the end Alekhine had to resort to perpetual check to draw the game. Reti entirely outplayed Janowsky in a Reti Opening (reversed). The manner in which Reti increased pressure upon the center, leading to the control of important squares and the gain of a pawn, was no less pleasing than the final simplification. Yates essayed Alekhine's attack against Mar6czy's French Defense, but fa iled to fo llow it up properly. The redeeming fe ature was the queen ending, which Mar6czy, as in his game with Marshall, handled fa ultlessly. Dr. Lasker continued to hold a slight lead with 6-2, followed by Alekhine, 51>- 21>;Capablanca, SY2-3 Y2; Reti, 5-3, and Dr. Tartakower, 4Y2-3Y2. The black pieces had their best day ofthe tournamentwith 3 wins and 2 draws. Total record: White 221>-Biack 221>. (41) Marshall,F-Lasker,Dr. tion selected by him possesses its defi Slav Defense [010] nite advantages. 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 cxd5 3 ... cxd5 4 4)c3 4)f6 5 �b3 The simplest and perhaps also the best, Thereby he prevents the development as White thereby retains the initiative of Black's queen's bishop, which, for for a time. Usually this exchange is instance, could have been played made after 3 4Jf3 4Jf6. Marshall, how without hesitation after5 4Jf3(5 ....ll f5 ever, proves by this game that the varia- 6 �b3 �b6 7 4J�d54J�d5 8 ��d5 e6 130 Ninth Round 9 i;ib3 �xb3 10 axb3 Ac2 11 14 ... �a5+ 15 ct!c3 After 15 'it>e2, then 15 ... 15... §b8 Probably the best defense, for Black, Black actually overestimates his posi in return for the break at e4 which he tion and is placed at a clear disadvan must logically concede to his opponent, tage in consequence (and not at all be receives compensation in his two bish cause of his earlier maneuvers of . . . 131 New York 1924 16 0-0 a6 20 ...'i!Je7 21 a3 As Black with his last move deprived Should Black now remain passive, the bishop of the b8-square, there is now White withdraws his queen from b3, the threat of 17 17 4)a4 .Ad7 18 4)c5 'i!!c7 21... §h6 A lamentable necessity, as 18 ....ile8 The wing attack hereby initiated is con would be met by 19 .£\xb7 'i::Jc7 20 demned to fa ilure fr om the start on ac .£\xd6! l::!> 22 §f2 g5 23 g3 'i!lh8 Likewise after 23 ...gxf4 24 gxf4 'i!i'h8 25 Eig2, White would have had the best of it. But there was no reason to allow him time further to improve his posi tion through preparation for the even tual exf4. 24 'l!!d1 19 4)e5 Preparing also for b4 and thereby fo rc With the occupation of this key square ing the opponent to resort to fu rther White obtains by far the superior posi dynamic measures. tion. It is plain that Black cannot cap ture twice on e5 because of the subse 24••. gxf4 25 4)xc6 quent loss of the exchange, for instance: 19... .£\xeS 20 dxe5 .ilxe5 21 f4 !, fo l Had Black effected the capture on f4 at lowed by .£\e4. his twenty-third move, this excursion clearly would not have been possible 19... .Ae8 20 f4 on account of the peril to the queen af ter ...bxc6. He could have obtained an advantage in material by means of20 .£\xe6 Eixe6 25 ... bxc6 21 'i::/xd5 'i::/e7 22 Axf5 .£\d8 23 -'l.xe6+, etc. In that case, however, Black would More in order would surely have been have retained good defensive weapons 25 ...Axc6 26 exf4 Ae8, etc. However, in his two bishops. The simple text the idea to put the rook to work at once move is more enduring. on the knight file had its points. Only 132 Ninth Round he should not have surrendered the a pawn on his next move. 26 exf4 �g7 The decisive mistake, inasmuch as Black now loses a pawn without any compensation. 26 ...a5 could still have led to a bitter struggle, but now, on the other hand, White ought to win hands down. 27 .Q.xa6 .Q.h5 28 �d2 .§g8 29 Artificial. Yet despite his inaccurate .Q.e2 .Q.e8 play, White's superiority should be made to yield results. The threat of 30 ...Elx h2 bound up with this move can be parried without any 34 ...�a7 35 h3 .§g7 36 �e5 hxg3 difficulty and was certainly not worth 37 hxg3 �b6 38 a5 the loss of a pawn. 30 �e3 .§f6 As the pawn as such can now be made use of only with difficulty, it is now uti lized to fo rce the opening of a new file, The e-pawn was not yet threatened by the knight on account of the reply (af after which it is not possible for Black ter 4Jxe6)of...ii'! e7. With the next move to prevent an exchange of rooks fa vor of the bishop, however, White fo rces able to his opponent. additional protection. 38 ... �> Black has really no more defense After40 ...ii'!b7, White would play sim against the advance of this pawn. ply 41 Elbl and then push on with the passed pawn. After the ensuing ex 32 ... h5 33 .§g2 change, he obtains a quickly decisive attack on the other side. In a clearly won position White now goes astray and in the end permits him 41 .§xc7 �xc7 42 g4fxg4 43 � xg4 self to be taken unawares. As a matter of course, a 5, fo llowed by a6, either on This move, so generally criticized, is this move or the next, was indicated, as a matter of fa ct the quickest road since Black had at his disposal no to victory. After43 Elxg4, Black would threats against the kingside even partly have been able todefend himself some serious in character. what longer by means of 43... Elh6 44 ii'!g3 �f7 45 Elg7 �xeS 46 fxe5 ii'!e7, 33 ... h4 34 �d3 etc. 133 New York 1924 43••• f!xf4 Lasker (50 �xf7+'it>xf7 51 4:lxd5Ab2), he could, on the contrary, have fo rced a After43 ... l"!g6, then 44 f5! would have draw. been decisive. 50 �e2 44 �xe6 After this there is no longer any satis An oversight which allows the win to factory way in which to meet 51 �g2+. slip through his fingers.44 Ad3!, threat 50•.• �c7 51 �g2+ �f8 ening 45 �h3+, would have won at once, fo r instance: 44 ...Ah5 45 4Jh6 l"!f846 �g5, and Black would have had no defense against 47 �g8+. 44 ..• f!xfl+ 45 �xfl .Q.b5+ It is just this check which manifestly must have escaped Marshall's attention, and he seems to have considered only 45 ... �c1 + 46 �e1 Ab5+ 47 'it>f2 �f4+ 48 'it>g1 �xd4+ 49 'it>h1, whereby he could have won easily, for instance: 49 ...�g7 (or 49 .. :�e4 50 �xe4 dxe4 52 4)xd5 51 4Jf6, fo llowed by mate) 50 4Je5! Axe5 51 l"!xg7 Axg7 52 �h4+, fo l Over-refinement that is incomprehen lowed by �d8+ and �xd5. sible. After 52 �xd5 Axe3 53 'it>xe3, Black would soon have had to resign, 46 f!e2 inasmuch as the couple of checks still at his disposal would have been quite The only chance. 46 'it>f2�c2+ 47 'it>f3 useless. �d1 + would have been even less agree able. 52•.. �c2+ 53 �f3 .Q.d2 46••• .Q.xe2+ 47 �xe2 �f7+ 48 �f2 The only move, but quite sufficient. �g7 54 �fl Wrong would have been 48 ...�xf2+ 49 'it>xf2, becausethe black d-pawn could Likewise 54 �f2 �d3+ 55 'it>g2+'it>e8 not have been saved thereafter. would not have sufficed any more. 49 .£le3 .Q.f4 54 ••• �xb3+ 55 �e2+ This again brings about a lost position Or 55 'it>e4+ 'it>e856 �f6 �b1 +57 'it>e5 for Black. By means of the elegant �b8+ 58 'it>f5 �c8+ 59 'it>e4 �d8! 60 move of 49 ...Aa3, suggested by Ed �g7 �d6, with an adequate defense. 134 Ninth Round 55 ••• �e8 56 �f5 8 ••• �e7 Even the winning of a piece by 56 .£lf6+ Threatening thereby ... e5, as well as '!Je7 57 '!;xd2,it is interesting to note, ... cxd4 fo llowed by .....ll a3. In both would not anymore have sufficed fora cases Black obtains a lasting initiative. win, for instance: 57 ...';!;i'b2+ 58 '!Je3 ';!;i'c3+ 59 '!Je4 ';!;i'c2+ 60 '!Je5 ';!;lc7+ 61 9 4)e5cxd4 10 exd4 Jla311 Jlxa3 '!Jf5 ';!;i'c2+ 62 '!Jg5 (or 62 .£le4 ';!;i'c8+) �xa3 62 ...';!;i'd2+ and ...';!;lxd4. After the text move White also loses his pawn. 56 •.. �c4+ 57 �xd2 Or 57 '!Jd1';!;i'cl +, fo llowed by ... ';!;lc4+. 57 ... �xd4+ 58 �e2 �c4+ 59 �f2 �c5+ 60 Cit'g2 �d6 61 �f3 �d8 Which prepares the ensuing stalemate position. Black now has a well defined outlook along the open c-file and in the weak 62 �e4 �e6+ %-1/z ness of the black squares on the queenside of his opponent. Neverthe (42) Bogoljubow,E - Capablanca,J less, the game at this stage was still ab Colle Opening [DOS) solutely defensible, if White had played consistently thereafter to dislodge the 1 d4 4)f62 4)f3d5 3 e3 e6 black queen from her hampering post by threats of exchange. Instead, he flirts As a rule, 3 ... c5 is played at once; the so long with the e5-square that Black text move, however, is not in the least actually works up a menacing pressure. questionable since White, by locking in his queen's bishop, has foregone the 12 4)df3 Jld7 13 4)xc6 Jlxc6 14 immediate likelihood of more energetic �d2 methods of play. Here, for instance, 14 ';!;i'c1';!;i'b4 15 ';!;i'd2 4 Jld3 c5 5 b3 4)c6 6 0-0 Jld6 7 ';!;lb6 (or ...';!;i'd6) 16 .£le5, was much to Jlb2 0-0 8 4)bd2 be preferred. It has been known for years that Black 14 ..• E!,ac8 15 c3 has nothing to fear from the fo llowing double threat. Neither 8 .£le5(see Game To what purpose? 15 .£le5 could very 24, Mar6czy vs. Bogoljubow ), nor 8 a3 well have been played at once. are strong enough to give White an ad vantage. 15••• a6 135 New York 1924 Excellent! After the exchange of the This is decisive. White must give up a bishop, now practically unavoidable for pawn, for, after 24 .§b2 4Jf5 (threaten White, the knight will gain new and ing ...4Jxd4) 25 .§bbl f626 4Jg4 (or 26 important squares for attack. 4Jd3 Elxc3) 26 ...e5; or, 24 b4 aS 25 bS 4Jc426 4Jxc4.§xc4 27 Elal eS. 16 4)e5 Ab5 17 f3 24 4)d3 �xb3 25 4)c5 �b6 26 After 17 AxbS axbS, the opening ofthe .§b2 �a7 27 �e1 b6 28 4)d3.§c4 a-filewould have conduced to the ben 29 a5 efitof Black. Or 29 .§a2"itt c7 30 Ela3 4Jf5,threaten 17... Axd3 18 4)xd3 .§c7 ing 4Jxd4. Now a regular siege of c3 begins. 29... bxa5 30 4)c5 4)b531 .§e2 19 .§ac1 .§fc8 20 .§c2 4)e8 21 Making possible a pretty finale. After .§fc14)d6 22 4)e5 other moves, Black, of course, would also win easily through his pawn supe There is nothing to be gained for the riority. knight at e5. 22 4Jc5!(22 ... b6 or 22 ... e5, 31 ... 4)xd4 32 cxd4 .§8xc50-1 23 4Ja4)would have added to the diffi culty of his opponent's reaping the ben (43) Ta rtakower,S -Alekhine,A efit of his positional advantage. King's Gambit Accepted [C33] 22 ... �a5 23 a4 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Ae2 4)e7 A fr esh weakness, after which there is A new experiment which is satisfactory probably no defense. There was still insofar as it yields Black at least an even time, however, to try out the maneuver position. of 4Jd3-c5-a4 to bolster up the queens ide. 4d4 In reply to 4 4Jc3, there could fo llow 4 ...d5 5 exdS 4Jxd56 {)xdS (if6 Af3 4Jxc3, fo llowed by ...Ad6) 6 ..."itt xd5 7 .llf3 �d6 8 4Je2 gS 9 d4 Ag7, whereby Black would retain the gam bit pawn. 4 ... d5 5 exd5 After5 eS 4Jg6 White would havebeen obliged to put fo rth still greater efforts 23... �b6 in order to recover the pawn. 136 Ninth Round 5 ... � xd5 6 �f3 Ab4+ Not 16 Axf3, on account of 16 ... 4:ld4. After the text move, however, White In order not to have to reckon with the appears even to get an advantage, for eventuality of 4:lc3 (in advance of c4) instance: 16 ... 4:le5 17 l"ixf6 4:lxd3 18 afterWhite's next move which is partly l"if3 4:lb4(18 ... 4:lxb2? 19 a4!) 19 a3 4:lc2 forced. 20 l"icl 4:ld4 21 l"ixe3 4:lxe2+ 22 l"ixe2, and the superiorly of the pawns on the 7 c3 Ae7 8 0-0 0-0 9 c4 �e3 queenside would cause Black much trouble in the rook ending. After the enforced exchange, the e pawn should still have had a tenacious existence and the disappearance of the white queen 's bishop diminishes greatly White's possibilities for an attack. 10 Axe3 fxe3 11 �d3 Af6 12 �c3 Not 12 ii:Yxe3, on account of 12... c5!. Threatening also 13... 4:lb4. 13 �d5 Ag4 This drawing combination in its many variations had to be calculated deeply This, however, is inaccurately played and exactly. and permitsthe opponent to bring about a simplification favorable to him. Cor 17 §.b1 �xa2 18 §.xe3 rect would have been first 13 ...l"ie8! and only after 14 l"iad1 (in reply to 14 Herewith White evades all the compli �xf6+ ii:Yxf6 15 d5, could fo llow cations arising from 18 dxc6, but 15 ... 4:lb4) 14 ... Ag4. And then both 15 wrongly so, as he should now remain �xf6+ ii:Yxf6 16 4:le5 4:lxe5 17 dxe5 without sufficientcompensation for the Axe2, fo llowed by ... ii:Yxe5,as well as two pawns he is minus. After 18 dxc6 15 4:lg5 Jlxg516 Jlxg44:lxd4! 17 ii:Yxd4 l"iad8, the fo llowing variations could e2 18 Axe2 l"ixe2, would have been have occurred: favorable for Black, thereby also clearly justifying the defense of 3 ...4:le7. (I) 19 cxb7 l"ixd320 Axd3 (or 20 b8ii:Y ii:Yxe2) 20 ...e2! (in order to meet 21 b8ii:Y 14 �xf6+ �xf6 15 d5 A> 137 New York 1924 (III) 19 �e4! !!deB!(after 19 ... �xe2 20 ening d7, with powerful pressure. The f!xe3 f!d1+ 21 f!xd1 �xd1 + 22 f!e1, ensuing queen maneuver has for its fo llowed by cxb7, White would have purpose making possible the important the advantage and 19... f!fe8 is out of defensive move of ...'\t>f8. the question because of 20 cxb7!) 20 �d3 (if now 20 cxb7, then 20 ... f!xe4 21 b8� �xe2) 20 ... f!d8, and draws. Herewith Black again gives away his winning chances. After the simple 18... .£laS, thistemporary unfavorable position of the knight on the edge would in no way have compensated White for the loss of two pawns, for instance: 19 f!e1f!ae8 20 Afl f!xe321 f!xe3 �b2! 24 �d4 �f6 25 �e5 'i!;lf8 26 �fl 22 cS �b4! 23 �c3 �xc3 24 f!xc3 f!d8 '{tg6 27 h4 2S d6 cxd6 26 cxd6 '\t>f8. A strong continuation of the attack 19 �xb7 .£)xe2+ which almost decides the game in fa vor of White. After 19... cS, the pawn on d5 and es pecially the position of the rook on the 27 .••�d7 seventh row would have gained consid The only move which saves the situa erably in importance. tion. Wrong, for instance, would have been 27 ...f!e8, on account of 28 f!gS 20 �xe2 '1!\'al+ 21 �bl 'l!\'f6 �h6 29 �f4 f!e730 d6 cxd6 31 cxd6 f!d7 32 �fS! f!ad8 33 f!hS �e3+! 34 Even after2l. ..�aS 22 �d4, the move '\t>h1 g6! 3S �f6 'it'g8 36 f!eS, with a of cS could not long have been pre winning position. vented. 28 h5 'l!\'h6 29 �e4 22 c5 �fd8 Probably the continuation which offers After this move, Black exposes himself the best chances inasmuch as it fo rces to a very dangerous attack. The correct the weakening .. .f6 through the threat thing for him was at once to play his of a triple attack on the e-file.After 29 trump 22 ...aS, for instance: 23 f!fl�g6 �g4 (suggested as a winning line by 24 �xg6 fxg6! with an easy draw. some critics) Black could have saved himself more easily, for instance: (I) 23 �bel 'l!\'g6 29 ...f!ad8 30 f!fe1 f6 31 c6 fxeS! 32 cxd7 �b6+! 33 'it'h1 �f6, or (II) Now, after 23 ... aS, there would have 29... f!dd8 30 �e2 f!e8! 31 f!e1!!x eS fo llowed 24 d6! cxd6 2S cxd6, threat- 32 �xeS �f6!, etc. 138 Ninth Round 29••• f6 30 g4 §adS 36 Ci!lf2 The same move, of course, would also Neither could the draw have been have been played in reply to 30 d6. avoided through 36 <;!;>e3, forafter 36 .. .'l;i'c5+!, the king dare not go to f4, 31 c6 §f7 on account of 37 ...g5+. Again the only reply (31...l"ld6? 32 l"le7 36••• �f4+ 37 Ci!le2 �c4+38 Ci!le1 l"lxdS 33 i;i 32 §e6 (44) Janowsky,D - Reti,R London System [A48] 1 d4 .£)f6 2 .£lf3 g6 3 h3 This move is superfluous just here and in its place 3 lif4 at once might be sub stituted. 3 ••• Ag7 4 Af4 b6 5 e3 c5 6 c4 Better would have been 6 c3, fo llowed by lid3 (or .llc4), which would have brought about a struggle between two 32 .•• �g5 33 �xh7 systems (Reti 's and the London Herewith White declares himself as sat method). The advantages and disadvan isfied with a draw. As a matter of fact, tages on both sides were sufficiently the attempt to keep on playing for a win illustrated in New York in the games, would have been unsuccessful, for in Dr. Lasker vs. Alekhine (Game 86), Reti stance: 33 l"lel<;f;>g8 34 l"le8+l"lx e8 35 vs. Alekhine (Game 63) and Reti vs. Dr. \;i'xe8+ l"lf8 36 \;i'e6+ l"lf7 (36 ... <;!;>h8 Lasker (Game 76). The inadequacy of could have been played) 37 d6 \;i'c5+ the text move is shown most convinc 38 <;f;>fl cxd6 39 l"lbl h6! And Black ingly by Reti in the present game. would have a perpetual check in case White should capture the rook. 6 ... cxd4 7 exd4 0-0 8 .£lc3 33 ..• �xg4+ 34 Ci!lf2 �f4+ 35 Ci!le2 Of greilter importance than the devel �c4+ opment of the knight was the necessity of insuring the safety of the king by After 35 ...\;i'h6 36 \;i'xh6 gxh6, White means of Ae2, fo llowed by 0-0. Hav with an additional pawn sacrificewould ing neglected to castle, White gets into have obtained winning chances: 37 d6! trouble with his d-pawn, which eventu l"lxd6 38 l"lxd6 cxd6 39 l"lcl l"lc7 40 ally leads to loss of material. <;!;>e3 <;!;>e7 41 <;!;>d4 <;!;>e6 42 l"lel+,fo l lowed by 43 <;!;>dS. s ...d5 9 Ae2 Ah7 139 New York 1924 Here should have fo llowed either 10 17 ... �d5 18 .slfl Aa6 19 Etc3 0-0 or else a double exchange on d5, Axfl 20 'it>xfl �c6 21 .sle3 Etfd8 fo llowed by 0-0 with a passable game. 22 �c1 White's next somewhat superficial move merely creates an additional and The last opportunity is lost to create at serious weakness. least slight technical difficultiesfor the adversary by an exchange on b6. The 10 b3 �e4 11 Etc1 fo rceful advance of the two passed pawns now wins with ease. Or 11 4:lxd5Axd5 12 cxd5 4:lc3 13 "ii1tc2 4:lxe2 14"ii1t xe2 "ii1txd5 15 0-0 4Jc6, with 22 ... b5 23 Etd1 b4 24 Etc2 a5 25 a clear preponderance in position. �g1 a4 26 �e2 b3 27 Etcd2 a3 28 �f4 b2 29 �c3 �f5 30 �d3 Axd4 ll ... �xc3 12 Etxc3 dxc4 13 bxc4 31 Axd4 Etxd432 'it>g1 �c6 14 Etd3 After 14 Ae3, the reply of 14 ...e5 (15 d5 e4) would have been powerful. 14... �a5 15 c5 After 15 §d2, Black, by means of fu r ther developing moves ( ...§c 8, fol lowed by ...Aa6) could have easily at tacked the c-pawn. After the text move, he obtains another advantage-the im portant d5-square. 32 ... Etxd3 15 .. :�·d5 16 0-0 The game, of course, is won by any Likewise after 16 cxb6 axb6 17 §d2 continuation, but this pretty combina 4Jc4, he could not have avoided loss of tion, fo rcing the winning of a piece, material in the long run. 0-0, after all, decides the issue most quickly. held out for him his best chances. 33 Etxd3 �xd3 34 �xd3 a2 35 16 ... �xa2 17 Ete1 'it>h2 Here, however, must be played 17 4Je5 The sole possibility to avert greater loss in order to prevent Black's next move. of material. After 17... §fd8 18 §d2 "ii1te6 19 §e1, Black would have fo und it by no means 35 ... a1� 36 Etb1 Etb8 37 h4 �a4 easy to realize his advantage. Afterthe 38 g3 �d4 39 �c2 �f6 40 'it>g2 text move, on the other hand, White gets h5 41 'it>g1 �d4 42 �d1 �f5 43 nothing in return for the pawn. 'it>g2 �xc5 44 �d2 �d5+ 0-1 140 Ninth Round (45) Ya tes,F-Maroc:zy, G 7... .£jx f6 8 Ad3 c5 9 dxc5 .£1c6 10 French Defense [Cl4] .£ih3t\'a5 11 Ad2 ti\'xc5 12 .£if4 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 .£lc3 .£lf64 Ag5 A spasmodic attempt to make more Ae7 5 e5 .£jfd7 6 h4 f6 difficultthe terrible ...e5 which is suc cessful insofar as it induces the oppo The vitality of this defense against the nent to give new direction to his attack of6 h4, introduced by the writer thoughts. at Manheim in 1914, depends entirely upon the correctness of the bishop sac 12. ..0-0 rifice, 7 Ad3 (!?), which would then be possible. Unfortunately, White in the In reply to 12 ...e5, White would have game under consideration avoids the had half an excuse in 13 <£lh5. Now, complications resulting therefrom and however, it threatens. selects a colorless line of play which 13 t\'e2 brings about a clear positional disad vantage for him. In order, after 13 ...e5 (?), to answer with 14 {Jfxd5 and, after the exchange, to win the queen by means of .Jlc4. 13 ... .£Jd4 14 t\'f1 Ad6 With this Black plays to win a pawn, which, however, is all too little, consid ering his powerful position, and sud denly allows the opponent counter chances. Correct would have been 14 ...b5! (threatening both ...b4 as well as ...e5, etc.) fo r instance: (I) 15 <£lxb5 7exf6 {Jxb5 16 Axb5 <£le4 (II) 15 {Jfe2 e5! 16 <£lxd4 exd4 17 <£ld1 <£le4; in both After 7 Ad3 fxg5 8 i;fh5+ ' 141 New York 1924 Of course not 18 i;fxf2, on account of sacrifice the exchange. (The best way 18 ... <£lb3+. Now, however, 19 <£la4 is would have been through 22 ...<£le5 23 threatened. ..llxf7+ €lxf7 24 .lle3 ii1c7, with some chances of a draw. For in reply to 1s . . . .ll.d7 19 'i!lh1 gr6 22 ...§f f8 (after 22 ... hxg6 23 hxg6, threatening §h8+, Black clearly would However dangerous it seemed to take have lost at once) there would have fo l the g-pawn, it could have been played lowed 23 h6 and then ... unhesitatingly, fo r instance: 19 ...l:'lx g2 (threatening ... <£lf3) 20Jle3 e5 21 i;ffl (I) 23 ...hxg6 24 hxg7 (A) 24.. .' 22 ...g6 Now, however, Black has no more file opening to fe ar and, aftersimplifi cation on the f- file,must eventually win with his pawn plus. 23 .ll.e3 t\'a524 t\'h4t\'dS 25 Ag5 Ae7 26 .ll.xe7 t\'xe7 27 t\'g3 t\'f6 22 h6 28 gdfl t\'e5 29 t\'g4 gxfl+ 30 gxf1 grs 31 gd1 White cuts off his own attack! With 22 .Q.g6! he would have fo rced his oppo Even afterthe exchange ofrooks, which nent, in order to avoid greater evil, to in any event could not long be 142 Ninth Round prevented, White's position would have game, however, understands how to been hopeless. combine attack and defense most clev erly and finally turns his superiority successfully into victory. 31. ••�f4 32 �h3 �e5 33 Ab5 Ac8 34 a3 a6 35 Ae2 Ad7 36 l!fl As a matter of fa ct, there is not a move left that is even, half way satisfactory. Preventing the check of the queen on After the exchange, however, the a b4 and preparing thereby the unham pawn becomes untenable. pered advance of the h-pawn. 36 ••• �g5 37 f!xf8+ In order to bring the queen over to the Threatening to reach hI with mate. other side by way of g I, inasmuch as there is nothing to be fo und against 48 �aS �c5 49 �a7+ ... 4::lf7. The subsequent queen maneuvers 38..• 53 ••• �f4 54 �c3 � xa4 55 �c6 "'ow the advance of the a-pawn threat 143 New York 1924 56 tWeS h4 57 b3 �d2 58 �f8+ If now 62 ...'iti>e2 (?), then 63 �f2+ 'iti>xdl \tle5 59 lWg7+ �f4 60 tWf6+ �g3 64�fl + �el 65 �d3+, with perpetual 6I tWe5+ �f3 62 tWf6+ \f;g2 check. 63 bxa4 �xdl + 64 i,tlb2 �g4 65 a5 h3 66 tWc3 Or 66 a6 h2 67 a7 hl � 68 aS� �b4+, fo llowed by mate on the next move. 66 ...tWe2 67 a6 lWb5+ 68 \tiel �xa6 69 lWd2+ �f3 0-1 If 70 �xg5, then 70 ...�al + 71 'iti>d2 �d4+, fo llowed by ... �e3+, winning. 144 Tenth Round With the competitors nearing the half-way mark, the games in the tenth round were most stubbornly contested, but Dr. Lasker, who won, drew away slightly from his nearest rivals. Capablanca, with a pawn to the good, allowed Marshall to get away from him, and Alekhine was fortunate in not dropping a point to Ed. Lasker. Reti 's uncertainty in the handling of a French defense was admirably taken ad \'antage of by Dr. Lasker, notwithstanding the fact that his opponent had two bishops. Dr. Lasker's final attack was pleasing and conclusive. Capablanca had all the best of a Reti Opening (reversed), emerging in the middlegame with the advantage oftwo bishops. In the difficultending the world's champion was a pawn ahead, so that Marshall deserves great credit for the fine uphill fightwhich earnedhim a draw. The game between Ed. Lasker and Alekhine was a Ruy Lopez, in which the great Russian master went astray in the opening! Lasker played aggressively and ob tained the superior game, but then relaxed. Alekhine was enabled to consolidate his position, with the better chance in the ending. Both players were extended in meeting the exigencies of the occasion and in making a draw. Bogoljubow was the only other victor, at the expense of Yates, in this round. Playing the white side of a Ruy Lopez, Yates once more essayed his somewhat illogical advance of the center pawns. Bogoljubow, at his best, soon won a pawn and obtained the better position in the bargain, which sufficedfor a win after 33 moves. In the game, Janowsky vs. Dr. Tartakower, the latter handled his side of a Queen's Gambit in excellent style, so much so that he entered upon the middle game with the exchange to the good and a free c-pawn to boot. Misjudging the position, he castled on the queenside, where Janowsky, playing vigorously, kept him very busy. Dr. Tartakower fo und a drawing line in a very precarious position. After ten rounds, the standing of the leaders was as fo llows: Dr. Lasker, 7-2; Alekhine, 6-3; Capablanca, 6-4; Reti and Dr. Tartakower, each 5-4. The score between White and Black remained even. (46) Lasker,Dr. - Reti,R Better than 7 .....1bf6 (compare the French Defense [C 12] game, Bogoljubow vs. Reti, Game 18). Black, however, treats the sub 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 4)c3 4)f6 4 .Q.g5 sequent part of the opening in a style .llb4 5 4)ge2 dxe4 6 a3 .lle7 7 not dictated by the best position judg .Q.xf6 gxf6 ment. 145 New York 1924 8 .£)xe4 f5 avoided at all costs. Better would have been 13 ...'{;l(f4+ 14 'it>b1 4Jc6. This move, which weakens the pawn fo rmation,should only be made in case 14 .£lxf5 f!/f4+ 15 .£le3 .£)xd4 16 of dire necessity. Correct would have g3 f!/e517 .Q.g2.£)c6 been 8 ...b6, whereby Black would have obtained a satisfactory game (compare Likewise 17 ....llc6 would not have been Bogoljubow vs. Alekhine, Game 82). quite sufficient,for instance: 18 f4 '{;irg7 (or 18 ...'{;l(f6 19 .llxc6+ 4:\xc6 20 4Je4 9 .£l4c3.Q.d7 '{;ire7 21 '{;irc30-0-0 22 Elhe1)19 .llxc6+ 4:\xc6 20 4Jf5 '{;irf8 21 4:\xd6+ cxd6 22 Herewith Black unnecessarily increases 4Jb50-0-0 23 '{;irc3, winninga pawn. the difficulty of developing his 18 f4 f!/g7 19 .£lb5 queenside, fo r, if now a piece, bishop or knight, should play to c6, the white Not 19 4Jf5, on account of 19... .1lxf4+. d-pawn always threatens to advance The text move fo rces the win of a pawn with a tempo. 9 ...b6 was still indicated. (19 ...'{;irf8 20 4Jd5!). 10 �d2 .Q.d6 19 ...0-0 After 10... .llc6 11 0-0-0, there would With 19 ... 0-0-0, Black could have of be the threat of 12 d5. fe red longer resistance. 11 0-0-0 f!/e7 20 .£)xd6 cxd6 21 §xd6 §fd8 22 f!/d2 .Q.e823 §d1 §deS Another loss of a tempo. A better method of defense would have been to strengthen the center with 11...c6 and to forego castling, for instance: 11.. .c6 12 4Jg3(otherwise 12 ... 4Ja6-c7) 12...'{;l(h4 13 '{;ire1 'it>d8, fo llowed by 14 ...a5, ...4Ja6, etc. Possibly in the course of time an attack on the queenside might have developed therefrom. 12 .£lg3 Threatening 13 4:\xf5 exf5 14 .§e1 ..lle6 15 d5. 24 f5 12... �h4 13 �e1 .£)c6 The introduction to a finalattack, which leads to the goal in a few moves. Allowing the opponent an additional open filewhich, because of the unsafe 24 ...e5 25 f6 f!/f826 .£lf5 �h8 27 position of the king, should have been f!/g5 §c7 146 Tenth Round Losing a rook, but the position, of 9 Jl.d3 .£le4 10 jl_xe4 course, has long been hopeless. A game played by Reti without energy. White (afterso few moves!) has hardly any choice in his cramped position. 28 Jl.xc6§xc6 Were Black to remain passive, the con tinuation for him would be ...4Jd7, fo l Also after28 ... .llxc6, would fo llow 29 lowed by ... e5. §d8. 10 ...dxe 4 11 .£ig5 e5 12 .£jgxe4 29 §dS §cc8 30 �g7+ �xg7 31 exd4 13 exd4 fxg7+ 'i!i'gS 32 .£ie7+ 1-0 (47) Marshall,F- Capablanca,J Queen's Pawn Opening [A48] 1 d4 .£Jf6 2 .£if3g6 3 e3 This voluntarylocking up ofthe queen's bishop is the source of all subsequent difficulties.Better here would be 3 .llf4 or 3 c4, of course, with an entirely dif fe rent plan of development. u ...Aa6 3 ...Ag7 4 .£jbd2b6 5 Jl.c4 A somewhat artificial idea which de Merely giving the opponent a tempo in prives Black of the most of his superi connection with the subsequent ... d5. ority in position. Likewise 13 ...§e 8 Better, therefore, would have been 5 would have yielded little after 14 �f3; .lld3. but with the simple 13 ...cxd4 (where upon 14 cxd4 was not fe asible, on ac 5 ... 0-0 6 �e2 c5 count of 14 ....ll a6 and ...�d5), Black could have maintained a clear advan By means of this move Black gains the tage in position. After the text move, balance in the center, a fe ature charac this is changed into a small endgame teristic of Reti's system. superiority, which eventually turnsout to be insufficient. 7 c3 Jl.b78 0-0 d5 14 c4 �xd4 15 §b1 .£1c6 16 b3 The same procedure (with the colors §adS 17 Ab2 �d3 18 �xd3 §xd3 reversed and minus the tempo) was 19 .£if3 Axb220 §xb2 f5 21 .£jeg5 adopted successfully by Reti against §eS Bogoljubow in a later round (see Game 58). Black obtains thereby a clear ad Black has reached the goal for which vantage. he strove with his thirteenth move; he 147 New York 1924 occupies the open files and the pros tempo. Evidently this was the idea un pects for action on the part of the white derlying the move of31 22 ....Q.b7 23 .£lf4 Etd6 24 .£ld5 .£le7 To be considered also was 24 ... <£le5 25 148 Tenth Round 41 4)d7+ \!;>e8 42 4)e5 \!;>d8 43 (threatening perpetual check), fo r, af 4)f7+ \t>d7 44 4)e5+ \!;>c7 45 4)f7 ter 53 ...b5 54 4Jb7+ 'it>c6 55 4Jd8+'it>b6 4)c6 (?), the black rook would be won after 56 .§b7+'it>a6 57 cxbS+. There was still time, by means of ...'it>d7-d8-e8-f8-f7-g7, to continue 52 4)e5+ \!;>e6 53 §g6+ \!;>e7 54 along the line indicated above. ftg7+\t>f8 55 ftb74)x b3 46 §e6 Clearly there is no other way in which to strengthen his position. Now, how By this means the balance of material ever, White's f- pawn takes an impor is restored. tant part in the discussion, thereby 46 ... f(d4 47 ftxg6 ftd248 f4 bringing to naught the adversary's chances on the opposite wing. Marshall actually appears willing to play for a win; otherwisehe might have 56 ftf7+ �e857 ftxf5 4)d2 achieved an easy draw through the simple 48 4Jxh6,for instance: 48 ...4Jd4 Likewise, if 57 ... a5 58 .§hS, threaten (or 48 ....§x a2 49 4Jxf5 4Jd4 50 4:lxd4 ing f5-f6. cxd4 51 .§gS and .§dS) 49 .§g7+'it>b8 50 4Jf7 .§xa2 51 4Jd6 4:lxb3 52 .§b7+ 58 fth5 §c2 59 f(h8+ 'it>a853 E!g7aS 54 .§g8+'it>a7 55 E!g7+ 'it>a6 56 .§g8. Still better would have been 59 fS at once. 48 ... f{xa2 49 ftg74)d4 50 4)xh6+ \!;>c6 51 4)f7 59 ... \t>e7 60 f5 This, too, accomplishes it, for, if now 60 ...4Jxc4 61 4Jg4 4Jd6 62 .§h7+ 'it>f8 (or 62 ...'it>e8 63 4Jf6+, etc.) 63 4Jh6!, fo llowed by f6, with a sure draw. 60 ... 4)e4 61 \t>f3 4)d6 62 fth7+ �f6 63 4)g4+\t>xf5 64 4)e3+�g6 65 ftxa7 ftc3 66 §a6 1h -lfz The simplest, fo r, if66... 4Jxc4 67'it>e2, and Black cannot save his b-pawn. (48) Lasker,Ed. -A/ekhine,A Neat would have been 51...4Je6 52 Ruy Lopez [C78] 4Je5+'it>d6 53 .§d7•. If 51...4Jxb3, then White fo rces a draw immediately 1 e4 e5 2 4)f3 4)c63 Ab5 a6 4 .lla4 by means of 52 4Jd8+ 'it>d6 53 .§f7 4)f6 5 o-o .llc5 149 New York 1924 This defense, which was recommended even the simpler 9 �h1 b5 10 .!lb3 d6 by Danish master J. Moller at the be 11 f4 would have been unpleasant ginning of the century, has been closely enough for Black. examined during the last few years by the player of the black pieces and re 9 ...Aa7 10 4)g3 g6 peatedly made use of, not without suc cess. At any rate more passable than 10 ...b5 11 4Jf5 �f8 12 .!lb3 d6 13 i£ff3. 6d3 11 Ah6 This tame reply cannot be regarded ei Not only preventing ...0 -0, but also ...h6 ther as a refutation of 5 ....ll c5 or even (or ...h5), and threatening �f3, fo l as an attempt at it. The fo llowing lines lowed by .!lg5(g7). There is only one of play, which lead to a game difficult defense against it. to handle on both sides, deservea fu r ther practical examination: (I) 6 4Jxe5 n .. . b5 12 Ab3 d6 13 h3 4Jxe5 7 d4 4Jxe4 8 �e2 (or 8 f!e1) 8 ....!le7 9 i£txe44Jg6, fo llowed by Otherwise 13... 4Jg4 . ... 0-0; (II) 6 c3 .!la7!7 d4 4Jxe48 �e2 f5 9 dxe5 0-0. 13 ... Ae6 14 �f3 4)d7 6 . ..-(}Je7 Just at the right time! It almost seems as though Black had overcome the As a matter of course the only correct worst; White's next move, however, continuation here is 6 ...b5 7 .!lb3 d6, revives the attack. which promises Black fa ir equalization. The move of the queen really should not have been considered at all, because of the possibility of the development of the white queen's knight. Now White obtains a superior game for some time to come. 7 4)c3 Threatening 8 .!lg5 as well as 8 4Jd5 4Jxd5 9 exd5. Black's answer, there fo re, is almost fo rced. 15 4)f5 7 . ..4)d4 8 4)xd4 j},xd4 9 4)e2 This pretty exchange combination, This maneuver with the knight, which which Black could not very well pre fo rces a considerable weakening of the vent, should result, if properly contin black kingside, looks very promising ued, in a clear positional advantage for and in fact retains the advantage. But White. !50 Tenth Round 15 ... gxf5 16 exf5 d5 the advantage through the co-operation of his bishops in spite of Black's passed The only move which holds the posi pawns. tion. Quite without prospect would have been 16 ...e4 17 "i£rxe4 d5 18 Axd5 <£Jf6 22 §ae1 a5 23 Jld1 rt;d6 24 Jlh5 19 Ac6+ �dB 20 "i£rf3; and also 16... 0-0-0 17 "i£ra8+ Ab8 18 "i£rxa6• Likewise 24 Ag4 at once would have was hardly worth striving for. changed the situation but little, fo r, af ter 24 ...<£Jf6 25 .1lf3 Axe3 26 fxe3 c5 17 fxe6 fxe6 18 .1l.e3 (27 g4 Elg8), Black would have stood very well. Until now White had played quite ex cellently, but here he lets down notice 24 ... §f6 25 Jlg4Axe3 ably. Correct would have been 18 c4!, for instance: 18 ...c6 19 c> 18 ...§(8 19 �h5+ White cannot very well avoid the ex change of queens, for otherwise Black, Herewith is prepared the subsequent with 19 ..."i£rf7, fo llowed by ...Elg 8, complicated pawn sacrifice. Another would obtain good counterplay on the more promising plan would have been open lines. the blocking of the doubled pawn with 26 ...c5 in order, after27 e4!, to continue 19 ... �f7 20 �xf7+ §xf7 21 c3 with 27 ...d4. After 28 c> 151 New York 1924 wing after 2B ...dxc3 29 bxc3 b4. But Much better than 31 ..llxe6 d2 32 l'!d1 the selected continuation likewise was 4:le4 33 .llg4 �xd5 34 .Jlf3 �e5 35 cause for uneasiness. .llxe4 �xe4 36 l'!xd2 c5, and Black, in spite of his being a pawn down for the 27 c4 time being, has the whip hand. Otherwise Black, through the opening 31...c5 32 b3 and command of the b-file, would get the advantage. Wrong would have been 32 .llf5, on account of 32... c4 33 b3 d2 34 bxc4 27 ...§.af8 4:le4, and wins. Now,however, comes a threat. Threatening a double exchange of rooks, fo llowed by ... 4:lc5-a4. 32... d2 28 §.xf6 4)xf6 29 §.fl The sacrifice of the exchange by 32 ...4:lxg4 33 .§x[B �e7, would have been incorrect on account of 34 .§f7+! �xe6 35 .§fl, etc. 33 Af3 The saving move. After 33 l'!d14:lxg4 34 l'!xd2+ �xe6 35 hxg4 a4!, White, in consequence of his isolated pawns and cut-off king, would be decidedly at a disadvantage. 29 ...e4 33... 4)e4 The point of Black's counterplay, by Also the immediate 33 ...�xe6 would which a pawn is sacrificed in order to not have sufficedfor a win, for instance: obtain a clear superiority on the queen's 34 l'!d1 .§dB 35 �f2 a4 36 �e2 a3 37 wing. The attempt to win, to be sure, .§xd2 .§xd2+ 3B �xd2 c4 39 �c2! c3 was without great risk,but finallycomes 40 g4 �e5 41 �d3. The strong posi to naught in consequence of White's tion of the pawn on c3 assures Black a exact defense. draw, but no more. 30 cxd5 exd3 34 §.dl 4)c3 35 §.xd2+ 152 Te nth Round 'lave had an easy draw and, therefore, 43 .§.aS a444 bxa4 �xa2 45 a5 c4 did not search any more after winning .:hances thatdid not exist. The difference is now apparent. Should Black continue with 45 ... b3, then, af .37 �el �e5 38 .§.dS ter 46 a6 b2 47 Elb8 4Jb4 48 .lle4, the move of 48 ...Ele7 would have been met Threatening, among other things, 39 Elc8. convincingly by 49 Elb7. Black, how ever, should have selected that varia .38... .§.c7 tion, inasmuch as after 48 ... 4:lxa6 (in stead of 48 ...Ele 7) 49 Elxb2 4Jb4, White's winning chances would have been rather slim. As played, however, the situation becomes much more seri ous. 46 a6 c3 47 Adl The only defense, but sufficient.Wrong, of course, would have been 47 a7 c2 48 Elg8+ '.t>xg8 49 a8�+ '.t>g7, and wins. 39 .§.e8+ In reply to the immediate 39 Ela8Black, after 39 ... a4 40 bxa4 4:lxa2 41 aS b3! Other moves would not have been any -i2a6 b2 43 Ele8+ '.t>d6 44 Elb8 4Jb4 better, for instance: 47 ... Elc5 48 a7 Ela5 45 .lle4 Ele7, would have actually at 49 .llb3 4:\cl 50 Elg8+ '.t>f6 51 a8� tained winning chances. The same E!xa8 52 E!xa8 4:lxb3 53 '.t>dl 4:ld2 54 would apply ifthe king were posted on '.t>c2; or 47 ... c2 48 .llxc2 Elxc249 a7, e6 or d6. For that reason White pursues and the knight prevents the rook from the king until Black is either satisfied reaching the saving a-file. with a draw or chooses the unhappy g7- square, as actually happens. 48 a7 �h6 49 g4 39 ...�f6 40 .§.fS+ �e5 The only correct move. He would have been trapped, on the contrary, had he Black is still struggling against the played 49 .llc2 b3 50 '.t>dl, on account temptation. In reply to 40 ... '.t>e7, there of so ...Elf?!. would of course fo llow 41 Elh8. 49 ....§.g7 41 .§.e8+ �f642 .§.f8+�g7 A sad necessity in view of the threat of Now White really gets a chance. As al 50 g5+. Insufficient would have been ready stated, Black should have been here (or on the next move) the interest content with a draw. ing attempt at rescue through 49 ...Elf7 153 New York 1924 (threatening perpetual check), on ac 53 ... �g7 54 §b6 count of 50 .llc2\ (not 50 g5+ �xg5 51 §g8+ �h6, etc.) 50... b3 51 g5+ �h5 Or 54 Ac2 §a1 55 �d2 4Jb3+, win 52 g6 bxc2 53 gxf74Jd3+ 54 �e2 cl� ning a piece. 55 f8� �d2+ 56 �f3 �f2+ 57 �e4 and wins. 54 ...§al 55 §b7+ �g8 56 §bS+ 50 h4 White clearly must be satisfied with a draw, as otherwise he could not save Again threatening 51 g5+, and there the piece. fore fo rcing Black to surrender one of his valuable passed pawns. 56 ...�g7 57 §b7+ �g8 58 §bS+ 1!2 -1/2 50 ... b3 51 §cS §xa7 52 §xc3 b2 53 §c6+ (49) Ya tes,F-Bogoljubow,E Ruy Lopez [C9 1] This check gives Black a draw at once. With 53 .llc2! White would still have 1 e4 e5 2 �f3 �c6 3 .Q.b5 a64 .Q.a4 had winning chances, for instance: �f6 5 0-0 .Q.e7 6 §el b5 7 .Q.b3 53...�g7 54 g5 h6 55 g6 h5 56 ..Q.b1 d6 8 c3 0-0 9 d4 Ag4 10 .Q.e3 exd4 §d7 57 �f2, and White must endeavor to advance with his king, without per See Yates-Ed. Lasker (Game 20) for this mitting the hostile knight to escape from whole system of defense. his prison. The ending might still have been highly interesting. Now it is all 11 cxd4 �a5 12 .Q.c2 �c4 13 .Q.cl over. In Game 97 Yates tried 13 4Jbd2 against Capablanca, which is not any better. 13 ...c5 14 b3 �a5 15 �bd2 Up to here the game is identical with the Capablanca-Bogoljubow game (London, 1922), except for a minor, though noteworthy differ ence in the order of the moves. There Capablanca played 15 .llb2 in this position with the continuation 15 ...4Jc6 16 d5 t£lb4 17 t£lbd2 t£lxc2 18 �xc2, and Black is clearly quite free. The text move is not a whit stronger since at the best it means a return to the above variation, and if a diffe rent line is adopted even less pleasant consequences can fo l Efi m Bogoljubow low. !54 Tenth Round 15 ... .£\c6 16 h3 .llh5 any event would have sufficed for the purpose. 20 .lle4 Parries at least the threat of20... 4Jxf3+. 20 .. :{�•xd6 21 �b1 .Q.g6 22 .£lxd4 .llxd4 23 .llxd4 cxd4 24 �d3 It is naturally a matter of indifference as to what White now plays, the pawn plus and the better position assures an easy win for the second player. 17 e5 24 ... .£\M25 �f3 §ac8 26 a3 §c3 Not sufficientlyconvinced by his game 27 �e2 with Edward Lasker, Mr. Yates again attempts in a similar position this ad 27 i:1d1 would have prolonged the vance, which is contrary to the canons agony somewhat. of position judgment, and soon drifts into a lost position. The lesser evil was 27 ...d3 28 �g4 .£\c2 29 .ll xg6 even now 17 d5 and, after 17 ...4Jd4, hxg6 30 .£1e4�c6 31 .£\xc3 �xc3 continue with 18 .llb2. 17 ... .£\d5 A neat double-fork! Now, although winning of the queen is 32 �d1 d2 33 §fl .£\xa1 0-1 not threatened (because of the reply .llxh7 + ), the win of a pawn is imminent Now, after34 i:1xa1 i:1xa1 35l::i xa1, the either after 18 exd6 .lli6! (what would move 35 ...§c8 wins immediately. have perhaps led to the same position as in the actual course of the game by a (50) Janowsky,D - Ta rtakower,S transposition of moves) or, after 18 Semi-Slav Defense [043] dxc5 dxe5!, would have leftBlack with an overwhelming game. 1 d4 .£1f6 2 .£1f3 d5 3 c4 e6 4 .£1c3 c6 5 .llg5 18 .llb2 This allows Black, if White, as in this This, however, loses a pawn without the instance, intends to keep this bishop, to slightest compensation. accept the gambit subsequently and maintain the extra pawn, because of 18... .£\xd4 19 exd6 .llf6 which the game is very lively and com plicated from the start. Considerably stronger than the imme diate recapture of the pawn, which in 5 ...h6 155 New York I 924 In reply to 5 ...dxc4 at once, advantage Black, by mere matter of fa ct develop would be derived from 6 e4 b5 7 e5 h6 ing moves, has attained a "won" posi 8 .llh4 g5 9 4:\xgS. (Bogoljubow vs. H. tion, which need not be wondered at Wolf, Carlsbad, 1923.) afterWhite's seventh move. However, the game has yet in store several unex 6Ah4 pected incidents. More solid by all means is 6 Axf6. With 16 4)e5 4)xe5 17 dxe5 4)d5 18 the move in the text White plays a real §fc1 gambit. Prepares for the ensuing desperate sac 6 ... dxc4 7 e3 rifice.The position of the knight on c3, in conjunction with the two passed This, on the contrary, is too tame. By pawns, would otherwisehave become speedily unbearable. means of 7 e4 g5 8 Ag3 b5 9 i;i-c2, White would have loosened the 18... t?/c7 19 e4 4)c3 20 §xc3 bxc3 adversary's kings ide at least and thereby 21 t?/xc3 justified his own sacrifice somewhat. Now Black obtains a comfortable de velopment. 7 ... b5 8 Ae2 4)bd7 9 a4 t?/b6 10 o-o Ab4 11 t?/c2 Ab7 12 b3 2l...g5 Unbelievable, but true! Black, in this position, wants to castle on the queenside, whereas the ordinary proce dure would have fo recasted a sure and Hereupon Black obtains a protected easy victory. For instance, 21...0-0 22 passed pawn without any attack by i;i"g3 (or 22 f4 c5; or 22 i;i-c5 .lla6 23 White being noticeable. Anyway, bet Axa6 §xa6 24 .lle7 §e8 25 .lld6 i;i-b6) ter chances lay in 12 .£le5 (12... 0 -0 13 22 .. .'�h7 23 f4 c5 24 .lli3 c4, and this .£le4). pawn would queen composedly, as there are no serious threats at the disposal of 12... cxb3 13 t?/xb3 Axc3 14 t?/xc3 White. After the overbold castling on b4 15 t?/b2a5 the queenside, White obtains a danger- 156 Tenth Round ous attack, from which Black ultimately escapes laboriously and painfully by perpetual check. 22 .ll.g3 0-0-0 23 E!b1 It was important to exclude the black queen from b6. 23 ••.c5 In the event of other moves, there would fo llow f3, fo llowed by .lli2 and .llb6. 32 •••g4 24 E!b5 Ci!lb8 25 f3 E!d4 26 _E!xc5 The only possibility of meeting the If 26 .llf2, then fo llows simply threat of 33 .ild6, fo llowed by 'ttta7. 26 ...Elhd 8 (27 El> 26 ... �d7 27 .ll.f2 E!> After the exchange of rooks, the chief If 34 .ll> 30 .Q.b6 �c1 + 31 Or at once 3l...g4 32 ..llcS, equivalent 35 �b8+ Ci!ld736 �> 157 Eleventh Round The half-way mark was reached with the five games of the eleventh round, not one of which was finishedin less than fifty moves. Dr. Lasker, with 7Yz-2Yz, had the satisfaction of leading by a fu ll point at this stage of the contest, Alekhine being second. Capablanca was I 'h points behind the leader, a difference which persisted until the end of the tournament, notwithstandingthe champion's indi vidual triumph over Dr. Lasker. Reti was bracketed with Capablanca, while, one point below, fo ur others were on equal terms. These were Bogoljubow, Mar6czy, Marshall and Dr. Tartakower. Dr. Lasker, in a Ruy Lopez, could make no impression upon Yates and a drawing position was soon reached. The former chose to play on, but eventually gave up the task of trying for a win. Adopting Reti's opening, as the Russian desires this debut-a refinement of Zukertort's-to be known, Alekhine obtained a shade the better of the argument with Bogoljubow, but lacked in precision. Thereupon, Bogoljubow by plucky play improved his prospects considerably. In the very difficultending, with bish ops on squares of different colors, however, Bogoljubow missed his way and the game was drawn. Ed. Lasker was outplayed by Marshall in a Three Knights Game, the latter obtain ing a winning attack by fo rceful methods. Unnecessarily "brilliant" at the critical stage, Marshall permitted his alert adversaryto slip from the toils. In the end a so called "Swindle" enabled Marshall to recoup and to win the game. The longest game in this round was between Reti and Dr. Tartakower. It was started as a Zukertort, but transposed into a Sicilian Defense, in which Dr. Tartakower characteristically refused to fo llow precedent by utilizing the open c file. Instead he played for the advance of his f-pawn and complications. The method Reti adopted to gain a pawn and the better position as well is well worth close study. The ending was also fa ultlessly conducted. Mar6czy vs. Janowsky was a Two Knights Defense well handled by the French representative, who made a very good strategical sacrifice of a piece for two pawns and a pressure which should have endured. Mar6czy defended doggedly and Janowsky, unable to work out a winning combination, committed a serious blunder which cost him the game. The white pieces scored two of the games, drew two and lost one, which made the record for the first half of the tournament: White, 28; Black, 27. Although Dame Fortune smiled upon him in his game with Marshall, Dr. Lasker had played consistently and with his old-time assurance and poise up to this point. 158 Eleventh Round _.\lekhine, notwithstanding his loss to Dr. Lasker, had also given a good account of himself. His game with Reti was a particularly fineeffort. Capablanca, aftera poor start, had got his bearings. With the white pieces, Reti produced some mas terpieces, his game with Janowsky also being especially pleasing. Marshall was surely but slowly findinghimself. Dr. Tartakower, after scoring 2Y:. points in the first three rounds, only doubled his score in the next eight. Bogoljubow, after six rounds, had 3 Y2 to his credit, but Janowsky's classical victory over him started his reverses. Mar6czy's play was marked by a steady, persevering grind. (51) Lasker,Dr. - Ya tes,F bishop, which comes into action with Ruy Lopez [C87] difficulty. 1 e4 e5 2 /ilf3 /ilc63 Jlb5a6 4 Jla4 12 Jlh4 §eS 13 '&d3 'ilh7 14 �f6 5 0-0 Jle7 6 E!e1 d6 7 Axc6+ Jlxe7'&xe7 15 §e3 With this move White obtains a similar Perhaps in order to play �c4 eventu position to that in the Steinitz Defense ally, a move that would be bad now be only with this difference: the black a cause of ... dS. Black acts rightly, how pawn stands on a6 instead of on a7, ever, in not worrying much about this where it is admittedly more exposed. On eventuality. the other hand, the white queen is pre vented from going to a6 and the white knight from establishing itself on b5 (after . ..cS for Black). This difference, Because, after 16 �c4 c5 17 tL:ldS�dB, however, is more or less unimportant White would be fo rced to withdraw in weighing the chances of either side. without accomplishing anything. 7 ... bxc6 8 d4 exd4 16 /ilce2'&f6 In case Black attempts to hold the cen ter in accordance with the principles of Chigorin by 8 ...tL:ld7, then White can play his queen 's knight via d2 to c4 with the threefold threat: pressure on e5, di version toward a5 and, finally, the even tual maneuver to f5 via e3. The text move is simpler and less hazardous, as the experience of the last years shows. 9 /ilxd4 Jld7 10 /ilc3 0-0 11 Ag5 h6 This immediate threat (17 ...c5) shows most clearly that Black has overcome The well-known maneuver to assure the the difficulties of the opening. White, interaction of all the fighting forces therefore, prepares for an exchange of through the exchange of the king's queens and an endgame which in any 159 New York 1924 case he can only hope to win through a In case one side is better off, it is cer lack of elementary precaution on the tainly not White. part of his opponent. 45 §h4 �g7 46 �d2 §f8 47 �e2 17 �c3 c5 18 .£if3 �> Or 23 4Jf3 4Jg5,etc. White cannot well prevent the coming exchange of his knight. 23 ...�f7 24 �f2 .£ld4 25 .£je2 .£jxe2 26 §xe2 (52) Alekhine,A - Bogoljubow,E Reti Opening [Al3] 1 .£lf3 .£lf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 d5 4 Ag2 The bishop now guards all entrances .£ibd7 5 h3 .Q.d6 6o-o o-o 7 Ah2 by the hostile knight. A draw might c6 8d3 here have been agreed upon. The fo l lowing attempt to win on the part of The identical error in position judgment White leads only to the setting up of a as in the game Reti vs. Yates (see Game passed pawn on the extreme kingside, 30). Correct would have been 8 d4 in which in any case does not alter mat order to prevent once for all the unlim ters because of the blocked position. bering move of ...e5. The fact that The rest of the game is dull and easy to White in this game gets an advantage understand. anyhow must be attributed to the cir cumstance that Black does not avail 26 ....§e7 27 .§ed2 .§be8 28 .£ld3 himself of the possibility of obtaining Etb8 29 .£ih2 Ab5 30 §ht §be8 an unimpeded development of his 31 .£ldl .Q.c6 32 .£ie3 §b8 33 h4 queenside. §ee8 34 �e2 §b4 35 �dl §bb8 36 �cl §e6 37 §gl g6 38 g4 .§h8 8 ... §e8 9 .£ibd2 a5 39 §h2 .§he8 40 �d2 .§h8 41 a3 .§b8 42 �c3 §ee8 43 g5 fxg5 44 As a rule this advance is strong only if hxg5 h5 White is unable to reply with a3, as, for 160 Eleventh Round instance, if in the present position the would have been first of all 13 e4 (in moves .. :�e7 and Elcl had been made order to fo rce the exchange on that (compare the games Reti vs. Alekhine, square), and if thereupon 13 ... dxe4, Game 38, and Reti vs. Dr. Lasker, Game then 14 <£le5! .ilb7 15 <£lxe4 .ilxe5 16 76). Even so there is not much harm dxe5 <£lxe4 17 .Q.xe4 <£lf8 (or 17 ... g6, done so long as Black makes up his or 17 ... h6) 18 b4!, with important posi mind to play ... e5 on one of his next tional advantage, as Black clearly dared two moves and does not wait until his not play 18 ... axb4 19 axb4 �xb4, on opponent afterall decides to play d4. account of20 .ila3.Therefore, it would have been best for Black to answer 13 10 a3 §bS e4 with 13... <£lxe4; but even in that case White's advantage would show plainly A mysterious move the object of which after14 {\xe4 dxe4 15 <£le5. is not apparent in the course of the 13 ...Ah7 14 e4 game. If by chance ... b5 was intended, that move would not do on account of Seemingly in order but insufficient. the reply of <£ld4. After 14 <£lxd7 �xd7 15 e4, White's position would still have been prefer 11 �c2 �e7 12 d4 able. Better late than never. White prepares 14 ... J}.xe5 15 dxe5 �g4 for an open game at a moment when his opponent's development is still in By this shift (instead of 15 ...<£lxe4, complete and should obtain a clear ad which would have led to one of the vantage by this procedure. variations above) Black suddenly ob tains a counter-initiative, which fo rces 12 ...b6 his opponent into an unwelcome sim plification. 16 �f3 c5 Threatening ...d4. 17 exd5 exd5 18 h3 �gxe5 19 � xe5 � xe5 20 cxd5 In spite of his two bishops, White by no means has any advantage, as his pawn on both sides is somewhat weak ened and the passed d-pawn, which is 13 �e5 easily stopped, is likely to be weak in the ensuing ending. Hence, White, lack But this inaccurate sequence of moves ing the resolution to seek more than is utilized by Bogoljubow in fine style equalization, gradually gets the worst to bring about equalization. Correct of it. 161 New York 1924 20 ... -&d6 21 '&c3 With correct appraisement of the posi tion Black seeks to make good his ad Threatening 22 f4, thereby forcing the vantage in the ending. Alluring would counter-move. have been 27 ...<£le4, for if 28 Jlxe4 '\;i'xe4 29 .§el, then 29 ...'\;i'xd5! 30 21 ... f6 22 E!,ad1 .§xe8+ 'i!i>f7 31 '\;i'c4 (if 31 .§e2, then mate in three moves) 31...'ittxe8 32 Loss oftime, as Black clearly could not '\;i'xd5Axd5, with a winning ending in take the pawn on account of the ensu spite of the bishops on squares of dif ing pin. 22 .§fel at once, fo llowed by fe rent colors. White, however, would doubling of the rooks on the e-file, have answered 27 ... 28 '&d3 '&g629 '&xg6 White clearly cannot avoid the ex change of queens. 29 ... hxg6 30 �f2 .Q.a6 31 .Q.f3 �f7 32 b4 The weakness of his pawn position in duces White to adopt this violent mea sure which in the end is frustrated by a This dislodging of the knight, through simplifying maneuver on the part of which the king's position is weakened Black. By this time, however, it was further, should merely have been threat difficult to defend the position, as the ened and actually executed only in exchange of rooks by means of32 .§el case of utmost necessity. 23 .§fel, .§xel 33 'ittxel, was as good as forbid fo llowed by .§e3, was still to be pre den on account of 33 ....ll d3, fo llowed fe rred. by ... 162 Eleventh Round the text move White seeks to bring 38... §b4 about the exchange of rooks, because after34 ...E!c8 35 E!xc8 .llxc8 36 g4, he In this manner Black wins a pawn, but could just about hold his own in the at the same time surrenders a well endgame. earned victory. After 38 ... a3, White would not have had an adequate de 34 ...Jlc4 fe nse, for instance: (I) 39 .llc5 a2 40 .lla3 E!c4 41 E!a1 E!c3; (II) 39 E!c7+ Threatening to secure the queenside 'it>g840 E!a7a2 41 .llc5 E!c4.It is obvi with ...b5, after which the passed a ous that White's b-pawn would have pawn would have led to a decision. been of no consequence in this varia tion and that Black in any event could 35 b5 have removed iflater on in case of need. Afterthe text move the game with cor Under these circumstances this counter rect defense, is no longer to be won. thrust, which had been planned with 32 39 §c7+ �g8 b4, offers the only chance. After 35 ..._g_xb5, White would have obtained After 39 ...'it>e6 would fo llow 40 .llc5 a counterattack with 36 .llb4 E!c8 37 and Black would not have dared cap E!e1!E!d8 38 E!e6, etc. ture the b-pawn on account of 41 E!e7+ 'it>f542 g4+ 'it>xf443 .lle3#. 35 ...4)e4+ 36 Jlxe4 §xe4 40 §c5 Ac4 41 Jla5 §b2+ 42 �e3 Notwithstanding the bishops on squares J}.xb5 43 Ac3 §b3 44 �d2 of different colors, the a-pawn should now bring about the decision and White has surrendered the pawn under mainly because its advance to a2 can the most favorable conditions, inas not very well be prevented. much as now 44 ...a3 would lead to nothing after 45E!c8+ 'it>f7 46 E!a8Ac4 37 .Q.e3 Axd5 38 Jlxb6 47 E!a4(not 47 'it>c2a2 48 E!xa2E!xc3+) 47 ... Ae6 48 g4. Or 38 E!a1E!b4 39.lhb6 E!x b5 40 .lld4 E!b4, witha winning position. 44... Jld7 45 g4 §b7 If 45 ...'it>f7 at once, then of course, 46 E!c7, fo llowed by g5. 46 §a5 �f7 47 g5 In order to force the hostile pawn to a white square, whereupon the draw would be assured. 47 ... §b6 48 h4 §d6+ 49 163 New York 1924 A last attempt. A£5 11 l='lb1 (threatening l='lb5). Black clearly cannot play 11...4Ja5, on ac 52 �a7+ �e6 53 Jl,d4Jl,c2 54 �c7 count of 12 ..Q.> 61 J:;tc7+ lh-lh (53) Lasker,Ed. - Marshall,F Petroff Defense [C42] 1 e4 e5 2 4)f3 4)f6 3 4)c3 j},b4 4 Jlc4 After this Black has no difficulty in equalizing the game. The surest way in which to retain the advantage of the Because of his fr uitless effort to make opening is by means of 4 4Jxe5 in order something out of nothing White at last then to fo rce the exchange of the bishop obtains an enduring disadvantage. He on b4 through the retreat of the knight might have equalized by means of 12 to d3. 4Jd2-c4,fo llowed by the exchange of the knight for Black's king's bishop, 4 ...0-0 5 0-0 4)c6 6 4)d5 which would have permitted him at the proper moment to remain with White gets absolutely nothing from the bishops on squares of opposite col exchange brought about herewith. The ors. That, of course, would not have most plausible would have been 6 d3, been interesting chess, but it is only as the continuation of 6 ...Axc3 7 bxc3 then permissible to play for a win in d5 8 exd5 4Jxd5, would fa vor White case the game has been soundly devel somewhat after 9 �e1! l='le8 10 4Jg5 oped. 164 Eleventh Round 12 •.. 15 ... �b8 16 Aa6 �xb2 17 �c1 Marshall conducts this part of the game �b8 18 g4 with great energy. 21...Ac6 is now threatened. The white pieces do not co-operate and White must take extraordinarymeasures 21 t\'a3 Ab6 22 Ag5 in order not to succumb to an immedi ate counterattack. The text move, which After 22 Axb6 Elxb6,the threat would is directed against .. .f5, but above all have been ... Elh6. against the threat of 18 ...ti'h5 19 .:tlf3 .lhh3,is elegantly met by Marshall. 22 ... c5 23 d4 The opening of the position in the cen ter when the kingside is unprotected should lead to a catastrophe, but even with a less fo rceful continuation, White would have difficulty in holding the e4- square, for instance: 23 Elxf8+ �xf8 24 'it'g2.llc6 25 Elfl ti'e8 26 Ele1 .:tlg6 27 .:tlf5 �d7,threatening . . . c4. 23 ...�x f1+ 24 Jlxfl 18... f5 It is comprehensible that White should utilize the first opportunity to bringback A surprising counter-stroke, which is for the defense the bishop so long inac made possible by the exposed position tive. Even after 24 Elxfl, and the ex of the bishop at a6. After 19 exf5, would change of the center pawns, the open fo llow 19 ... .:tlxf5! 20 gxf5 (or 20 .:tlxf5 ing ofthe diagonals would have gained .l:a.xf5 21 gxf5 ti'c6+) 20 ...ti'h5 21 .flg5 a decisive advantage for Black. (or 21 .:tlg2 �xh3+ 22 'it'g1 E\xf5 ) 21....ihf5! 22 'it'h2h6 23 {)xf5 E\xf5 24 24 ...exd4 25 cxd4 dxe4 26 dxc5 .lle3 Elf3, with a winning position. Ac7 27 .Q.g2 165 New York 1924 This should lead to immediate loss, but If 33 ...Ele8, then 34 c6. even after 27 Eldl ..llc6, White's posi- tion would have been quite helpless. 34 Af3 The saving move. 34 ...!!b2 Or 34 ... �xf5 35 ..llg4! (not 35 �g2, on account of 35 ...Elbl) 35 ... �d5+ 36 'i>f'g2 'i>t'xc5 37 'i;f'xe2, with a position similar to the one in the actual game. 35 �g2 h6 If 35 ....ll a5, White saves himself through 36 f6! gxf6 (or 36... 'l;f'xf6 37 .llxe2!) 37 Elgl �g5 38 'i;f'xe2, etc. This artificiality is punished at once. After the simple 27 ...<£Jd5 (27 ...<£Jg6 36 f6 also suffices), White, in view of the threat of 28 ...�e5, might have cheer With this move White gets rid of the fully resigned, for instance: 28 �cl dangerous e-pawn. �e5 29 lt>glElf8. After the text move, on the contrary, the winning process becomes very difficult,the more so as White now defends himself capitally. Of course not 36 ... gxf6 37 Elgl. 28 J1.f4 J1.xf4 29 �xf5 Axf5 30 37 Axe2 �c3 gxf5 Ac7 lf37 ...Elx a2, White forces exchange of Always the threat of ...�e5 looks to be queens through 38 'i;f'a8+, for, after dreadfully dangerous, but White has 38 .....1ld8, then would fo llow 39 Eldl. just one defense. 38 !!fl �xc5 31 �e3 �e5 32 �g1 e3 Thereby Black has at least maintained It soon becomes apparent that this his material superiority, but, because of pawn, so far advanced, cannot be held, the bishops on squares of opposite col but likewise after 32 ...�xf 5, White ors, his chances of winning have be would have had excellent drawing come highly problematical. chances, for instance: 33 Elfl �g6 34 Elel Ele835 �e3. 39 �aS+ !!bS40 �g2 �c2 41 .Q.d1 �c3 42 Ab3 !!eS43 Ac2 .Q.d644 33 !!e1 e2 .Q.b3 �c8 166 Eleventh Round Black, who can no longer count upon a 54 •••'i!jlg7 55 �d2 �xg6 56 t\'xg6+ regular win, now plays for small traps. 45 �gl �e7 1 �f3 g6 2e4 Now 46 �g4 would have been a mis The simplest reply to l...g6, inasmuch take on account of 46 ...�c6+ 47 �g2 as White thereby switches to a fa vor Eie2!, but 46 �f3, as well as 46 .Q.d5, able variation of the Sicilian Defense. would have sufficedfor the defense. 2 •••c5 46 �dl Manifestly the only move to prevent the Forgetting the opponent's only threat. construction of a pawn center hard to assail (after 3 d4). 3d4 Thereby White permits himself to be drawn into the so-called "Dragon Varia tion," which gives Black an acceptable game. In order would have been 3 c4! (in order to continue with 4 d4 after 3 ... A winning combination, fa irly simple 3 •••cxd4 4 �xd4 �f6 5 �c3 to be sure, but exactly calculated. After 5 .lld3, Black could very well 47 �xd6 �xh3+ 48 'i!i'gl t\'cl+49 have played 5 ... <£lc66 ..Q.e3d5. Thus it J}.dl t\'e3+ 50 'i!i'fl t\'f4+ 51 'i!i'gl is seen that White by means of his third move deprived himself of his most fa Or 51 ' 51. ••�g3 52 �d8+ 'i!i'h7 53 J}.c2+ 5 ••• d6 6 J}.e2 Jlg7 7 0-0 �c6 8 g6 54 Jixg6+ Jie3 If 54 Eid7+ ' 167 New York 1924 by means of8.. Ajg4. However, he omits tions as, after othermoves (16 .!lf3, for to utilize this opportunity-perhaps in instance), Black would have seized the the hope of being able to obtain still initiative through 16... e5 17 After other moves (as, for instance, 9 16 ....£l>< d4 17 Jl,xd4 e5 18 Jl,e3 h3) Black could have evened up with fxg4 19 Jl,xg4Ae6 Dr. Meitner's maneuver of 9 ...d5 10 e> And here 10 ....£\aS still came under con sideration. Black's entire structure makes an artificial impression. 11 h3 .£le8 12 �d2 f5 The logical outcome of the last moves by Black, for White was already threat ening to become dangerous with 13 g4. But the opening of new lines is favor able to White for the simple reason that he is better developed. 21 §xf5 13 e> 1 68 Eleventh Round 2l ••• �xf5 22 �d3 e4 So that, after 23 'i!i'xe4, he may save himselfthrough 23 ...Ele5. 23 �xe4 h5 Clearly again the only move. 24 �g3 hxg4 25 �xf5 Threatening to win at once with 26 .lld4. 38 �f3 25 ..• �e6 26 �e2 Jle5 Apparently White fa lls into the trap of his opponent, for, after 38... .£lxg4, he Or 26 ... gxh3 27 .lld4 'i!i'g6+ 28 'it>h1 could not retake either with the queen .£lf6 29 'i!i'xh3+ 30'i!i'h7 'i!i'xh7+'ifi>xh7 or the knight (39 "i;j'xg4+ 'it>h7; or 39 31 Ele7and wins. .£\xg4 "i;j'b6+, winning the rook). In re ality, however, he would have won im 27 Ad4 mediately by means of 39 Eld6! "i;j'xd6 40 "i;j'xg4+, fo llowed by "i;j'xg7+ and Thereupon Black no longer has time to 27 ••• �f6 28 hxg4 �g8 29 Jlxe5 38 •.. �g5 39 §d2 e4 40 'l!i"g3 §d7 dxe5 30 �h2+ �h7 31 �e3 41 §xd7 �xd7 42 'l!i"f2 �c5 43 'l!i"f5+ 'lif"xf5 44 gxf5 �a4 45 b3 White now possesses a healthy pawn �c3 46 a4 a5 47 �f2 �a2 48 �e2 plus, besides his lasting attack, and in �f6 49 �d2 � b4 50 �c3 �e5 51 consequence must win without diffi f6 culty. The simplest. 31. •• �g7 32 'lif"dS+ �g8 33 'lif"d3 �g7 34 'l!i"e4 �g8 51 ... �xf6 52 �d4 �e6 53 �xe4 �d6 54 �d4 �c6+ 55 �c4 �a7 Somewhat better would have been at 56 c3 �c6 57 �d4 �b6 58 .£lc4+ once 34 ...Eld7, for now the entrance of �a6 59 �d5 .£lc8 60 �e6 the white rook fo rces additional gain of material. Reti amused himself by constructing a little Zugzwang problem (60 ...4:Ja7 61 35 �d2 �f6 36 �d8+ �f7 37 'it'd7). The last ten moves present an 'lif"xb7+ �g6 instructive conflict between the king 169 New York 1924 and three pawns against His (lone) This merely leads eventually to the Majesty. opening of the a-file for Black and to the strengthening of his pawn position. A thoroughly good continuation, how ever, is not easily to be fo und, as 6 0-0 was premature. Black, for instance, could have answered 7 h3 with 7 ... h6, fo llowed by . . . g5, and, after 7 .llg5, there would have fo llowed 7 ... h6. 7 •••.Q.g4 8 .Q.b5 White perceives that his position is no longer satisfactory and seeks to ease his game through exchanges. In reality 60 .. .I�b6 61 4)xb6 c.!lxb662 c.!ld6 there is little future for his bishop in this c.!la663 �c6 �a7 �b5 c.!lb765 64 position. c.!lxa5 c.!la7 66c.!lb7 b4 67 b5 c.!la7 68 b6+ c.!lb7 69 c.!lb5 c.!lb8 70 c.!la6 8 •••0-0 9 .Q.xc6bxc6 10 h3 c.!la8 71 b7+ c.!lb8 72 c4 �c7 73 �a7 'ifilc6 74bS'(W 1-0 Now, afterBlack has castled, this move is much more in order. (55) Maroczy, G- Janowsky,D Giuoco Piano [C50] 10 ..• .Q.h5 11 4)xb6 axb6 12 '(We2 1 e4 e5 2 4)f3 4)c6 3 .Q.c4 4)f64 In preparation for the next attempt at d3 freedom, which, if made at once, would be quite mistaken; for instance: 12 g4 The most solid method by which, how 4:lxg4 13 hxg4 .llxg4 14 "itte2 f5, with a ever, White straightway yields every winning position. advantage of the move. 12... h6 4 .•• .Q.c5 5 4)c3d6 6 0-0 In order to prevent Ag5, which, for in The usual move is 6 Ae3, whereupon stance, would have been possible after 6 ... .llb6 is about the best reply. 12. .."itt d7, being at the same time wholly conscious of the correctnessofthe sub 6 ••..Q.b6 sequent sacrifice. A good move for position which has the 13 g4 advantage of committing Black as little as possible and in consequence setting There was no good reason for this head the adversary a difficultchoice. long procedure. After 13 �e3, Black would have had only a minimum advan 7 4)a4 tage (the open a-file and a more com- 170 Eleventh Round pact pawn position). Afterthe sacrifice, 27 b4. The text move maintains the on the contrary, White can only hope pressure. for a draw aftera troublesome defense. 21 .§.f2 �e6 Now of course, 21... ..llxf3 would not do on account of the reply of 22 .§afl; but 2l...c5, in order to prevent d4 and at the same time prepare to bring over the bishop to c6, seems to be more exact. 22 b3 .§.8f6 23 4i!i'h1 .Q.e8 23 ... c5 at once was to have been pre fe rred here (24 .§glg5 25 c3 �d5). 24 .§.g1 g5 25 d4 A well-considered positional sacrifice, Naturally, White seeks to open files for which is to be esteemed higher than a his rooks. combination leading to a fo rced win. For the knight, Black, for the present, 25 ... c5 26 dxe5 dxe5 27 .§.e1 .Q.c6 gets two pawns, but in addition a last 28 4i!i'g1 h5 ing pressure which holds promise ofthe a capture of third. This weakening of the king's position could have had serious consequences. 14 hxg4 .il.xg4 15 �e3 f5 16 exf5 White, however, fa ils to profitfr om the .§.xf5 17 .£)h2 Ah5 18 �g3 �f6 fa vorable opportunity. 19 f3 .§.f8 20 Ae3 29 c4 Ab7 30 �h3 4i!i'g6 31 .§.g2 After the last fo rced moves, White is �e7 32 .§.d1 beginning to fe el uncomfortable and, although he could now protect the f pawn with 20 �g2, he prefers to offer it as an atoning sacrifice. 20 ...4i!i'h7 Quite correct! After 20 ....lh f3 21 17 1 New York 1924 the g-fileor, after ...g4, to sacrificethe 42 •••l;tf4 43 'lltd2 �f6 44 l;tdl knight with a decisive attack. Afterthe text move, Black could have easily held the draw. 32 ••• J;td6 33 l;tgd2 �f6 Forcing a fa vorable exchange. 34 l;txd6 cxd6 35 �g2 �h7 36 �h3 �g6 37 �g2 White can see no way to win and clearly is satisfied with a draw. 44 •••.Q.xf3 Suicidal. After 44 ... '[;1h3 45 '[;1g2 '[;1f5, Neither is Black able to figure it out, there would have been in sight no con but changes his moves only to be able tinuation holding out victory for White. to play on. Now, of course, the game is lost. 38 l;tfl �g6 39 �c2 �g7 40 �e2 45 4)xf3 l;txf3 46 �xd6 �f5 47 �e6 41 .Q.d2�g6 42 .Q.c3 .Q.xe5 h4 48 �xe6+ �xe6 49 .Q.c7 g4 50 Jl.xb6 g3 51 Jl.xc5 l;tc3 52 This new position of the bishop really Ab4 l;tc2 53 l;td2 );tel+ 54 �g2 is no more effective than the fo rmer. �f5 55 .Q.e7 1-0 172 Twelfth Round This round, the opening of the second stage of the struggle, was a repetition of the fourth,with the colors reversed. Dr. Lasker added to his score and maintained his one-point lead, but only after a narrow escape from defeat at the hands of Janowsky. The fo rmer world's champion drifted into trouble after an ill-timed advance of his a-pawn early in the game. Thereafterhe sought safety in exchanges, but Janowsky retained his two bishops and gradually improved his game. At last it became apparent that a pawn must be won in order to drive home the advantage, but Janowsky, quite characteristically, hesitated to part with a bishop. Then he went completely astray and Dr. Lasker, quick to seize an opportunity and turnit cleverly to account, turneda "lost game" into victory. It was the second defeat of Janowsky by Dr. Lasker. Alekhine vs. Capablanca was a Queen's Gambit Declined of very short duration IS moves to be exact-and it ended in a draw, as had their first encounter. At his fourth turn, Capablanca deployed his queen's bishop at f5 , only to withdraw that piece to its original square, two moves later. Seemingly, there was a real loss of time in this maneuver, but Alekhine could findno way in which to profitfr om it. Reti, with his own opening, produced an artistic little gem at the expense of Bogoljubow, which turned outto be the winner of the first brilliancy prize. It was by no means so spectacular as the Marshaii-Bogoljubow game, winner of the second prize, which more nearly met the requirements ofthe popular conception of "brilliancy." Against Reti the loser was not guilty of any serious error.He was battling with a "system" (Reti's). His adversary's method simply was his undoing and the triumph, combined with the problem-like finish, which lent additional charmto the game, earnedfor Reti the laurel wreath. All in all it was an epochal game and a capital example of hyper-modernplay. Incidentally, Reti squared ac counts with Bogoljubow. Dr. Tartakower paid Alekhine the compliment of adopting his defense in his game against Mar6czy, who did not attempt to hold the pawn at e5 with f4, but played the more conservative exd6 instead. From this he obtained just a shade the better of it, but hardly enough to constitute a refutation of the defense. Exchanges fo l lowed in due course and then a peacefulconclusion, as in their firstencounter. Ed. Lasker made no headway at all against the so-called Indian defense to his Queen's Pawn Opening and almost from the start had a poor game. In the ending, to be sure, a drawing chance did offer itself, but this he missed. Thereupon Yates wound it up in vigorous fa shion. It was the British player's second success against the same opponent. 173 New York 1924 At the close of this round, Dr. Lasker had a score of 8 Y2 -2 !h, with other leading scores as fo llows: Alekhine and Reti, each 7-4; Capablanca, 6!11-4!11; Mar6czy and Dr. Tartakower, each 5Y2-5Y2; Marshall, who had a bye, 5-5. Once more the white pieces won two games, drew two and lost one. Score: White, 31; Black, 29. (56) Lasker,Dr. - Janowsky,D Ruy Lopez [C87] 1 e4 e5 2 �f3 �c6 3 Ab5 a6 4 Aa4 �f6 5 0-0 d6 6 §.e1 The protection of the e-pawn, after 5 ...d6 by Black, is really no longer nec essary. 6 c3 may very well be played at once, in order to retire the bishop im mediately to c2 after ...b5. lfthereupon, however, 6 ...4Jxe4, then 7 d4 and White at the very leastwill recover the pawn with considerable superiority in devel opment. A finemove which gives Black at once a clear advantage. His idea is to make 6 ...Ag4 possible an immediate pawn attack against the king's wing (for instance: This premature development of the 10 4Jbd2 g5!; or 10 .lle3 h6), in addi bishop can only succeed, as in this tion to preparing to castle on the game, against inexact play. Otherwise, queenside. Dr. Lasker at once recog however, 6 ...b5, fo llowed by ...4Ja5, nizes the fullmeaning ofthe danger and, seems to be the logical continuation by means of several exchanges, seeks afterBlack's previous move. to counteract the pending threat of a kingside attack. 7 c3 Jl.e78 h3 10 Jl.xc6 �xc6 11 Ag5 Ag6 A mistake in the opening with serious consequences. In case White should This move does no harm, to be sure, but wish to play d3 (which here is actually why not at once 11...h6, which mani the best), then the move of h3 should fe stly would have fo rced the exchange fo llow only after the transfer of the on f6? queen 's knight to g3 (by way of d2 and fl) and after duly waiting for Black to 12 �bd2 h6 13 Axf6 castle. The difference between the two methods of play at once becomes ap In reply to 13 .llh4, Black could have parent. played 13 ....ll h7, fo llowed by ...g5, etc. s ...Ah5 9d3 l3 ...j},xf6 14 �fl 0-0 15 �e3 174 Tw elfth Round White has no squares for his knights sition, will not be in a position in the immune against attack and conse long run to defend himself successfully quently no proper co-operation. The against the two strategetical breaches by black bishops, on the other hand, have means of ...d5 and ...g5 at the same a splendid future, as the opening of ev time. Janowsky's play to the point ery line will be helpful to them. where he obtains a winning position (thirty-eighth move) is throughout clear 15... §ae8 16 �h3 Ad8 17 �d5 and convincing. Afterthis second mistake, White gets a 21 �ec4 Af6 22 a4 strategetically lost game. Inasmuch as Black did not yet threaten anything, This is done merely for the purpose of White, instead of the aimless exchange occupying the opponent's attention for of queens, could have made the attempt a while with the protection of the b to obtain some counterplay on the pawn. Another indication of the help queenside, for instance: 17 a4 lt'h8 18 lessness of White's position! a5 f5 (otherwise Eia4) 19 exf5 .ll.xf5 20 4:\xf5Eixf5 21 �a4, with a tenable end 22 ... §d8 23 �a5 §b8 24 �f3 g5 ing. Afterthe text move, Black can play 25 �h2 h5 26 �c4 Ae6 27 f3 .. .f5 without being obliged to exchange the bishop-and thereby hangs the fate Now the knight on h2 is prevented for of the game. a long time from co-operating in the center, as he must prevent ...g4 under 17... �xd5 18 �xd5 f5 19 �d2 all circumstances. Af7 27 ... §fd8 28 §e2 �f7 29 a5 §g8 Preventing the maneuver of exf5, fo l 30 §a4 §bd8 lowed by 4:\e4,etc. In order to transfer the protection ofb7 20 �e3 f4 to the bishop. 31 §h4 .llc8 32 h3 §h8 Threatening to double on the h-file, fol lowed by ...g4, in case the opponent should remain wholly passive. 33 �h2 With the intention of 4:\d1-f2. 33 ... d5 Black realizes quite correctly that the opponent, because of his cramped po- At the right moment! 175 New York 1924 34 exd5 39 \!i'e2 Etbd5 Otherwise Black, after ...dxe4 dxe4, Black is aware ofthe fa ct that he would would win by occupying the d-file, and, have threatened nothing with 39 ....ile6, after ...dxe4, fxe4, by means of ... g4. fo r, after 40 ....ilxc4 41 dxc4, his rook would also have been lost. 34 •••Etxd 5 35 Etc4 c6 36 b4 40 \!i'dl It would have been risky to imprison the rook in this manner-if in this posi White has nothing better than to try out tion fo rsooth there was aught of danger Fate in this manner or rather his oppo for White at all. nent-whether or not the latter with a 36 •••.Q.f5 37 Etd2Ethd8 winning position would capture the d pawn. After 40 38 \!i'f2 Of course, 40 ... Axd3 would have been possible also here, for instance: 41 41 \!i'c2 Ae7 Black's position is so strong that this move, together with the fo llowing, should fo rce a win. 42 -tlfl c5 38 .••Etb5 The beginning of over-refinements Threatening 43 ... cxb4 44 cxb4 Eib545 which, to be sure, do not relinquish the 'it>b3 Eid4!. win for a long time, but make it always more difficult until finally, in conse 43 bxc5 .ll.xc5 44 Eta4 Et8d7 45 quence of an oversight by Black, the Etdt .ll.a7 situation suddenly changes in fa vor of White. Right would have been More enduring than 45 ....ile7 (intend 38 ....ll xd3 39 176 Twelfth Round 46 �a3 g4 47 hxg4 hxg4 48 c4 �5d6 49 �d2 For the first time in the game, one of the knights obtains some prospects. 49 ...Ae3 Why not 49 ....ll d4 50 4Je4 xb2 .ll 51 �xb2 .llxe4 52 fxe4 §h7, with a rook ending giving promise of victory? Moreover, the immediate 49 ...§h7 also had its advantages. 58 �xe3 50 �hl gxf3 51 gxf3 �g7 52 �h2 This combination long prepared should _tigl eventually yield White a pawn which, however, would hardly have sufficed With this and the next move Black pur for a win. But Black was clearly demor sues a phantom, but in any event the alized by the unexpected tum of events game is now to be won only with diffi and leaves a whole piece en prise. culty. In reply to 52 ... §g3, for instance, White would play 53 §b3 and, if 58 ... fxe3 59 �b6+ 'it'd7 53 ...§d7, then 54 4Ja4, with several winning chances. Not 59 ...�f7 60 4:lxe3 §e2 61 4:lxf5 53 �e2 �g3 §gg2 62 4Jd6+,fo llowed by 4Je4,win ning. The loss of yet another tempo. Much better chances lay in 53 ...§d8, fo llowed 60 �xe3 'it'c7 by ...§g8, in order thereupon to take possession of the seventh row. A perfectly unintelligible move which makes fu rther resistance impossible. 54 �dl �d7 55 �b3 �dg7 56 �c3 After60... §e2! 61 §xb7+�c662 §xg7 §xe3 63 4Je4 §xf3, this game, so full Now at last White is saved. of vicissitudes, would have been drawn. 56.•. .Q.e3 61 �xf5 �h7 62 �d6 �hh2 63 If 56 ... §g2, then 57 §xb7!. �6e4 �hl 64 'it'c3 �cl + 65 'it'b4 �d1 66 �b3 �xd3 67 �xb7+ 'it'c8 57 �d5 �g2 68 �f7 �b2 69 �ec5 �d6 70 �f5 �e2 71 �e4 �d3 72 �xe5 �b2 73 57 ...Axd2 58 § xd2 § xf3? would not do �ec5 �> 177 New York 1924 Black is still playing for a stalemate trap: 80 4Jb6+'\t'b8 81 a6 (?) Elxb3+ 82 '\t'xb3 flb2+. 80 4)bc5\tlbS 81 §b7+ Not 81 4Jb6(?) Elb2+ 82 '\t'a4Ela3+ 83 '\t'xa3 Elb3+, with a draw. 81 ...\tlc8 82 a6 1-0 (57) Alekhine,A - Capablanca,J Slav Defense [DIO] 8 .lld3 White should have utilized his extra 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 4)c3 4)f6 tempi in order to build up a pressure by means of 8 4Je5, fo llowed by f4. The After3 . ..e5, White obtains slightly the contemplated e4 is fu lly parried by better game through 4 cxd5 cxd5 5 4Jf3 Black's fine ninth move. e4 6 4Je5 4Jc6 (6.. .f6 7 'iifa4+ '\t'e7 8 'iifb3-Dr. Bernstein vs. Marshall, 8 ...4)c6 9 0-0 .lld7 Ostend, 1906) 7 ..llf4, fo llowed by e3. Capablanca finds the only move which 4e3 JU5 promises equalization. Insufficient would have been: (I) 9 ... '11fb6 10 'iifxb6 Just in this situation the development axb6 11 4Jb5; (II) 9 .....1le7 10 4Je5, fol- of the bishop is uncalled for. Black lowed by f4; (III) 9 .....1ld6 10 e4 dxe4 would do best to switch over to the new 11 4Jxe4 4Jxe4 12 .llxe4 0-0 13 d5 (or Rubinstein variation by means of 4 ...e6 13 Eldl; the sacrifice of the bishop on 5 4Jf3 4Jbd7 6 .lld3 dxc4. h7, on the other hand, would have been incorrecthere, and likewise the winning 5 cxd5 cxd5 of a pawn by 13 'iifc2 h6 14 .llxc6 bxc6 15 'iifxc6 Elb8, would have been of After5 ... 4Jxd5,White develops fa vor doubtfulvalue) 13 ... exd5 14 'iifxd5, etc. ably by 6 ..llc4 e6 7 4Jge2 (Rubinstein vs. Bogoljubow, Hastings, 1922). 10 .lld2 6�b3 If now (I) 10 4Je5 4Jxe5 11 dxe5 4Jg4 12 f4 .llc5; (II) 10 e4 4Jb411.1l b1 dxe4 After this Black has no means of easily 12 4Jxe4.!lc6 13 4Jxf6+gxf6. guarding his b-pawn and he must rec oncile himself to the fo llowing retreat 10... �b6 11 �d1 of the bishop, which yields the oppo nent a long start in development. Likewise an exchange of queens would surely not have been of advantage to 6 ... .1l,c8 7 4)f3 e6 White. 178 Twelfth Round 11 ... -'td6 12 Etc1 fo r the effective development of his queen's bishop. The pawn sacrifice through 12 e4 .£lxd4 13 exd5 (or 13 .£lxd4 "i£rxd4 14 8 ...c6 9 �bd2 .ile3"i£rb4) would have led, after the simple 13 ...0-0, to equalization at the In the game referred to, Capablanca, in most. a wholly analogous position, played .£le5 and likewise obtained an advan 12 ...0-0 13 �a4 �dB 14 �c5 tage thereby. Of course, Reti's quieter Jl.xc5 15Etxc5 developing move is also quite good. After 15 dxc5, Black, by means of 15... e5, obtains a strong counter offen sive in the center, which would certainly make up for White's extra pawn on the queenside. 15 ... �e4 16 J}.xe4 Or 16 Elc2{)xd2 17 "i£rxd2"i£rb6. 16... dxe4 17 �e5 9 ...�e4 Ofcourse not 17 .£lg5 b6. If the liberating move of9 ...e5, recom mended by Rubinstein and others, is 17... �x e5 18 dxe5 1/r % really the best here-and this appears to be the case-then it furnishes the most (58) Reti,R - Bogoljubow,E striking proof that Black's entire ar Catalan Opening [EOI] rangement of his game was faulty. For the simple continuation of10 cxd5 cxd5 1 �f3 d5 2 c4 e6 11 dxe5 .£lxe5 12 .£lxe5.ll xe5 13 .llxe5 Elxe5 14 .£lc4 Ele8 15 <£le3 .lle6 16 As to the merit of this system of de "i£rd4, wouldhave given White a direct fe nse, compare Reti vs. Yates, Game 30. attack against the isolated d-pawn, with out permitting the opponent any 3 g3 �f6 4 J}.g2 -'td65 0-0 0-0 6 chances whatsoever. Moreover, the b3 EteS 7 -'tb2 �bd78 d4 move selected by Bogoljubow leads eventually to a double exchange of To our way of thinking, this is the clear knights, without removing the princi positional refutation of 2 ...e6, which, pal disadvantage of his position. by the way, was first played by Capablanca (as Black) against Marshall 10 �xe4 dxe4 11 �e5 f5 and is based upon the simple circum stance that Black cannot find a method Obviously fo rced. 179 New York 1924 12 f3 g4. After the text move, however, Black appears to have surmounted the greater The proper strategy. After Black has part of his early difficulty and it calls weakened his position in the center, for exceptionally fineplay on the part White fo rthwith must aim to change the of White in order to make the hidden closed game into an open one in order advantages of his position count so rap to make as much as possible out of that idly and convincingly. weakness. 16 c5 .Q.f8 17 �c2 12... exf3 13 Axf3 Attacking simultaneously both of Not 13 exf3, because the e-pawn must Black's center pawns. be utilized as a battering ram. 17 ...exd4 Also after 13 ...tzlxe5 14 dxe5 .llc5+ 15 Black's sphere of action is circum 'it>g2 lld7 (after the exchange of scribed; for instance, 17.. .fxe4 clearly queens, this bishop could not get out at would not do on account of the two all) 16 e4, White would have retained a fo ld threat against h7 and e5, after 18 decisive advantage in position. llxe4. 14 /ilxd7 .Q.xd7 15 e4 e5 18 exf5 .§adS Otherwise would fo llow 16 e5, to be After 18 ... §e5 19 �c4+ 'it>h8 20 f6, fo llowed by a break by means of d5 or among other lines, would be very strong. 19 Ah5 The initial move in an exactly calcu lated, decisive maneuver, the end of which will worthily crown White's Richard Reti model play. 180 Twelfth Round 19 ... §e5 20 Axd4 §xf5 5 ...exd6 If20 ... l"ld5 21 �c4 'it'h8 22 .llg4, with 5 ...cxd6 would have caused greater dif a pawn plus and a superior position. ficulties in development and, moreover, the insufficientlyprotected kingside of 21 §xf5 Axf5 22 �xf5 §xd4 23 Black would have been exposed to a §fl §dS possible attack. Or 23 ...�e7 24 .llf7+'it'h8 25 .lld5 �f6 6 4)c3 Af5 7 Ae2 Ae7 8 Ae3 26 �c8. Black is left without any de 4)8d79 4)f3 0-0 10 b3 fe nse. Probably played in order to be able to 24 Af7+ 'it'hS meet a subsequent . . . d5 with c5, with out being obliged to reckon with the entry of the black knight at c4. White commands a somewhat more extended range of action, but there is not much in it for him after all. 10 ...4)f6 11 0-0 §eS 12 h3 h6 25 Ae8 1-0 A sparkling conclusion! Black resigned, for, after 25 ....llxc5+, he loses at least the bishop. Rightfully, this game was awarded the first brilliancy prize. (59) Maroczy, G- Ta rtakower,S Alekhine's Defense [B03] Here, and even a little later, White's 1 e4 4)f6 2 e5 4)d5 3 c4 4)b64 d4 only slight chance was in the advance d6 5 exd6 of his a-pawn, whereby he would have utilized the uncomfortable position of This, while it yields quite a good game Black's knight on b6. Inasmuch as he similar to a variation ofthe PetroffDe does not avail himself of it, Black with fe nse, can in no way be considered as a out effort is enabled to bring about liq refutation of Black's first move. That, uidation on the e-file. if possible, could be fo und only in con nection with 5 f4. 13 ...�d7 14 §e1 §ad8 15 �c2 181 New York 1924 15 a4 still was to be seriously consid Better than immediately 7 ... e5 8 dxe5 ered. dxe5 9 4Jc4. 15... .Q.xd3 16 �xd3 4)h7 17 .§.e2 8 4)c4e5 9 .Q.g5 �eS 10 d5 .Q.f6 18 .§.ae1 .§.e7 19 d5 .§.deS20 .Q.d4 .§.xe2 21 .§.xe2.§.xe2 22 �xe2 A strategical blunder of serious conse a6 quences. Without obtaining the least chance on the queenside, White allows his opponent to establish a permanent offensive in the semi-center. The at tempts of the first player in his subse quent play to obtain an attack on the king merely lead to the opening of new avenues for the black pieces and thereby fa cilitate the opponent's tran sition into a winning ending. By far the smaller evil would have 10 dxe5 4Jdxe5 11 4Jcxe54Jxe5 12 4Jxe5�xeS 13 .lle3, after which thegame would In order to give White every opportu have been only slightly in fa vor of nity to exchange still another piece. Black. Both players are animated by the same noble thought of peace. 10 ... 4)e7 11 0-0-0 4)c5 12 h4 f5 13 exf5 4)xd3+ 14 �xd3 .Q.xf5 15 23 .Q.xb6 .Q.xc3 24 �e3 J}.f6 25 �e2 .Q.d4 �e7 26 �xe7 J}.xe7 27 �fl .Q.f6 28 �e2 �f8 29 �d3 �e7 1f2 -lfz (60) Lasker,Ed. - Ya tes,F Queen's Pawn Opening [A48] 1 d4 4)f62 4)f3g6 3 c3 Ag7 4 �c2 0-0 5 e4 d6 6 .Q.d3 A more desirable place for this bishop is certainly c4. The situation is more clarified.Besides 6 .•. 4)c67 4)bd2 the open line, Black has obtained a no less important advantage in the exposed And now the development of the hostile d-pawn, which in this phase of queen's bishop to g5 would have been the game cannot very well be defended preferable. by a neighboring pawn, because this would mean further compromisingof the white king's position. 182 Twelfth Round 15 ..•a5 The decisive tum. Having fo rced the exchange of queens, Black, on account This move, however, turns out to be a of his pressure upon the f-file and the loss of time, as Black soon convinces weakness of d5, should have had tech himself that he is able to gain a deci nically an easy game since all he really sive positional advantage by means of needed was to strive merely afteraddi a simple exchange and without the tional exchanges. strain of a direct attack. Simpler, there fore, would have been 15 ...h6 in order to fo rce the bishop to exchange or re treat, the more so as, for instance, after 16 Ae3, the reply of 16 ...Ag4 would have been very strong. 16 4:)e3 Ad7 17 h5 4:)f5 18 hxg6 '&xg6 19 4:)xf5 J'txf5 All these exchanges were merely fa vor able to Black. The player of the white pieces, however, cannot be blamed for 23 '&d3 �xg7 this because his position from the move of 10 d5 (?) has been "sick unto death," Much simpler and more convincing as it were. would have been 23 ... �xd3 24 E!.xd3 Axd3 25 ..llxf8 E!.xf8. After the text 20 '&d2 '&f7 move, White still retains a small chance to draw. 21 .£lh4 was threatening. 24 '&xf5 .E!,xf5 25 .E!,d2 .E!,af8 26 21 Ah6 .E!.h4 h6 27 .E!.c4.E!.8f7 28 b4 The exchange of one of the hostile bish Suicide, because the d-pawn is isolated ops holds out but little consolation, in thereby and must soon fa ll. At all events asmuch as the remaining one is the more 28 .£lh4 was called for, after 28 ... E!.xf2 dangerous because of the weakl)ess of as well as after 28 ...E!.f4, White could the white squares. still have defended his inferior position. In the subsequent ending, on the con 2t. ..Ag6 22 Axg7 trary, there is no longer a fighting chance. Likewise after22 �g5, Black, by means of 22 .....1lxh6, fo llowed by 23 ...�f 4+, 28 ... axb4 29 cxb4 .E!.f4 30 .E!.xf4 would fo rce an ending similar to the one .E!.xf4 31 a3 �f6 32 �b2 h5 33 in the actual game. 4:)e1 22 ...-&f5 Otherwise would fo llow ...h4 -h3. 183 New York 1924 33 •.• E{d4 The simplest method of capturing the weakling. 34 Etxd4 exd4 35 g3 �e5 36 �b3 �xd5 37 f3 �f7 38 -tlg2c5 39 b5 �e5+ 40 �c2 �d5 41 -tle1 c4 42 b6 White, of course, could have resigned with grace long before this. 45 �c1 �c4 46 f4 d3 47 .£le3+ �b3 48 -tlfl�e4 49 .£jd2+cxd2+ 42•.. �c6 43 �d2 �d544 -tlc2 c3+ 50 �xd2 �xa3 0-1 184 Thirteenth Round Decisive results were the order of the day and Dr. Lasker, Capablanca, Marshall, Reti and Ed. Lasker all improved their standing to the extent of a fu ll point apiece. Alekhine experienced his second setback-the firstsince the defeat by Dr. Lasker. One of his best efforts in the tournamentwas Dr. Lasker's game with Bogoljubow, which the latter defended with a Sicilian. Bogoljubow made a slight slip in the opening, but this was enough for Dr. Lasker, who pressed his positional advan tage home in faultless style. It required 61 moves in which to complete the task, the finalrook and pawn ending being very instructive. The result was the same as in the eighth round. Mar6czy, who has always been a most formidableopponent ofCapablanca's and who drew the first game with him, was this time doomed to suffer defeat, as he met the champion at his best. The Hungarian chose the Ruy Lopez for his debut and, instead of d4, played the less aggressive d3. Capablanca was not long in seizing the initiative, taking admirable advantage of the infinitesimalweakness in White's game. This he fo llowed up with a pleasing combination and a fo rceful series of moves, entirely destroying the kingside position of his opponent. Hoist with his own petard, Reti, opposed to Alekhine, had to deal with a reversed form of the opening which the Russian has named after him. Reti employed the London method of proceeding against his system and the masters emerged into the middle game with fa irly even chances. Here, however, Alekhine based his play upon a strategic plan (the advance of his kingside pawns), which, as ably demonstrated by Reti, simply would not work. This game, with an ending which called for exact handling, was an illuminating example of the winner at his best. It leftAlekhine and Reti on even terms insofar as their personal encounters were concerned. Marshall's Queen's Gambit was accepted by Janowsky, who played the opening well, but subsequently missed several good continuations. For this he paid the penalty when Marshall pitched in and by forceful tactics gained the upper hand, winning two minor pieces for a rook. His play in the ending left little to be de sired. With the black side of a Queen's Gambit Declined, Dr. Tartakower obtained a satisfactorygame against Ed. Lasker, but then indulged in some unnecessary moves with his queen. This loss of time was cleverly turned to account by Lasker, who wound up the game with a clear gain of a piece. At the end of the day's play, fo llowing Dr. Lasker (9V>-2V>),Reti had the supreme satisfaction of holding second place with 8-4, which score, however, was des- 185 New York 1924 tined to remain unchanged for the next three days. Capablanca, 7 Y2-4Y2,also passed Alekhine, 7-5. Marshall had 6-5. These were the eventual prize-winners. The stock of the white pieces took a jump upward to the tune of 4- 1, which made the record: White 35, Black 30. (61) Lasker,Dr. - Bogoljubow,E Clearly fo rced. Sicilian Defense [B40) 10 4)d2f5 1 e4 c5 2 4)f3 e6 3 d4 This, of course, removes every vestige Against Dr. Tartakower in Game 21 Dr. of danger fr om the kingside, but the Lasker played the less enduring 3 4Jc3. future of Black's d-pawn on the other hand becomes still more hopeless. With 3 ... cxd4 4 4)xd4 4)f6 5 .Q.d3 the text move, however, Black fo llows out a definite tactical idea. More usual here is first5 4Jc3-'i.b4 and then 6 .ild3 in order to be able to reply 11 �f3 4)b4 to 6 ...4Jc6, with 7 4::lxc6 bxc6 8 e5 4Jd5 9�g4! He desires, for instance, either to se cure for himself the two bishops or else 5 ... 4)c6 6 4)xc6 to capture a pawn as compensation for his own unfavorable pawn position. And now 6 .lle3 seems to hold out bet ter prospects, because Black, after the 12 4)c4 .ll.a6 text move, could have obtained an even game by 6 ...dxc6 7 0-0 e5 (8 f4? -'l.c5+ Threatening 13 ....ll xc4, followed by 9 ' 70-0 .Q.e7 Correct would have been 7 ...d5 and, only after 8 �e2 (or 8 e5 4Jd7, with splendid chances in the center), then 8 ...Ae7. For now the black d-pawn re mains backward permanently and be sides the black squares of the second player become perforce weak. 8 e5 4)d5 9 �g4 g6 13 .1l.d2 186 Thirteenth Round An interesting pawn sacrifice which has return of his surplus material, cannot for its purpose, by the most rapid mo avoid serious positional disadvantage. bilization of all available fightingfo rces After 20 ...�xd6, for instance, White and by displacement of the black knight, obtains a winning ending after21 �c4+ the utilization of the weaknesses in the �d5 (forced, for (I) if 2l...�e6 22 hostile center. E!xd4;(II) if21...'it>-any;22 E!xe5!; (III) if 21...Elf722 f4, with a winning posi tion.) 22 �xd5+ cxd5 23 E!xe5 4:1-any 24 E!exd5 fo llowed by E!xd7. Black is justified in accepting the sac rifice because he has a right to assume that he may be able later on and at the proper moment to relieve his position by returning the pawn. It is highly in structive to observehow Dr. Lasker sets about thwarting this intention. 14 §ad1 0-0 15 4:)d6 This introduces a new turn which re veals the real reason for the sacrifice. It is not the backward d-pawn, which 20 ...§ae8 21 f4 �h4 Black will now make safe through the blocking of the file, but the uncertain Or 21...�f7 22 E!xe5 E!xe5 (?) 23 �xd4 position of the knight which must be and wins. come instrumental in the attainment of a decisive advantage. 22 �c4+ 4:)e6 23 Axe5 'l!/f7 15 .•. 4:)d4 16 �e3 Axd3 17 �xd3 This, of course, is not altogether com Axd6 prehensible. Preferable certainly would have been 23 ...�d8 at once. All of Black's moves are compulsory. After 17... c5, for instance, White, by 24 §e3 means of 18 .llh6 �xd6 19 exd6 Elf? 20 b4, would win back his pawn with a Threatening 25 Elh3. splendid game. 24 ...�dS 25 §b3 �a5 18 exd6 e5 19 §fe1 �f6 20 Ac3 The entrance of the rook at b7 had to Now is seen the result of the attack car be prevented at any cost. With 25 ... �a8! ried out exemplarily and by unpreten Black could have offered a still longer tious means. Against the threats of 21 and stubborn resistance. f4 and 21 �c4+, Black no longer has a fu lly sufficientdefense and, despite the 26 §b7 �c5+ 27 §d4 187 New York 1924 This fineparry had evidently been over A bit offinesse.After4l...§> 48 §g4 §h1 31 j}.xf4gxf4 32 §xc6 §gS Here, however-if indeed he cared to This maneuver with the rook is fru it play still longer-he should have decided less, but really it scarcely matters what upon 48 .. .f3 49 g>b5 (or 42 c6 '