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Alexander Alekhine's Best Games: Algebraic Edition PDF

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Alexander Alekhine's Best Games Alexander Alekhine Additional material by C.H.O'D. Alexander and John Nunn Foreword by Garry Kasparov Games selected by Raymond Keene Algebraic Classics Series Series Editor: Dr. John Nunn GM B. T. Batsford Ltd, London The material in this book was first published in three volumes by G. Bell and Sons: My Best Games of Chess 1908·1923 (1927) My Best Games of Chess 1924·1937 (1939) Alekhine's Best Games of Chess 1938·45 ( 1949) First Batsford Edition 1989 This selection of algebraicised games © B. T. Batsford 1996 Additional material © John Nunn 1996 ISBN 0 7 134 7970 1 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, by any means, without prior permission of the publisher. Typeset by John Nunn and printed in Great Britain by Redwood Books, Trowbridge, Wilts for the publishers, B . T. Batsford Ltd, 4 Fitzhardinge Street, London WIH OAH A BATSFORD CHESS BOOK Editorial Panel: Mark Dvoretsky, John Nunn, Jon Speelman General Adviser: Raymond Keene OBE Commissioning Editor: Graham Burgess Contents 1 Vygodchikov-Alekhine, Corr., Russia 1908-9 8 2 Alekhine-Levenfish, St. Petersburg Chess Society Winter Tournament 1912 10 3 Nirnzowitsch-Alekhine, All-Russian Masters, Vilna 1912 12 4 Alekhine-Duras, Masters' Quadrangular, St. Petersburg 1913 14 5 Znosko-Borovsky-Alekhine, Masters' Quadrangular, St. Petersburg 1913 16 6 De Roszynski-Alekhine, Paris 1913 19 7 Mieses-Alekhine, Scheveningen 1913 20 8 Alekhine-Nimzowitsch, All-Russian Masters, St. Petersburg 1914 23 9 Alekhine-Marshall, St Petersburg International 1914 25 10 Alekhine-Tarrasch, St. Petersburg International 1914 27 11 Alekhine-Fahrni, Mannheim 1914 30 12 Alekhine-Isakov, Moscow Championship 1919 31 13 Rabinovich-Alekhine, All-Russian Masters', Moscow 1920 34 14 Alekhine-Teichmann, Match (2) Berlin 1921 37 15 Selezniev-Alekhine, Triberg 1921 39 16 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Triberg 1921 44 17 Alekhine-Sterk, Budapest 1921 46 18 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Budapest 1921 49 19 Steiner-Alekhine. Budapest 1921 51 20 Alekhine-Rubinstein, The Hague 1921 54 21 Tarrasch-Alekhine, Pistyan 1922 58 22 lohner-Alekhine, Pistyan 1922 60 23 Alekhine-Wolf, Pistyan 1922 62 24 Torres-Alekhine, Exhibition Game, Seville 1922 65 25 Alekhine-Yates, London 1922 67 26 Bogoljubow-Alekhine, Hastings 1922 70 27 Alekhine-Reti, Vienna 1922 73 28 Alekhine-Slimisch, Exhibition Game, Berlin 1923 77 29 Griinfeld-Alekhine, Karlsbad 1923 78 30 Alekhine-Rubinstein, Karlsbad 1923 82 31 Alekhine-Maroczy, Karlsbad 1923 86 32 Alekhine-Chajes, Karlsbad 1923 87 33 Alekhine-Reti, New York 1924 92 34 Alekhine-lanowski, New York 1924 95 35 Alekhine-Opocensky, Paris 1925 97 36 Tarraseh-Alekhine, Baden-Baden 1925 99 37 Reti-Alekhine, Baden-Baden 1925 100 38 Alekhine-Treybal, Baden-Baden 1925 103 39 Sir G. Thomas-Alekhine, Baden-Baden 1925 105 40 Alekhine-Marshall, Baden-Baden 1925 107 41 Alekhine-Sehwartz, Blindfold Exhibition, London 1926 109 42 Rubinstein-Alekhine, Semmering 1926 III 43 Rubinstein-Alekhine, Dresden 1926 113 44 Euwe-Alekhine, Second Exhibition Game, Amsterdam, 1926 115 45 Alekhine-Euwe, Third Exhibition Game, Amsterdam 1926 118 46 Alekhine-Nimzowitseh, New York 1927 121 47 Alekhine-Marshall, New York, 1927 124 48 Alekhine-Tartakower, Keeskemet 1927 125 49 Kmoeh-Alekhine, Keeskemet 1927 127 50 Capablanea-Alekhine, Buenos Aires Weh (1) 1927 129 51 Capablanea-Alekhine, Buenos Aires Weh (11) 1927 131 52 Capablanea-Alekhine, Buenos Aires Weh (21) 1927 136 53 Alekhine-Capablanea, Buenos Aires Weh (32) 1927 138 54 Alekhine-Capablanea, Buenos Aires Weh (34) 1927 142 55 Marshall-Alekhine, Exhibition Game, New York 1929 145 56 Alekhine-Steiner, Bradley-Beach 1929 149 57 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Wiesbaden Weh (1) 1929 151 58 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Wiesbaden Weh (5) 1929 152 59 Bogoljubow-Alekhine, Wiesbaden Weh (8) 1929 154 60 Bogoljubow-Alekhine, Amsterdam Weh (22) 1929 156 61 Alekhine-Nimzowitseh, San Remo 1930 158 62 Alekhine-Maroczy, San Remo 1930 160 63 Alekhine-Tartakower, San Remo 1930 164 64 Ahues-Alekhine, San Remo 1930 167 65 Alekhine-Kmoch, San Remo 1930 169 66 Stithlberg-Alekhine, Hamburg tt 1930 171 67 Alekhine-Andersen, Prague tt 1931 173 68 Alekhine-Nirnzowitseh, Bled 1931 175 69 Pire-Alekhine, Bled 1931 176 70 Alekhine-Flohr, Bled, 1931 178 71 Alekhine-Maroczy, Bled 1931 180 72 Alekhine-Winter, London 1932 183 73 Alekhine-Koltanowski, London 1932 185 74 Alekhine-Tartakower, London 1932 187 75 Alekhine-Sultan Khan, Berne 1932 189 76 Alekhine-Flohr, Berne 1932 191 77 Alekhine-Steiner, Pasadena 1932 192 78 Alekhine-Kimura, Blindfold Exhibition on 15 boards, Tokyo 1933 194 79 Alekhine-Mikenas, Folkestone tt 1933. 196 80 Znosko-Borovsky-A1ekhine, Paris 1933 199 81 A1ekhine-Bogo1jubow, Baden-Baden Weh (2) 1934 202 82 Bogoljubow-Alekhine, Pforzheim Weh (9) 1934 204 83 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Bayreuth Weh (16) 1934 207 84 Bogoljubow-Alekhine, Kissingen Weh (17) 1934 210 85 Bogo1jubow-Alekhine, Berlin Weh (25) 1934 212 86 A1ekhine-Em. Lasker, Zurich 1934 215 87 Alekhine-Euwe, Amsterdam Weh (1) 1935 216 88 A1ekhine-Euwe, AmsterdamWeh (3) 1935 218 89 Euwe-Alekhine, The Hague Weh (4) 1935 220 90 A1ekhine-Euwe, Utrecht Weh (7) 1935 224 91 Ahues-Alekhine, Bad Nauheim 1936 227 92 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Dresden 1936 229 93 Alekhine-Frydman, Podebrad 1936 233 94 A1ekhine-Foltys, Podebrad 1936 235 95 Winter-Alekhine, Nottingham 1936 238 96 A1ekhine-Alexander, Nottingham 1936 240 97 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Nottingham 1936 242 98 Alekhine-Fine, Hastings, 1937 245 99 Alekhine-Reshevsky, Kemeri 1937 248 100 Alekhine-Fine, Kemeri 1937 252 101 A1ekhine-Bogoljubow, Quadrangular Tournament, Bad Nauheim 1937 255 102 Alekhine-Sil.misch, Quadrangular Tournament, Bad Nauheim 1937 258 103 Alekhine-Euwe, Rotterdam Weh (2) 1937 261 104 Alekhine-Euwe, Haarlem Weh (6) 1937 263 105 Alekhine-Euwe, Leiden Weh (8) 1937 266 106 A1ekhine-Euwe, Zwolle Weh (14) 1937 268 107 A1ekhine-Euwe, Delft Weh (22) 1937 271 108 A1ekhine-Euwe, Rotterdam Weh (24) 1937 276 109 Euwe-Alekhine, The Hague Weh (25) 1937 279 110 Alekhine-Book, Margate 1938 282 111 Alekhine-Euwe, AVRO 1938 284 112 Alekhine-Flohr, AVRO 1938 287 113 A1ekhine-Capablanea, AVRO 1938 289 114 A1ekhine-Keres, Salzburg 1942 291 115 Keres-Alekhine, Salzburg 1942 294 116 Alekhine-Keres, Munich 1942 296 117 Alekhine-Junge, Krakow 1942 298 118 A1ekhine-Junge, Prague 1942 299 Foreword by Garry Kasparov Ask any chess fan to give a short list of his favourite games and it is sure to in­ clude games by Alekhine. Perhaps Reti-Alekhine, from Baden-Baden 1925, or Bogoljubow-Alekhine, Hastings 1922. These two games are generally reckoned to be amongst the most brilliant on record. But Alekhine's reputation was not built solely on the wonderful quality of his games, nor, simply, on his longevity as World Champion (he held the title from 1927-35 and again from 1937-46, when he died as World Champion, sadly destitute, in Portugal). It was also Alekhine's outstanding diligence as an annotator of his own masterpieces which has helped to establish his place in the history of chess. No serious student of chess can af­ ford to ignore Alekhine's notes to his games, and the most important of these are assembled here in this volume. Alekhine's games and writings exerted a great influence on me from a very early age. I wished to emulate the dynamic style of the first, great, Russian-born champion, who wrested the crown from Capablanca in 1927. I fell in love with the rich complexity of his ideas at the chessboard. Alekhine's attacks came sud­ denly, like destructive thunderstorms that erupted from a clear sky. Max Euwe , who briefly took the world title from Alekhine between 1935 and 1937, wrote of him: Alekhine is a poet, who creates a work of art out of something which would hardly inspire another man to send a picture postcard. The wilder and more in­ volved a position the more beautiful the conception he can evolve. A similar view was expressed by Dr. Emanuel Lasker: Alekhine loves making experiments ... delighted to think that his own skill and his own imagination are the cause of all that what happens on the board. This style of Alekhine' s was what I admired and wanted to develop in my own games. I had a natural feeling for it. I hope readers of this book will feel similarly inspired by Alekhine's masterpieces. Garry Kasparov Baku 1989 Introduction by John Nunn I first came across Alekhine's collection of games when I was about 11 years old. Up to that point, I had been quite successful in junior events and I had the feeling that chess wasn't really a very difficult game. After playing over all 220 games in the first two volumes (covering the periods 1905-23 and 1924-37), I thought "How can anyone play like this? It's just impossible to see so much during a game". I was particularly struck by his game against Rubinstein from Semmer­ ing, 1926 (game 42 in this book), and the move IS ... ltJx12! in particular. It seemed incredible that there might be a stronger move than the obvious recapture on c3, but after having checked the analysis several times, I had to admit that taking on 12 was a forced win. But how did this move even enter Alekhine's head? Today, finding this combination doesn't seem so totally impossible as it did then, but it remains an enormously impressive game. In my opinion Alekhine's special gen­ ius lay in his ability to discover unexpected twists in positions where a lesser player would have made an automatic, conventional move. Other examples of such twists, in addition to the IS ... .!bxf2 mentioned above, are the move 19 'fIc7! in game 31 and the idea of IS dxe5 and 19 'i'f4! in game 47. In view of my early acquaintance with Alekhine 's books, I was excited when the idea arose of producing an algebraic edition of the cream of Alekhine's games. This gradually became a major project. Apart from the conversion to alge­ braic, I have corrected a surprisingly large number of notational errors in the original books, rearranged the games in chronological order, edited the text and checked the analysis. I have not commented on minor flaws in the analysis, but major errors and omissions are pointed out in footnotes (except for game lIS, where the new analysis was so extensive that it had to be embedded in the text). These terse footnotes should be studied carefully, as in many cases they indicate fundamental reassessments of famous games, for example Reti-Alekhine, Baden-Baden 1925 and Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Nottingham 1936. Some readers may find it surprising that so many major analytical errors exist in Alekhine's notes-after having worked on this book, my respect for Alekhine's games has increased, but I have come to recognise that his annotations are influenced by the "I won the game, so I must have been winning all the way through" syndrome (which, it must be said, afflicts many annotators). A few additional points: games 1-109 were originally annotated by Alekhine himself-the remaining games were annotated by C.H.O'D. Alexander. All foot­ notes are mine, except where they are marked (GB), in which case they were writ­ ten by Graham Burgess. Alekhine uses the symbols '±' and '=F' to mean 'clear advantage for White' and 'clear advantage for Black' respectively. The games in this book represent the distillation of the life work of one of the greatest chess geniuses of all time. As I discovered myself, it is possible to learn a great deal from them. 8 Corr., Russia 1908-9 Game l Vygodchikov - Alekhine Corr., Russia 1908-9 Ruy Lopez 1 e4 e5 2 lM.3 lDc6 3 J.b5 a6 4 J.a4 ll)f6 5 0-0 J.cS This move, suggested in 1 908 by the Danish master MlIlller, is in my opinion much better than its reputa­ tion as, up to the present, it has in no way been refuted and the few games in which it has been adopted rather tend to militate in its favour. 6 lDxe5 White could also play 6 c3 to which the best reply is 6 ... J.a7 as in a game Yates-Alekhine (Hastings 1922), which continued as follows: 7 d4 (interesting would be 7 Ite1 lDg4! 8 d4 exd4 9 cxd4 lDxd4! 10 lDxd4 1i'h4! with a winning attack)7 ... lDxe4 8 1i'e2 f5 9 dxe5 0-0 10 lDbd2 d5 1 1 exd6 lDxd6 1 2 J.b3+ Wh8 1 3 lDc4 f4 14 lDce5 lDxe5 15 lDxe5 1i'g5 1 6 J.d2 J.h3 17 J.d5 Itae8 18 Itfe 1 Ite6! 1 91i'd3, and now Black, who played the surprise move 19 ... J.e3!?, finally obtained only a draw, whereas he could have won a pawn simply by 19 ... J.xg2 followed by 20 ... Itxe5. 6 lDxe5 7 d4 lDxe4! 8 Ite1 After 8 dxc5 lDxc5 91i'd4 (9 1i'd5 is similar) 9 ... 1i'e7! 1 0 J.f4 f6 (Dr. Groen-Alekhine, Portsmouth 1 923) White has insufficient compensation for his pawn. If 8 1i'e2 (as in Takacs-Alekhine, Vienna 1 922), then 8 ... J.e7 9 1i'xe4 lDg6 10 c4 0-0 1 1 lDc3 f5 with good attacking chances. The continuation of this interesting game was 12 1i'f3 lDh4 1 3 1i'd3 b5 14 J.b3 Wh8 15 J.f4 lDg6 1 6 J.d2 J.b7 17 Itfe1 bxc4 1 8 J.xc4 d5 19 J.b3 c5! 20 dxc5 d4 2 1 lDa4 J.e4 22 1i'c4 J.g5 23 1i'c1 J.xd2 24 1i'xd2 lDh4 25 f3 J.xf3 26 g3, and now Black could have won at once by the sacrificial combination 26 .. .f4 27 gxh4 1i'xh4, for if28 J.c2, then 28 ... d3! 29 J.xd3 l%ad8 is decisive. 8 9 Itxe4 10 lDc3 11 lDd5 J.e7 lDg6 0-0 J.d6! It was most important to preserve this bishop. Now that Black has overcome most of the opening diffi­ culties, he must in the sequel obtain at least an equal game. 12 1i'f3 To 1 2 c4 Black had the powerful reply 12 .. .f5 13 Ite1 c5 !1. 12 ... f5 But here this advance is prema­ ture. White gains an important tempo However, at the end of this line 14 dxcS .i.xcs I S b4 .i.a7 l61i'hS, threatening the deadly 17 .tgS, gives White a near-decisive advantage, since Black must also take into account the possibility of .i.b3 followed by cS. Therefore 1 2 c4 should be met by 1 2 ... bS, with approximate equality. by playing his light-squared bishop to b3 and B lack loses the chance of ... c5. The correct plan was 12 ... b5 1 3 R.b3 R.b7, with very good chances for Black. 13 R.b3! �h8 Evidently the rook could not be captured because of mate in four: 14 !iJe7+ c;t>h8 15 tLlxg6+ bxg6 16 'iWh3+ 'iWh4 17 'iWxh4#. 14 .!:te2 f4 In preparation for 15 ... c6. If Black plays 14 ... 'iWh4, then 15 h3 'iWxd4 1 6 c3 'iWc5 17 R.e3 'iWc6 18 R.d4, with a strong attack) . 15 c4 c6 Aiming for the rook sacrifice on move 17. 15 ... c5 would be met by 16 R.c2, a move which is threatened in any event, and 1 5 ... 'iWg5 16 c5 tLlh4 would be insufficient because of 1 7 'iWg3 !. B 16 c5 R.b8 17 tLlb6 (D) Vygodchikov - Alekhine 9 17 • • • d5!! This rook sacrifice is absolutely sound, and White would have been better advised not to accept it and to play instead 18 tLlxc8! (not 1 8 R.c2 immediately because of 18 ... 'iWg5 ! ) 18 ... 'iWxc8 19 R.c2! with a slight ad­ vantage. It is easy to understand that White was tempted to capture the rook, considering that the strong black at­ tack which follows was not obvious. 18 �a8 tLlh4 19 'iWc3 Naturally not 1 9 'iWh5 because of 19 ... g6 20 'iWh6 tLlf5 followed by 21...tLlxd4. If 19 'iWd3 ! there would have been interesting complications. The probable line of play would have been: 1 9 ... R.f5 20 'iWc3 (if 20 'iWdl , then Black replies 20 ... 'iWg5 !) 20 .. .f3 2 1 .!:te3 ! (if 2 1 gxf3, then 2 1 . ..'iWf6 22 f4 R.g4) 2 1 ...fxg2 22 f3 ! 'iW g5 ! (threatening ... R.xh2+) 23 .!:te5 R.xe5 ! 24 R.xg5 R.xd4+ 25 'iWxd4 tLlxf3+ 26 c;t>xg2 tLlxd4 27 tLlb6 R.e4+ 28 c;t>g3 l:tf3+ 29 �h4 R.f5 ! and mate in a few moves. The text move in some ways fa­ cilitates Black's attack, as he now has a serious threat based on a queen sacrifice. 19 ••• f3 20 .!:te5 Compulsory. After the plausible reply 20 l:te3 the continuation would In this line Black's queen doesn't need to be banished to the queenside; 1 6 ... 'ifh4 is a big improvement, when White must prove that he has enough compensation for the pawn. 10 St. Petersburg Chess Society Winter Tournament 1912 be 20 ... 1Wg5 ! 21 g3 �xg3 ! 22 hxg3 1Wxg3+ 23 fxg3 f2+ 24 �f1.th3+ and Black wins. 20 • • • �xe5 21 dxe5 tDxg2! Threatening ... 1Wh4-h3. 22 'ti'd4 'ti'd7 Black could also win by 22 ... tDf4! 23 �xf4 1Wh4 !, but the variation adopted is equally decisive. 23 e6 A desperate move, but after 23 t;Ph 1 1Wh3 White would have no de­ fence against 24 ... tDel!. 23 • • • 'ti'xe6 24 �d2 'ti'g6! Stronger than 24 ... 1Wh3 25 �c3 :'g8 26 1We5 tDf4 27 1Wg5, and Black cannot play 27 ... �g4 because of28 �xg7+ ! with perpetual check!. 25 �c2 Black wins after 25 'it>hl tDel or 25..tfl �h3. 25 26 'it>hl 27 :'gl The only resource. 'ti'xc2 'ti'g6 27 �3 28 tDb6 (D) 28 ••• tDf4! This manoeuvre, prepared by Black's last few moves, is immedi­ ately decisive, for after the queen exchange White's game remains ab­ solutely without resource. 29 :'xg6 �g2+ 30 :'xg2 fxg2+ 31 'it>gl tDe2+ B 32 'it>xg2 tDxd4 0-1 Game 2 Alekhine - Levenftsh St. Petersburg Chess Society Winter Tournament 1912 Queen's Pawn Game 1 d4 c5 The advance of this pawn is rightly considered inferior even when prepared by 1.. .tDf6 2 li)f3. On the first move it constitutes, in my opin­ ion, a grave positional error, for White at once obtains a great posi­ tional advantage by simply advanc­ ing the centre pawns. 2 d5 tDf6 3 tDc3 d6 4 e4 g6 If instead of the text move Black replies with 4 ... e6 White's answer would be 5 �c4, and the sequel would not be satisfactory for Black because of the weakness at d6. 5 f4 1 In this line '1J .•. 1D forces instant resignation. Already threatening 6 e5. S ••• tDbd7 6 tDf3 If now 6 ... �g7 then 7 e5 dxe5 8 fxe5 tDg4 9 e6 tDde5 10 �b5+. This is why Black plays: 6 a6 dxeS tDg4 7 eS 8 fxeS 9 e6! This move demolishes Black's variation. B 9 tDdeS 10 �f4 (D) 10 ..• tDxf3+ Or 1 0 ... �g7 1 1 �e2 tDxf3+ 1 2 gxf3 tDf6 1 3 exf7+ �xf7 14 0-0-0, with an overwhelming advantage for White!. After the text move Black prob­ ably hopes for the reply 1 1 �xf3 upon which he would obtain a play­ able game by 1 1 ...fxe6!. 1 1 gxf3! tDf6 Alekhine - Levenfish 1 1 1 2 �c4! This is preferable to the immedi­ ate capture of the f7 -pawn, a capture which the text move renders much more threatening. 12 • • • fxe6 13 dxe6 'i6 The alternative was 1 3 ... 'fixdl+ 1 4 l:txdl �g7 1 5 �c7 0-0 1 6 �b6 and White wins a pawn, at the same time maintaining all his pressure. 1 3 ... �b6, threatening two pawns at the same time, is shown to be insuf­ ficient by an unexpected sacrificial combination. 14 fie2! The initial move. 14 ••• 'ixb2 (D) At first sight there appears to be little danger in this capture, for the reply 15 �d2 would be frustrated by 15 ... tDh5 16 �e5 �h6+ 17 �d3 �xe6 18 �xe6 l:td8+, but White had a different scheme in mind. w In this line 1 2 ... .txc3+ 1 3 bxc3 1i'xd5 is more testing, although 14 fxg4! 'it'xh1 1 5 0-0-0 1i'c6 1 6 exf7+ �xf7 17 .tg2 gives White an enormous attack. White could also play I I h3ibxf3+ 1 2 1i'xf3ibf6 1 3 exf7+ �xf7 14 .tc4, which gives him a clear advantage at no risk. 12 All-Russian Masters, Vilna 1912 15 lC!b5! This attack by the knight (which cannot be captured due to I S ... axbS 1 6 �xbS+ rJi>dS 17 ':dl +) decides the issue in a few moves. Black has nothing better than to accept the sac­ rifice and to capture both rooks. 15 �xal+ 16 'if2 �xhl 17 tDc7+ 'itd8 18 �d2+ �d7 19 exd7 1-0 The threat is 20 lC!e6#, and if 1 9 ... eS (19 ... lC!xd7 20 �e6), then White replies 20 lC!e6+ �7 21 dS�+ ':xdS 22 �xdS+ �f7 23 lC!xfS+ �g7 24 �e7#. Game 3 Nimzowitsch - Alekhine All-Russian Masters, Vilna 1912 Queen's Pawn Game 1 d4 d5 2 lC!f3 c5 3 �f4 lC!c6 4 e3 lbf6 Here 4 ... 'i!t'b6 would be premature on account of S lC!c3. 5 lC!c3 Now, however, this move is out of place. The usual line of play, S c3 followed by 6 �d3, is certainly bet- ter. 5 ... �g4 Equally satisfactory would be S ... a6 followed by 6 ... �g4. 6 �b5 e6 7 h3 �h5 This move gives White the chance to weaken the enemy position on both wings. Black had two ways of obtaining a good game, 7 ... �xf3 S �xf3 a6 9 �xc6+ bxc6 and 7 ... cxd4 S exd4 �hS 9 g4 �g6 10 lC!eS �b6 1 1 a4 �b4. 8 g4 9 lC!e5 �g6 �b6 Of course not 9 .. JlcS, because of 10 lC!xc6 followed by 1 1 �a6. How­ ever, 9 ... �cS would have been more prudent. 10 a4! Very strong, as Black has no time to continue 10 ... cxd4 followed by 1 1 ...�b4, because of 1 1 as. There­ fore he is compelled to yield the bS­ square to his opponent. 10 ... as 1 1 h4 h5 This move is relatively better than 1 1 ... h6, as it forces White to make an immediate decision on the kingside. 12 lDxg6 fxg6 (D) 13 gxh5 The variation 1 3 gslC!gS 14 �d3 �f7 I S lth3 looks stronger than it really is, as Black can resist the at­ tack by bringing his gS-knight to e7 and then fS. The text move makes things easy for Black. His g7-pawn, it is true, is weakened, but, on the other hand, he obtains excellent pros­ pects in the centre. 13 • • • 14 "it'e2 gxh5 0-0-0 The king's position on the queen­ side will be quite safe as the white bishop can easily be eliminated. B 15 O-O-O! ( D) A very pretty trap. 1 5 ••• i.d6 Black discovers in time the oppo­ nent's subtle plan: 15 ... cxd4 16 exd4 lbxd4 1 7 lhd4 1Wxd4 18 1Wxe6+ lbd7 19 "it'c6+! ! bxc6 20 i.a6#. The text move eliminates all danger. 16 i.xd6 l1xd6 17 i.d3 White has insufficiently weighed the consequences of this move; in particular, he has not realised that the knight will have no time to settle down at b5, and consequently Black will obtain an important advantage. Nimzowitsch - Alekhine 13 Better would be 17 i.xc6 bxc6 1 8 l1hgl l1d7, but i n this case also Black's game is superiorl . 17 • • • c4! Both dislodging the bishop and initiating a combined attack on both wings. 18 i.g6 Naturally not 1 8 lbb5 cxd3 19 lbxd6+ 'Oifd7, followed by ... 'Oifxd6. w 18 lbe7 19 l1hgl 1i'b4 20 'Oifd2 l1b6! (D) An amusing reply to White's trap on the 15th move. Black in his turn threatens mate by a queen sacrifice, a Roland for an Oliver! 2 1 ...lbxg6 22 l1xg6 1Wxb2 23 l1bl "it'xc3+ 24 'Oifxc3 lbe4#. In addition the text move allows the queen to co-operate in a decisive action against the ex­ posed g6-bishop. 21 f3 Evading the threat. 21 ••• 11h6 17 .id3 is a really awful move, which not only allows Black to attack b2. but also results in the almost immediate trapping of the bishop! 14 Masters' Quadrangular, St. Petersburg 1913 22 i.n Hapless bishop, with only one square on which to shelter! 22 �5 23 .. 2 1!t'e7! 24 �b5 A desperate move. After 24 i.g6 Black would win immediately by 24 ... �xh4 since 25 "xh4 loses the queen after 25 ... �e4+. In giving up the bishop, White has a vague hope of complications resulting from the queen reaching b8. 24 25 lDa7+ 26 'fi'b8 Black could have continued with the simple 26 ... "e8. But his objec­ tive, which he indeed succeeds in achieving, is the capture of the white queen. 27 lIg5 �e8 28 lIdgl l:[f6 Not, of course, 28 ..... xf3 because of 29 l:txg7+. 29 f4 30 �c1 31 c3 32 �bl g6 1!t'h7 1!t'f7 1!t'e7 Taking advantage of the fact that White cannot capture the black g6- pawn because of the resulting pin by 33 ..... h7. 33 <;Pa2 l:tf8 34 �b5 �xb5 35 axb5 �7 36 1!t'a7 1!t'd6 If now 37 :xg6 �xb5 38 l:tg7+ �c6 39 "xa5 :a6, and the queen is exchanged. 0-1 Game 4 Alekhine - Duras Masters' Quadrangular, St. Petersburg 1913 Ruy Lopez 1 e4 e5 2 �f3 llJc6 3 i.b5 a6 4 i.a4 �6 5 1!t'e2 b5 This move, in conjunction with the next one, affords Black the sim­ plest method of equalising. 6 i.b3 i.c5 7 a4! The opening of the a-file is of great significance in this variation. Black cannot prevent it, for if 7 ... b4, then 8 i.xf7+ �xf7 9 "c4+ d5 10 "xc5 "d6 11 "xc6!. 7 lIb8 8 axb5 9 d3 axb5 After 9 �c3 Black could simply play 9 ... 0-0, for after 10 �xb5 d5! he obtains an attack fully equivalent to the pawn sacrificed. After the text move White can eventually play c3 and bring his knight to e3 or g3 via d2 and fl . 9 ••• 10 i.e3 d6 i.g4 Here Black could have obtained an even game by forcing the ex­ change of White's only well-posted piece, the bishop on b3, by 10 ... i.e6. It is clear that White would not have reaped any advantage by exchang­ ing at e6 and c5, as Black would have had command of the centre,

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