[blind-chess] Annotated Game #021: Akiba Rubinstein - Jose Raul Capablanca, San Sebastian 1911
- From: Roderick Macdonald <rmacd@xxxxxxxx>
- To: Blind Chess Mailing List <blind-chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2011 13:56:35 -1000 (HST)
Annotated Game #021:
Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein - Jose Raul Capablanca
San Sebastian 1911
Adapted and Condensed from
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Contents
++1. Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein
++1.A Biography
++1.B Chess heritage
++1.C Notable chess games
++2. Jose Raul Capablanca y Graupera
++2.A Biography and career
++2.A1 Childhood
++2.A2 Early adult career
++2.A3 World title contender
++2.A4 During World War I
++2.A5 World Champion
++2.A6 Losing the title
++2.A7 Post-championship and partial retirement
++2.A8 Return to competitive chess
++2.A9 Final years
++2.B Assessment
++2.B1 Playing strength and style
++2.B2 Influence on the game
++2.B3 Personality
++2.C Capablanca chess
++2.D Notable chess games
++2.E Writings
++2.F Tournament results
++2.G Match results
++3. Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein - Jose Raul Capablanca
++1. Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein
Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein (December 12, 1882 - March 15, 1961)
was a famous Polish chess Grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th
century. He was scheduled to play a match with Emanuel Lasker for
the world championship in 1914, but it was cancelled because of the
outbreak of World War I.
++1.A Biography
Rubinstein was born in the Polish border town of Stawiski. He
learned to play chess in school when he was 16. He was Jewish, and
his family planned for him to become a rabbi. However, in 1903,
after finishing fifth in a tournament in Kiev, Rubinstein decided
to abandon his rabbinical studies and devote himself entirely to
chess. He trained with and played against the strong master Gersz
Salwe in Lodz.
Between 1907 and 1912, Rubinstein established himself as one of the
strongest players in the world. In 1907, he won the Karlovy Vary
tournament and shared first at St. Petersburg. In 1912, he had a
record string of wins, finishing first in five consecutive major
tournaments: San Sebastian, Piestany, Breslau (the German
championship), Warsaw and Vilnius (although none of these events
included Lasker or Capablanca). Some believe that he was better
than world champion Emanuel Lasker at this time. Ratings from
Chessmetrics support this conclusion, placing him as world #1
between mid 1912 and mid 1914. Reuben Fine, on the other hand,
believed he was not quite as strong as Lasker, and was also
eclipsed by Jose Raul Capablanca after 1911.
At the time when it was common for the reigning world champion to
handpick his challengers, Rubinstein was never given a chance to
play Lasker for the world chess championship because he was unable
to raise enough money to meet Lasker's financial demands. In the
1909 St. Petersburg tournament, he had tied with Lasker and won his
individual encounter with him. However, he had a poor showing at
the St. Petersburg tournament in 1914, not placing in the top five.
A match with Lasker was arranged for October 1914, but it never
took place because of the outbreak of World War I.
After the war Rubinstein was still an elite grandmaster, but his
results lacked their previous formidable consistency. Nevertheless,
he won at Vienna in 1922, ahead of future world champion Alexander
Alekhine, and was the leader of the Polish team that won the Chess
Olympiad at Hamburg in 1930 with a superb record of thirteen wins
and four draws. A year later he won an Olympic silver.
After 1932 he withdrew from tournament play, mostly because his
schizophrenic tendencies became prevalent; he was suffering from
anthropophobia, a fear of people and society. Unlike other great
grandmasters, he left behind no literary heritage, which may be
attributed to his mental problems. He spent the last 29 years of
his life suffering from severe mental illness, living at various
times at home with his family and in a sanatorium. It is not clear
how the Jewish grandmaster survived World War II in Nazi-occupied
Belgium. One oft-related story is that the Nazis arrived one day to
take him to the death camps, but he was so patently insane that
they abandoned the attempt. However, there is no documentation to
support this tale.
++1.B Chess heritage
He was one of the earliest chess players to take the endgame into
account when choosing and playing the opening. He was exceptionally
talented in the endgame, particularly in rook endings, where he
broke new ground in knowledge. Jeremy Silman ranked him as one of
the five best endgame players of all time, and a master of rook
endgames.
He originated the Rubinstein System against the Tarrasch Defense
variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined: 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. c4
e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 (Rubinstein - Tarrasch,
1912).
He is also credited with inventing the Meran Variation, which stems
from the Queen's Gambit Declined but reaches a position of the
Queen's Gambit Accepted with an extra move for Black.
Many opening variations are named for him. The "Rubinstein Attack"
often refers to 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 0-0
6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. Qc2. The Rubinstein Variation of the French Defence
arises after 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 (or 3. Nd2) dxe4 4. Nxe4.
Apart from 4. Qc2, the Rubinstein Variation of the Nimzo-Indian: 1.
d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3. There are also the Rubinstein
Variation of the Four Knights Game, which arises after 1. e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4, and the Rubinstein Variation of the
Symmetrical English, 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5.
Bg2 Nc7, a complex system that is very popular at the grandmaster
level.
The Rubinstein Trap, an opening trap in the Queen's Gambit Declined
that loses at least a pawn for Black, is named for him because he
fell into it twice. One version of it runs:
1. d4 d5
2. c4 e6
3. Nc3 Nf6
4. cxd5 exd5
5. Bg5 Be7
6. e3 0-0
7. Nf3 Nbd7
8. Bd3 c6
9. 0-0 Re8
10. Rc1 h6
11. Bf4 Nh5?
12. Nxd5!
Now 12. ... cxd5?? is met by 13. Bc7, winning the queen, while 12.
... Nxf4 13. Nxf4 leaves White a pawn ahead.
The Rubinstein Memorial tournament in his honor has been held
annually since 1963 in Polanica Zdroj, with a glittering list of
top-flight winners.
++1.C Notable chess games
* George Rotlewi vs Akiba Rubinstein, Lodz 1907, Tarrasch
Defense: Symmetrical Variation (D02), 0-1 A very impressive
attacking combination; "perhaps the most magnificent
combination of all time" (Carl Schlechter)
* Akiba Rubinstein vs Emanuel Lasker, St. Petersburg 1909,
Queen's Gambit Declined: Traditional Variation (D30), 1-0
This game ends in an interesting position where Lasker has
no good moves (zugzwang).
* Akiba Rubinstein vs Karel Hromadka, Moravska Ostrava 1923,
King's Gambit Declined. Classical Variation (C30), 1-0 A
nice game full of tactics and hanging pieces. The former
Czech champion Karel Hromadka fights well, but at the end
Rubinstein prevails.
* Akiba Rubinstein vs Carl Schlechter. San Sebastian 1912,
1-0 Capablanca called this game "a monument of magnificent
precision." A quintessential Rubinstein game.
* Hermanis Mattison vs. Akiba Rubinstein, Carlsbad, 1929,
(C68), 0-1 A famous rook and pawn ending that seemed
"hopelessly drawn", but was won by Rubinstein. The editor
of the tournament book said that if this game had been
played 300 years earlier, Rubinstein would have been burned
at the stake for dealing with evil spirits.
++2. Jose Raul Capablanca y Graupera
Jose Raul Capablanca y Graupera (November 19, 1888 - March 8, 1942)
was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to
1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for
his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. Due to his
achievements in the chess world, mastery over the board and his
relatively simple style of play he was nicknamed the "Human Chess
Machine".
++2.A Biography and career
++2.A1 Childhood
Jose Raul Capablanca, the second surviving son of a Spanish army
officer, was born in Havana on November 19, 1888. According to
Capablanca, he learned the rules of the game at the age of four by
watching his father play, pointed out an illegal move by his
father, and then beat his father twice. At the age of eight he was
taken to Havana Chess Club, which had hosted many important
contests, but on the advice of a doctor he was not allowed to play
frequently. Between November and December 1901, he narrowly beat
the Cuban Chess Champion, Juan Corzo, in a match. However in April
1902 he only came fourth out of six in the National Championship,
losing both his games against Corzo. In 1905 Capablanca passed with
ease the entrance examinations for Columbia University in New York
City, where he wished to play for Columbia's strong baseball team,
and soon was selected as shortstop on the freshman team. In the
same year he joined the Manhattan Chess Club, and was soon
recognized as the club's strongest player. He was particularly
dominant in rapid chess, winning a tournament ahead of the reigning
World Chess Champion, Emanuel Lasker, in 1906. In 1908 he left the
university to concentrate on chess.
According to Columbia University, Capablanca enrolled at Columbia's
School of Mines, Engineering and Chemistry in September, 1910, to
study chemical engineering. Later, his financial support was
withdrawn because he preferred playing chess to studying
engineering. He left Columbia after one semester to devote himself
to chess full time.
++2.A2 Early adult career
Capablanca's skill in rapid chess lent itself to simultaneous
exhibitions, and his increasing reputation in these events led to
a USA-wide tour in 1909. Playing 602 games in 27 cities, he scored
96.4% - a much higher percentage than those of, for example, Giza
Marsczy's 88% and Frank Marshall's 86% in 1906. This performance
gained him sponsorship for an exhibition match that year against
Marshall, the U.S. champion, who had won the 1904 Cambridge Springs
tournament ahead of World Champion Emanuel Lasker and Dawid
Janowski, and whom Chessmetrics ranks as one of the world's top
three players at his peak. Capablanca beat Marshall by 15-8 (8
wins, 1 loss, 14 draws) - a margin comparable to what Emanuel
Lasker achieved against Marshall (8 wins, no losses, 7 draws) in
winning his 1907 World Championship match. After the match,
Capablanca said that he had never opened a book on chess openings.
Following this match, Chessmetrics rates Capablanca the world's
third strongest player for most of the period from 1909 through
1912.
Capablanca won all seven games in the 1910 New York State
Championship. After another gruelling series of simultaneous
exhibitions, Capablanca placed second, with 9.5 out of 12, in the
1911 National Tournament at New York, half a point behind Marshall,
and half a point ahead of Charles Jaffe and Oscar Chajes. Marshall,
invited to play in a tournament at San Sebastian, Spain, in 1911,
insisted that Capablanca also be allowed to play.
According to David Hooper and Ken Whyld, San Sebastian 1911 was
"one of the strongest five tournaments held up to that time", as
all the world's leading players competed except the World Champion,
Lasker. At the beginning of the tournament, Ossip Bernstein and
Aron Nimzowitsch objected to Capablanca's presence because he had
not fulfilled the entry condition of winning at least third prize
in two master tournaments. Capablanca won brilliantly against
Bernstein in the very first round, more simply against Nimzowitsch,
and astounded the chess world by taking first place, with a score
of six wins, one loss and seven draws, ahead of Akiba Rubinstein,
Milan Vidmar, Marshall, Carl Schlechter and Siegbert Tarrasch, et
al. His loss, against Rubinstein, was one of the most brilliant
achievements of the latter's career. Some European critics grumbled
that Capablanca's style was rather cautious, though he conceded
fewer draws than any of the next six finishers in the event.
Capablanca was now recognized as a serious contender for the world
championship.
++2.A3 World title contender
In 1911, Capablanca challenged Emanuel Lasker for the World Chess
Championship. Lasker accepted his challenge while proposing
seventeen conditions for the match. Capablanca objected to some of
the conditions, which significantly favored Lasker, and the match
did not take place.
In 1913, Capablanca won a tournament in New York with 11/13, half
a point ahead of Marshall. Capablanca then finished second to
Marshall in Capablanca's hometown, Havana, scoring 10 out of 14,
and losing one of their individual games. The 600 spectators
naturally favored their native hero, but sportingly gave Marshall
"thunderous applause". In a further tournament in New York in 1913,
at the Rice Chess Club, Capablanca won all thirteen games.
In September 1913, Capablanca secured a job in the Cuban Foreign
Office, which made him financially secure for life. Hooper and
Whyld write that, "He had no specific duties, but was expected to
act as a kind of ambassador-at-large, a well-known figure who would
put Cuba on the map wherever he travelled." His first instructions
were to go to Saint Petersburg - where he was due to play in a
major tournament. On his way he gave simultaneous exhibitions in
London, Paris and Berlin, where he also played two-game matches
against Richard Teichmann and Jacques Mieses, winning all his
games. After arriving in Saint Petersburg, he played similar
matches against Alexander Alekhine, Eugene Znosko-Borovsky and
Fyodor Duz-Chotimirsky, losing one game to Znosko-Borovsky and
winning the rest.
The St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament was the first in which
Capablanca played World Champion Emanuel Lasker under normal
tournament conditions. This event was arranged in an unusual way:
after a preliminary single round-robin tournament involving eleven
players, the top five were to play a second stage in double round-
robin format, with scores from the preliminary tournament carried
forward to the second contest. Capablanca placed first in the
preliminary tournament, 1.5 points ahead of Lasker, who was out of
practice and made a shaky start. Despite a determined effort by
Lasker, Capablanca still seemed on course for ultimate victory.
However, in their second game of the final, Lasker reduced
Capablanca to a helpless position and Capablanca was so shaken by
this that he blundered away his next game to Siegbert Tarrasch.
Lasker thus finished half a point ahead of Capablanca and 3.5 ahead
of
Alekhine. Alekhine commented:
His real, incomparable gifts first began to make themselves known
at the time of St. Petersburg, 1914, when I too came to know him
personally. Neither before nor afterwards have I seen - and I
cannot imagine as well - such a flabbergasting quickness of chess
comprehension as that possessed by the Capablanca of that epoch.
Enough to say that he gave all the St. Petersburg masters the odds
of 5-1 in quick games - and won! With all this he was always good-
humoured, the darling of the ladies, and enjoyed wonderful good
health - really a dazzling appearance. That he came second to
Lasker must be entirely ascribed to his youthful levity - he was
already playing as well as Lasker.
After the breakdown of his attempt to negotiate a title match in
1911, Capablanca drafted rules for the conduct of future
challenges, which were agreed by the other top players at the 1914
Saint Petersburg tournament, including Lasker, and approved at the
Mannheim Congress later that year. The main points were: the
champion must be prepared to defend his title once a year; the
match should be won by the first player to win six or eight games,
whichever the champion preferred; and the stake should be at least
#1,000 (worth about #347,000 or $700,000 in 2006 terms.
++2.A4 During World War I
World War I began in midsummer 1914, bringing international chess
to a virtual halt for more than four years. Capablanca won
tournaments in New York in 1914, 1915, 1916 (with preliminary and
final round-robin stages) and 1918, losing only one game in this
sequence. In the 1918 event Frank James Marshall, playing Black
against Capablanca, unleashed a complicated counter-attack, later
known as the Marshall Attack, against the Ruy Lopez opening. It is
often said that Marshall had kept this secret for use against
Capablanca since his defeat in their 1909 match; however, Edward
Winter discovered several games between 1910 and 1918 where
Marshall passed up opportunities to use the Marshall Attack against
Capablanca; and an 1893 game that used a similar line. This gambit
is so complex that Garry Kasparov used to avoid it, and Marshall
had the advantage of using a prepared variation. Nevertheless,
Capablanca found a way through the complications and won.
Capablanca was challenged to a match in 1919 by Borislav Kostic,
who had come through the 1918 tournament undefeated to take second
place. The match was to go to the first player to win eight games,
but Kostic resigned the match after losing five straight games.
Capablanca considered that he was at his strongest around this
time.
++2.A5 World Champion
The Hastings Victory tournament of 1919 was the first international
competition on Allied soil since 1914. The field was not strong,
and Capablanca won with 10.5 points out of 11, one point ahead of
Kostic.
In January 1920, Emanuel Lasker and Capablanca signed an agreement
to play a World Championship match in 1921, noting that Capablanca
was not free to play in 1920. Because of the delay, Lasker insisted
that if he resigned the title, then Capablanca should become World
Champion. Lasker had previously included in his agreement before
World War I to play Akiba Rubinstein for the title a similar clause
that if he resigned the title, it should become Rubinstein's.
Lasker then resigned the title to Capablanca on June 27, 1920,
saying, "You have earned the title not by the formality of a
challenge, but by your brilliant mastery." When Cuban enthusiasts
raised $20,000 to fund the match provided it was played in Havana,
Lasker agreed in August 1920 to play there, but insisted that he
was the challenger as Capablanca was now the champion. Capablanca
signed an agreement that accepted this point, and soon afterwards
published a letter confirming it.
The match was played in March-April 1921; Lasker resigned it after
just fourteen games, having lost four games and won none. Reuben
Fine and Harry Golombek attributed the one-sided result to Lasker's
being in mysteriously poor form. Fred Reinfeld mentioned
speculations that Havana's humid climate weakened Lasker and that
he was depressed about the outcome of World War I, especially as he
had lost his life savings. On the other hand, Vladimir Kramnik
thought that Lasker played quite well and the match was an "even
and fascinating fight" until Lasker blundered in the last game.
Kramnik explained that Capablanca was twenty years younger, a
slightly stronger player, and had more recent competitive practice.
Edward Winter, after a lengthy summary of the facts, concludes
that, "The press was dismissive of Lasker's wish to confer the
title on Capablanca, even questioning the legality of such an
initiative, and in 1921 it regarded the Cuban as having become
world champion by dint of defeating Lasker over the board."
Reference works invariably give Capablanca's reign as titleholder
as beginning in 1921, not 1920. The only challenger besides
Capablanca to win the title without losing a game is Kramnik, in
the Classical World Chess Championship 2000 against Garry Kasparov.
The score sheet of Capablanca's defeat by Richard Riti in the New
York 1924 chess tournament, his first loss in eight years
Capablanca won the London tournament of 1922 with 13 points from 15
games with no losses, ahead of Alexander Alekhine on 11.5, Milan
Vidmar (11), and Akiba Rubinstein (10.5). During this event,
Capablanca proposed the "London Rules" to regulate future World
Championship negotiations: the first player to win six games would
win the match; playing sessions would be limited to 5 hours; the
time limit would be 40 moves in 2.5 hours; the champion must defend
his title within one year of receiving a challenge from a
recognized master; the champion would decide the date of the match;
the champion was not obliged to accept a challenge for a purse of
less than US $10,000 (worth about $349,000 in 2006 terms; 20% of
the purse was to be paid to the title holder and the remainder
divided, 60% going to the winner of the match, and 40% to the
loser; the highest purse bid must be accepted. Alekhine, Efim
Bogoljubow, Giza Maroczy, Richard Reti, Rubinstein, Tartakower and
Vidmar promptly signed them. Between 1921 and 1923 Alekhine,
Rubinstein and Nimzowitsch all challenged Capablanca, but only
Alekhine could raise the money, in 1927.
In 1922, Capablanca also gave a simultaneous exhibition in
Cleveland against 103 opponents, the largest in history up to that
time, winning 102 and drawing one - setting a record for the best
winning percentage ever in a large simultaneous exhibition.
After beginning with four draws, followed by a loss, Capablanca
placed second at the New York 1924 chess tournament with the score
of 14/20 (+10 -1 =9), 1.5 points behind Emanuel Lasker, and 2 ahead
of third-placed Alekhine. Capablanca's defeat at the hands of
Richard Reti in the fifth round was his first in serious
competition in eight years. He made another bad start at the Moscow
1925 chess tournament, and could only fight back to third place,
two points behind Bogoljubow and .5 point behind Emanuel Lasker.
Capablanca won at Lake Hopatcong, 1926 with 6 points out of 8,
ahead of Abraham Kupchik (5) and Maroczy (4.5).
A group of Argentinian businessmen, backed by a guarantee from the
president of Argentina, promised the funds for a World Championship
match between Capablanca and Alekhine in 1927. Since Nimzowitsch
had challenged before Alekhine, Capablanca gave Nimzowitsch until
January 1, 1927 to deposit a forfeit in order arrange a match. When
this did not materialize, a
Capablanca-Alekhine match was agreed, to begin in September 1927.
In the New York 1927 chess tournament, played from February 19 to
March 23, 1927, six of the world's strongest masters played a
quadruple round robin, with the others being Alekhine, Rudolf
Spielmann, Milan Vidmar, Nimzowitsch and Marshall, with Bogoljubow
and Emanuel Lasker not present. Before the tournament, Capablanca
wrote that he had "more experience but less power" than in 1911,
that he had peaked in 1919 and that some of his competitors had
become stronger in the meantime; however, he finished undefeated,
winning the mini-matches with each of his rivals, 2.5 points ahead
of second-place Alekhine, and won the "best game" prize for a win
over
Spielmann.
In December 1921, shortly after becoming World Champion, Capablanca
married Gloria Simoni Betancourt. They had a son, Jose Raul Jr., in
1923 and a daughter, Gloria, in 1925. According to Capablanca's
second wife, Olga, his first marriage broke down fairly soon, and
he and Gloria had affairs. Both his parents died during his reign,
his father in 1923 and mother in 1926.
++2.A6 Losing the title
Alekhine vs. Capablanca
Since Capablanca had won the New York 1927 chess tournament
overwhelmingly and had never lost a game to Alekhine, the Cuban was
regarded by most pundits as the clear favorite in their World Chess
Championship 1927 match. However, Alekhine won the match, played
from September to November 1927 at Buenos Aires, by 6 wins, 3
losses, and 25 draws - the longest formal World Championship match
until the contest in 1984-85 between Anatoly Karpov and Garry
Kasparov. Alekhine's victory surprised almost the entire chess
world. After Capablanca's death, Alekhine expressed surprise at his
own victory, since in 1927 he had not thought he was superior to
Capablanca, and he suggested that Capablanca had been over-
confident. Capablanca entered the match with no technical or
physical
preparation, while Alekhine got himself into good physical
condition, and had thoroughly studied Capablanca's play. According
to Kasparov, Alekhine's research uncovered many small inaccuracies,
which occurred because Capablanca was unwilling to concentrate
intensely. Vladimir Kramnik commented that this was the first
contest in which Capablanca had no easy wins. Ludek Pachman
suggested that Capablanca, who was unused to losing games or to any
other type of setback, became depressed over his unnecessary loss
of the eleventh game, a long, gruelling endgame, featuring errors
by both
players.
Immediately after winning the match, Alekhine announced that he was
willing to give Capablanca a return match, on the same terms that
Capablanca had required as champion - the challenger must provide
a stake of US $10,000, of which more than half would go to the
defending champion even if he was defeated. Alekhine had challenged
Capablanca in the early 1920s but Alekhine could not raise the
money until 1927. After Capablanca's death, Alekhine wrote that
Capablanca's demand for a $10,000 stake was an attempt to avoid
challenges. Negotiations dragged on for several years, often
breaking down when agreement seemed in sight. Their relationship
became bitter, and Alekhine demanded much higher appearance fees
for tournaments in which Capablanca also played.
++2.A7 Post-championship and partial retirement
Giving a simultaneous display on thirty boards in Berlin, June 1929
After losing the World Championship in late 1927, Capablanca played
more often in tournaments, hoping to strengthen his claim for a
rematch. From 1928 through 1931, he won six first prizes, also
finishing second twice and one joint second. His competitors
included rising stars such as Max Euwe and Isaac Kashdan, as well
as players who had been established in the 1920s, but Capablanca
and Alekhine never played in the same tournament during this
period, and would next meet only at the Nottingham, 1936
tournament, after Alekhine had lost the world title to Euwe the
preceding year. In late 1931, Capablanca also won a match (+2 -0
=8) against Euwe, whom Chessmetrics ranks sixth in the world at the
time.
Despite these excellent results, Capablanca's play showed signs of
decline: his play slowed from the speed of his youth, with
occasional time trouble; although he continued to produce many
superb games, he also made some gross
blunders. Chessmetrics nonetheless ranks Capablanca as the second
strongest player in the world (after Alekhine) from his loss of the
title through to autumn 1932, except for a brief appearance in the
top place.
After winning an event at New York in 1931, he withdrew from
serious chess, perhaps disheartened by his inability to secure a
return match against Alekhine, and played only less serious games
at the Manhattan Chess Club and simultaneous displays. On 6
December 1933, Capablanca won all 9 of his games in one of the
club's weekly rapid chess tournaments, finishing 2 points ahead of
Samuel Reshevsky, Reuben Fine and Milton Hanauer.
++2.A8 Return to competitive chess
At first Capablanca did not divorce his first wife, as he had not
intended to re-marry. Olga, Capablanca's second wife, wrote that
she met him in the late spring of 1934; by late October the pair
were deeply in love, and Capablanca recovered his ambition to prove
he was the world's best player. In 1938 he divorced his first wife
and then married Olga on October 20, 1938, about a month before the
AVRO tournament.
Starting his comeback at the Hastings tournament of 1934-35,
Capablanca finished fourth, although coming ahead of Mikhail
Botvinnik and Andor Lilienthal. He placed second by .5 point in the
Margate tournaments of 1935 and 1936. At Moscow in 1935 Capablanca
finished fourth, 1 point behind the joint winners, while Emanuel
Lasker's third place at the age of 66 was hailed as "a biological
miracle." The following year, Capablanca won an even stronger
tournament in Moscow, one point ahead of Botvinnik and 3.5 ahead of
Salo Flohr, who took third place; A month later, he shared first
place with Botvinnik at Nottingham, with a score of (+5 -1 =8),
losing only to Flohr; Alekhine placed sixth, only one point behind
the joint winners. These tournaments of 1936 were the last two that
Lasker played, and the only ones in which Capablanca finished ahead
of Lasker, now 67. During these triumphs Capablanca began to suffer
symptoms of high blood pressure. He tied for second place at
Semmering in 1937, then could only finish seventh of the eight
players at the 1938 AVRO tournament, an ilite contest designed to
select a challenger for Alekhine's world title. Capablanca's high
blood pressure was not correctly diagnosed and treated until after
the AVRO tournament, and caused him to lose his train of thought
towards the end of playing sessions.
After winning at Paris in 1938 and placing second in a slightly
stronger tournament at Margate in 1939, Capablanca played for Cuba
in the 8th Chess Olympiad, held in Buenos Aires, and won the gold
medal for the best performance on the top board. While Capablanca
and Alekhine were both representing their countries in Buenos
Aires, Capablanca made a final attempt to arrange a World
Championship match. Alekhine declined, saying he was obliged to be
available to defend his adopted homeland, France, as World War II
had just broken out. Alekhine also sat out the match when the teams
from Cuba and France faced each other in the Buenos Aires Olympiad,
thus declining an opportunity to play Capablanca once more.
++2.A9 Final years
On March 7, 1942, Capablanca was observing a skittles game and
chatting with friends at the Manhattan Chess Club in New York City,
when he asked for help removing his coat, and collapsed shortly
afterwards. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died at
6 a.m. the next morning. The cause of death was given as "a
cerebral haemorrhage provoked by hypertension". Capablanca's great
rival Emanuel Lasker had died in the same hospital only a year
earlier. Capablanca's body was given a public funeral in Havana's
Colon Cemetery on March 15, 1942.
His bitter rival Alekhine wrote in a tribute to Capablanca:
... Capablanca was snatched from the chess world much too soon.
With his death, we have lost a very great chess genius whose like
we shall never see again.
Emanuel Lasker once said: "I have known many chess players, but
only one chess genius: Capablanca."
An annual Capablanca Memorial tournament has been held in Cuba,
most often in Havana, since 1962.
++2.B Assessment
++2.B1 Playing strength and style
As an adult, Capablanca lost only 34 serious games. He was
undefeated from February 10, 1916, when he lost to Oscar Chajes in
the New York 1916 tournament, to March 21, 1924, when he lost to
Richard Reti in the New York International tournament. During this
streak, which included his 1921 World Championship match against
Lasker, Capablanca played 63 games, winning 40 and drawing 23. In
fact, only Marshall, Lasker, Alekhine and Rudolf Spielmann won two
or more serious games from the mature Capablanca, though in each
case, their overall lifetime scores were minus (Capablanca beat
Marshall +20 -2 =28, Lasker +6 -2 =16, Alekhine +9 -7 =33), except
for Spielmann who was level (+2 -2
=8). Of top players, only Keres had a narrow plus score against him
(+1 -0 =5). Keres' win was at the AVRO 1938 chess tournament,
during which tournament Capablanca turned 50, while Keres was 22.
Statistical ranking systems place Capablanca high among the
greatest players of all time. Nathan Divinsky and Raymond Keene's
book Warriors of the Mind (1989) ranks him fifth, behind Garry
Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Botvinnik - and
immediately ahead of Emanuel Lasker. In his 1978 book The Rating of
Chessplayers, Past and Present, Arpad Elo gave retrospective
ratings to players based on their performance over the best five-
year span of their career. He concluded that Capablanca was the
strongest of those surveyed, with Lasker and Botvinnik sharing
second place. Chessmetrics (2006) is rather sensitive to the length
of the periods being compared, and ranks Capablanca between third
and fourth strongest of all time for peak periods ranging in length
from one to fifteen years. Its author, the statistician Jeff Sonas,
concluded that Capablanca had more years in the top three than
anyone except Lasker, Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov - although
Alexander Alekhine had more years in the top two positions. A 2006
study claimed to show that Capablanca was the most accurate of all
the World Champions when compared with computer analysis of World
Championship match games. However, this analysis was criticized for
using a second-rank chess program, Crafty, modified to limit its
calculations to six moves by each side, and for favoring players
whose style matched that of the program.
Boris Spassky, World Champion from 1969 to 1972, considered
Capablanca the best player of all time. Bobby Fischer, who held the
title from 1972 to 1975, admired Capablanca's "light touch" and
ability to see the right move very quickly. Fischer reported that
in the 1950s, older members of the Manhattan Chess Club spoke of
Capablanca's performances with awe.
Capablanca excelled in simple positions and endgames, and his
positional judgment was outstanding, so much so that most attempts
to attack him came to grief without any apparent defensive efforts
on his part. However, he could play great tactical chess when
necessary - most famously in the 1918 Manhattan Chess Club
Championship tournament (in New York) where Marshall sprang a
deeply-analyzed prepared variation on him, which he refuted while
playing under the normal time limit (although ways have since been
found to strengthen the Marshall Attack). He was also capable of
using aggressive tactical play to drive home a positional
advantage, provided he considered it safe and the most efficient
way to win, for example against Spielmann in the 1927 New York
tournament.
++2.B2 Influence on the game
Capablanca founded no school per se, but his style was very
influential in the games of two world champions: Fischer and
Anatoly Karpov. Botvinnik also wrote how much he learned from
Capablanca, and pointed out that Alekhine had received much
schooling from him in positional play, before their fight for the
world title made them bitter enemies.
As a chess writer, Capablanca did not present large amounts of
detailed analysis, instead focusing on the critical moments in a
game. His writing style was plain and easy to understand. Botvinnik
regarded Capablanca's book Chess Fundamentals as the best chess
book ever written. Capablanca in a lecture and in his book A Primer
of Chess pointed out that while the bishop was usually stronger
than the knight, queen and knight was usually better than queen and
bishop, especially in endings -- the bishop merely mimics the
queen's diagonal move, while the knight can immediately reach
squares the queen cannot. Research is divided over Capablanca's
conclusion: in 2007, Glenn Flear found little difference, while in
1999, Larry Kaufman, analysing a large database of games, concluded
that results very slightly favored queen plus knight. John Watson
wrote in 1998 that an unusually large proportion of queen and
knight versus queen and bishop endings are drawn, and that most
decisive games are characterized by the winning side having one or
more obvious advantages in that specific game.
++2.B3 Personality
Early in his chess career, Capablanca had received some criticism,
mainly in Britain, for the allegedly conceited description of his
accomplishments in his first book, My Chess Career. He therefore
took the unprecedented step of including virtually all of his
tournament and match defeats up to that time in Chess Fundamentals,
together with an instructive group of his victories. Nevertheless
his preface to the 1934 edition of Chess Fundamentals is confident
that the "reader may therefore go over the contents of the book
with the assurance that there is in it everything he needs."
However Julius du Mont wrote that he knew Capablanca well and could
vouch that he was not conceited. In du Mont's opinion critics
should understand the difference between the merely gifted and the
towering genius of Capablanca, and the contrast between the British
tendency towards false modesty and the Latin and American tendency
to say "I played this game as well as it could be played" if he
honestly thought that it was correct. Fischer also admired this
frankness. Du Mont also said that Capablanca was rather sensitive
to
criticism, and chess historian Edward Winter documented a number of
examples of self-criticism in My Chess Career.
Despite his achievements Capablanca appeared more interested in
baseball than in chess, which he described as "not a difficult game
to learn and it is an enjoyable game to play." His second wife,
Olga, thought he resented the way in which chess had dominated his
life, and wished he could have studied music or medicine.
++2.C Capablanca chess
In an interview in 1925 Capablanca denied reports that he thought
chess had already currently reached its limit because it was easy
for top players to obtain a draw. However he was concerned that the
accelerating development of chess technique and opening knowledge
might cause such stagnation in 50 years' time. Hence he suggested
the adoption of a 10x8 board with 2 extra pieces per side:
* Chancellor - a chancellor that moves as both a rook and a
knight;
* Archbishop - an archbishop that moves as both a bishop and
a knight. This piece would be able to deliver checkmate on
its own, which none of the conventional pieces can do.
He thought this would prevent technical knowledge from becoming
such a dominant factor, at least for a few centuries.
Capablanca and Edward Lasker experimented with 10x10 and 10x8
boards, using the same expanded set of pieces. They preferred the
8-rank version as it encouraged combat to start earlier, and their
games typically lasted 20 to 25 moves. Contrary to the claims of
some critics, Capablanca proposed this variant while he was world
champion, not as sour grapes after losing his title.
Similar 10x8 variants had previously been described in 1617 by
Pietro Carrera and in 1874 by Henry Bird, differing only in how the
new pieces were placed in each side's back row. Subsequent variants
inspired by Capablanca's experimentation have been proposed,
including Grand chess (which uses a 10x10 board and has pawns on
the third rank), Gothic Chess (which used to be patented), and
Embassy Chess (the Grand chess setup on a 10x8 board).
++2.D Notable chess games
* Jose Raul Capablanca vs L. Molina, Buenos Aires 1911,
Queen's Gambit Declined: Modern. Knight Defense (D52), 1-0
An impressive Greco's sacrifice along with deceptive
simplicity and effortless endgame.
* Jose Raul Capablanca vs Frank James Marshall, ch Manhattan
CC, New York 1918, Spanish Game: Marshall Attack. Original
Marshall Attack (C89), 1-0 One of the most famous games of
Capablanca. It is on record that Marshall unveiled this
attack after careful preparation. Perfect example of
defending against an extremely aggressive attack.
* Jose Raul Capablanca vs Professor Marc Fonaroff, New York
1918, Spanish Game: Berlin Defense. Hedgehog Variation
(C62), 1-0 A freaky ending with amazing accuracy.
* Emanuel Lasker vs Jose Raul Capablanca, Lasker-Capablanca
World Championship Match, Havana 1921. Queen's Gambit
Declined: Orthodox Defense. Rubinstein Variation (D61), 0-1
A strategic masterpiece and instructive endgame which
should be on everybody's list. Capablanca out-playing the
great Lasker in the endgame with simple and perfect
maneuvering of pieces. A must-see game for chess endgame
fans.
* Jose Raul Capablanca vs Savielly Tartakower, New York 1924,
Dutch Defense, Horwitz Variation: General (A80), 1-0 A
brilliant endgame from the natural genius. Dubbed as "Rook
Before you Leap". Demonstrates the exceptional endgame
skills of Capablanca with flawless artistry.
* Jose Raul Capablanca vs Rudolf Spielmann, New York 1927,
Queen's Gambit Declined: Barmen Variation (D37), 1-0 A
remarkable tactical game which earned the "Brilliancy
Price" for Capablanca. This is a showcase of Capablanca's
tactical skills complementing positional supremacy.
* Jose Raul Capablanca vs Andor Lilienthal, Moscow 1936, Reti
Opening: Anglo-Slav. Bogoljubow Variation (A12), 1-0 A
perfect endgame and pawn play utilizing the space against
material advantage.
* Ilia Abramovich Kan vs Jose Raul Capablanca, Moscow 1936,
Vienna Game: Anderssen Defense (C25), 0-1 Another
demonstration of Caplabanca's endgame supremacy. This game
seems a drawn game, but witness how Capablanca ekes out a
win using his positional mastery.
++2.E Writings
* Havana 1913, by Jose Raul Capablanca. This is the only
tournament book he wrote. It was originally published in
Spanish in 1913 in Havana. Edward Winter translated it into
English, and it appeared as a British Chess Magazine
reprint, Quarterly #18, in 1976.
* A Primer of Chess by Jose Raul Capablanca (preface by
Benjamin Anderson). Originally published in 1935.
Republished in 2002 by Harvest Books, ISBN 0156028077.
* Chess Fundamentals by Jose Raul Capablanca (Originally
published in 1921. Republished by Everyman Chess, 1994,
ISBN 1857440730. Revised and updated by Nick de Firmian in
2006, ISBN 0-8129-3681-7.)
* My Chess Career by Jose Raul Capablanca (Originally
published by Macmillan in 1921. Republished by Dover in
1966. Republished by Hardinge Simpole Limited, 2003, ISBN
1843820919.)
* The World's Championship Chess Match between Jose Raul
Capablanca and Dr. Emanuel Lasker, with an introduction,
the scores of all the games annotated by the champion,
together with statistical matter and the biographies of the
two masters, 1921 by Jose Raul Capablanca. (Republished in
1977 by Dover, together with a book on the 1927 match with
annotations by Frederick Yates and William Winter, as
World's Championship Matches, 1921 and 1927 by Jose Raul
Capablanca. ISBN 0486231895.)
* Last Lectures by Jose Raul Capablanca (Simon and Schuster,
January 1966, ASIN B0007DZW6W)
++2.F Tournament results
The following table gives Capablanca's placings and scores in
tournaments.
1910 New York State
1st 20/20 +20 -0 =0.
1911 New York
2nd 9.5/12 +8 -1 =3.
1911 San Sebastian (Spain)
1st 9.5/14 +6 -1 =7 Ahead of Akiba Rubinstein and Milan
Vidmar (9), Frank James Marshall (8.5) and 11 other world-
class players. His only loss was to Rubinstein, and his win
against Ossip Bernstein was awarded the brilliancy prize.
1913 New York
1st 11/13 +10 -1 =2 Ahead of Marshall (10.5), Charles Jaffe
(9.5) and Dawid Janowski (9).
1913 Havana
2nd 10/14 +8 -2 =4 Behind Marshall (10.5); ahead of
Janowski (9) and five others.
1913 New York
1st 13/13 +13 -0 =0 Ahead of Oldrich Duras.
1914 St. Petersburg
2nd 13/18 +10 -2 =6 Behind Emanuel Lasker (13.5); ahead of
Alexander Alekhine (10), Siegbert Tarrasch (8.5) and
Marshall (8). This tournament had an unusual structure:
there was a preliminary tournament in which eleven players
played each other player once; the top five players then
played a separate final tournament in which each player who
made the "cut" played the other finalists twice; but their
scores from the preliminary tournament were carried
forward. Even the preliminary tournament would now be
considered a "super-tournament". Capablanca "won" the
preliminary tournament by 1= points without losing a game,
but Lasker achieved a plus score against all his opponents
in the final tournament and finished with a combined score
= point ahead of Capablanca's.
1915 New York
1st 13/14 +12 -0 =2 Ahead of Marshall (12) and six others.
1916 New York
1st 14/17 +12 -1 =4 Ahead of Janowski (11) and 11 others.
The structure was similar to that of St. Petersburg 1914.
1918 New York
1st 10.5/12 +9 -0 =3 Ahead of Boris Kostic (9), Marshall
(7), and four others.
1919 Hastings
1st 10.5/11 +10 -0 =1 Ahead of Kostic (9.5), Sir George
Thomas (7), Frederick Yates (7) and eight others.
1922 London
1st 13/15 +11 -0 =4 Ahead of Alekhine (11.5), Vidmar (11),
Rubinstein (10.5), Efim Bogoljubow (9), and 11 other
players, mostly very strong.
1924 New York
2nd 14.5/20 +10 -1 =9 Behind Lasker (16); ahead of Alekhine
(12), Marshall (11), Richard Riti (10.5) and six others,
mostly very strong.
1925 Moscow
3rd 13.5/20 +9 -2 =9 Behind Bogojubow (15.5) and Lasker
(14); ahead of Marshall (12.5) and a mixture of strong
international players and rising Soviet players.
1926 Lake Hopatcong
1st 6/8 +4 -0 =4 Ahead of Abraham Kupchik (5), Giza Maroczy
(4.5), Marshall (3) and Edward Lasker (1.5).
1927 New York
1st 14/20 +8 -0 =12 Ahead of Alekhine (11.5), Aron
Nimzowitsch (10.5), Vidmar (10), Rudolf Spielmann (8) and
Marshall (6).
1928 Berlin
1st 8.5/12 +5 -0 =7 Ahead of Nimzowitsch (7), Spielmann
(6.5) and four other very strong players.
1928 Bad Kissingen
2nd 7/11 +4 -1 =6 Behind Bogojubow (8); ahead of Max Euwe
(6.5), Rubinstein (6.5), Nimzowitsch (6) and seven other
strong masters.
1928 Budapest
1st 7/9 +5 -0 =4 Ahead of Marshall (6), Hans Kmoch (5),
Spielmann (5) and six others.
1929 Ramsgate
1st 5.5/7 +4 -0 =3 Ahead of Vera Menchik (5), Rubinstein
(5), and four others.
1929 Carlsbad
2nd= 14.5/21 +10 -2 =9 Behind Nimzowitsch (15); tied with
Spielmann; ahead of Rubinstein (13.5) and 18 others, mostly
very strong.
1929 Budapest
1st 10.5/13 +8 -0 =5 Ahead of Rubinstein (9.5), Savielly
Tartakower (8) and 11 others.
1929 Barcelona
1st 13.5/14 +13 -0 =1 Ahead of Tartakower (11.5) and 13
others.
1929-30 Hastings
1st 6.5/9 +4 -0 =5.
1930-31 Hastings
2nd 6.5/9 +5 -1 =3 Behind Euwe (7); ahead of eight others.
1931 New York
1st 10/11 +9 -0 =2 Ahead of Isaac Kashdan (8.5) and 10
others.
1934-35 Hastings
4th 5.5/9 +4 -2 =3 Behind Thomas, (6.5), Euwe (6.5) and
Salo Flohr (6.5); ahead Mikhail Botvinnik (5), Andor
Lilienthal (5) and four others.
1935 Moscow
4th 12/19 +7 -2 =10 Behind Botvinnik (13), Flohr (13) and
Lasker (12.5); ahead of Spielmann (11) and 15 others,
mainly Soviet players.
1935 Margate
2nd 7/9 +6 -1 =2 Behind Samuel Reshevsky (7.5); ahead of
eight others.
1936 Margate
2nd 7/9 +5 -0 =4 Behind Flohr (7.5); ahead of Gideon
Stehlberg and eight others.
1936 Moscow
1st 13/18 +8 -0 =10 Ahead of Botvinnik (12), Flohr (9.5),
Lilienthal (9), Viacheslav Ragozin (8.5), Lasker (8) and
four others.
1936 Nottingham
1st= 10/14 +7 -1 =6 Tied with Botvinnik; ahead of Euwe
(9.5), Reuben Fine (9.5), Reshevsky (9.5), Alekhine (9),
Flohr (8.5), Lasker (8.5) and seven other strong opponents.
1937 Semmering
3rd= 7.5/14 +2 -1 =11 Behind Paul Keres (9), Fine (8); tied
with Reshevsky; ahead of Flohr (7), Erich Eliskases (6),
Ragozin (6) and Vladimir Petrov (5).
1938 Paris
1st= 8/10 +6 -0 =4 Ahead of Nicolas Rossolimo (7.5) and
four others.
1938 AVRO tournament, at ten cities in the Netherlands
7th 6/14 +2 -4 =8 Behind Keres (8.5), Fine (8.5), Botvinnik
(7.5), Alekhine (7), Euwe (7) and Reshevsky (7); ahead of
Flohr (4.5).
1939 Margate
2nd= 6.5/9 +4 -0 =5 Behind Keres (7.5); tied with Flohr;
ahead of seven others.
At the 1939 Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires, Capablanca took the
medal for best performance on a country's first board.
++2.G Match results
Here are Capablanca's results in matches.
1901 Juan Corzo
Won Havana 7-6 +4 -3 =6 For the championship of Cuba; Corzo
was the reigning champion.
1909 Frank James Marshall
Won New York 15-8 +8 -1 =14.
1919 Boris Kostic
Won USA 5-0 +5 -0 =0.
1921 Emanuel Lasker
Won Havana 9-5 +4 -0 =10 For the World Chess Championship.
1927 Alexander Alekhine
Lost Buenos Aires 15.5-18.5 +3 -6 =25 For the World Chess
Championship.
1931 Max Euwe
Won Netherlands 6-4 +2 -0 =8 Euwe became World Champion
1935-1937.
++3. Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein - Jose Raul Capablanca
San Sebastian 1911, Round 12
White: Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein
Black: Jose Raul Capablanca
Result: 1-0
eco: D33 - Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch Defense, Schlecter
Variation
Notes by R.J. Macdonald
1. d4 d5
2. Nf3 c5
3. c4 e6
(Through a somewhat odd sequence of moves we have arrived at the
tarrasch Defense to the Queen's Gambit Declined. A more common
sequence of moves is 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5.)
4. cxd5 exd5
5. Nc3 Nc6
6. g3
(The Schlecter Variation. White plans to fianchetto on the kingside
in hypermodern style, using his bishop on g2 to exert pressure on
the center.)
6. ... Be6
7. Bg2 Be7
(7. ... cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 9. Nxe6 (9. Be3 Qb6 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. Bxc5
Qxc5 12. 0-0 Nf6 13. Rc1 Qe7 14. e4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 0-0 16. Qd6 Nxe4
17. Qxe7 Nxe7 18. Bxe4 Nd5 19. Rfd1 Rad8 20. a3 Rd7 21. Rc2 Rfd8
22. Rdc1 Kf7 23. Kf1 Nf6, as in the game W. Pajeken (2317) - H.
Schulz (2013), Hamburg 2009, 1-0) 9. ... fxe6 10. 0-0 Nf6 11. e4 d4
12. e5 Nd7 13. Ne4 Qb6 14. Qg4 Ndxe5 15. Qxg7 0-0-0 16. Nxc5 Qxc5
17. Bf4 Rhg8 18. Qh6 Qe7 19. Rac1 Kb8 20. Rfe1- 1-0, as in the game
P. Svidler (2672) - V. Haertel, Darmstadt 2000.)
8. 0-0 Rc8!?
(8. ... cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bf6 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. Qb3 Qd7 12. e4 d4 13.
Rd1 Nge7 14. Bh3 Na5 15. Qb5 Qc6 16. Bxe6 Kf8 17. Bd5 Qxb5 18. Nxb5
Nxd5 19. exd5 Rd8 20. Nxd4 Kf7 21. Ne6 Rd7 22. Nc5 Rc7 23. Ne4 - A.
Hodges - A. Kreymbourg, New York 1911, 1/2-1/2); or 8. ... Nf6 9.
dxc5 Bxc5 10. Qb3, with a slight edge for white.)
9. dxc5
(9. Be3 b6 gives white a slight advantage.)
9. ... Bxc5
(Black has a very active position.)
10. Ng5
(10. Bg5 Nge7 offers white a slight advantage.)
10. ... Nf6
(The position is now even.)
11. Nxe6 fxe6
(White has the pair of bishops.)
12. Bh3
(White threatens to win material: Bh3xe6.)
12. ... Qe7
13. Bg5 0-0
(13. ... Rd8 14. e4 dxe4 15. Qa4 leads to equality.)
14. Bxf6
(14. Nxd5!? exd5 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. Qxd5+ Kg7 17. Bxc8 Rxc8 18. Rac1
gives white a moderate advantage.)
14. ... Qxf6
(The position is now even. 14. ... Rxf6?? 15. Nxd5 (Deflection: e6)
Qf7 16. Nxf6+ gxf6 17. Qa4 is decisive for white. Instead 14. ...
gxf6 15. Nxd5 exd5 16. Qxd5+ Kg7 17. Bxc8 Rxc8 18. Rac1 would give
white a moderate advantage.)
15. Nxd5
(Opposite coloured bishops appear.)
15. ...Qh6
(Better seems 15. ... Bxf2+!?, which is worth consideration. After
16. Kg2 Qe5 the position is even.)
16. Kg2
(This gives white a moderate advantage.)
16. ... Rcd8
(16. ... g5 17. Rc1 b6 18. b4 is decisive for white.)
17. Qc1 exd5
18. Qxc5 Qd2
(18. ... Qf6 19. Rae1 gives white a moderate advantage.)
19. Qb5
(19. Bg4 Qxb2 20. Rab1 Qxa2 21. Be6+ Kh8 22. Rxb7 Qc4 23. Qxc4 dxc4
with a decisive advantage for white.)
19. ... Nd4
(Now white has a moderate advantage.)
20. Qd3
(20. Qa4 Nxe2 (20. ... Qxb2? doesn't lead to the expected results:
21. Rab1 b5 22. Rxb2 bxa4 23. Rd1 is decisive for white) 21. Bg4
Qxb2 gives white a moderate edge.)
20. ... Qxd3
(20. ... Qxb2?? (the pawn contains a lethal dose of poison) 21.
Rab1 Qxa2 22. Qxd4 with a decisive advantage for white.)
21. exd3 Rfe8
(21. ... Rf6 22. Rac1 Rc6 23. f4 with a moderate advantage for
white.)
22. Bg4 Rd6
(22. ... Kf7 23. Rac1 gives white a moderate advantage.)
23. Rfe1 Rxe1
24. Rxe1 Rb6
(24. ... Kf7 25. Bc8 Rb6 26. b3 and white still has a moderate
advantage.)
25. Re5
(This should be decisive for white.)
25. ... Rxb2
26. Rxd5 Nc6
27. Be6+
(27. Bf3 Rxa2 28. Rb5 Rd2 leaves white moderately well off.)
27. ... Kf8
28. Rf5+ Ke8
29. Bf7+ Kd7
30. Bc4
(Better is 30. Bb3 Re2 31. h4 with a moderate advantage for white.)
Key Move Diagram:
Position after white's 30th move.
30. ... a6?
(Better is 30. ... Kd6, but white still has a moderate advantage.)
31. Rf7+
(This gives white a decisive advantage.)
31. ... Kd6
(31. ... Ke8 32. Rxg7 Ne5 33. Rxh7 would be decisive for white.)
32. Rxg7 b5
(32. ... h5 33. Rg6+ Kc7 34. Rg5 gives white a decisive advantage.)
33. Bg8 a5
(33. ... Nb4 34. Rxh7 Nxd3 35. Rh6+ Ke7 36. Re6+ Kf8 37. Bh7 should
be decisive for white.)
34. Rxh7 a4
(34. ... Nb4 is the last straw: 35. Rh5 Nxa2 36. Bxa2 Rxa2 37. Rxb5
Kc6 is decisive for white.)
35. h4 b4
(35. ... Ne7 doesn't do any good: 36. Rh6+ Kc7 37. Bf7 should win
for white.)
36. Rh6+
(Even better is 36. h5, after which white can already relax: 36.
... b3 37. axb3 a3 should win for white.)
36. ... Kc5
(36. ... Kc7 cannot undo what has already been done: 37. h5 b3 38.
Rh7+ Kb6 39. Bxb3 Rxb3 40. axb3 axb3 41. h6 is decisive for white.)
37. Rh5+
(Better yet is 37. h5, and White wins after 37. ... b3 38. axb3 a3
39. d4+ Kb6 with a decisive edge.)
37. ... Kb6
38. Bd5
(Better is 38. Rg5, making it even easier for White: 38. ... b3 39.
axb3 and white should win.)
Key Move Diagram:
Position after white's 38th move.
38. ... b3??
(Better is 38. ... Rxa2! the only rescuing move: 39. Bc4 Rc2 40.
Rb5+ Ka7 with a moderate advantage for white.)
39. axb3
(This is decisive for white.)
39. ... a3
(39. ... Rxb3 does not solve anything after 40. Rh6 Rc3 41. h5.)
40. Bxc6 Rxb3
(40. ... a2 otherwise it's curtains at once: 41. Rb5+ Kxc6 is still
decisive for white.)
41. Bd5 a2
42. Rh6+
(Black resigned. It may appear as if black is about to promote the
pawn, but this is illusory. After any king move for black on move
42, white could play 43. Bxb3 a1-Q, and white will win eventually,
but there is better. In the final position, if the black rook
moves, white gives up the bishop for the pawn, winning. Black will
not comply so readily, so white must find a way to get his rook to
the a-file, when the black pawn will fall. The black king is in
check, and has 5 replies, white wins in all 5 as follows: (a). If
42. ... Ka7 43. Rh8, so if black promotes the pawn, 43. ... a1-Q
44. Ra8+ wins. If instead, 43. ... Rb8, blocking the white rook
from going to a8, then 44. Rh7+, and Bxa2 next move wins. (b). If
42. ... Ka5 43. Rh8, so if black promotes the pawn, 43. ... a1-Q
44. Ra8+ wins. (c). If 42. ... Kb5 43. Bc4+ Kb4 44. Ra6 Ra3 45.
Rxa3 Kxa3 46. Bxa2 wins. (d). If either 42. ... Kc7 or Kc5 43. Ra6
wins. - Paul Benson.)
1-0
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