Morphy,Paul
LeCarpentier,C
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
New Orleans 1849
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 Black starts a
series of exchanges, neglects to develop
his pieces, and creates pathways to his
King.
Morphy's two Bishops take advantage of
the mistakes. Morphy has given odds of
a Rook. exd4 4.Bc4 Bb4+ 5.c3 dxc3
6.0-0 Morphy's two Bishops win the
game for him.
cxb2 7.Bxb2 Bf8 Black has wasted a
number of tempos getting rid of his King
Pawn. 8.e5 The purpose of 8.e-5 is to
open the e-file as quickly as possible.
d6? Black helps out in his own demise.
Morphy develops a piece in anticipation
of the open file. 9.Re1 Never exchange
when you're behind in development and
your King is in the center. dxe5??
A very bad move. 10.Nxe5 Qxd1
The two Bishops come to life and the
end comes quickly. 11.Bxf7+ Ke7?
King to d-8 was the better move.
12.Ng6+ King to d-8 holds the fort.
Black can't capture the Bishop
because... Kxf7?? Do you see the mate
1
in one? 13.Nxh8#
1-0
C40
Morphy,Paul
McConnell,J
New Orleans 1849
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qf6 3.Nc3 c6 4.d4
exd4 5.e5 Qg6 6.Bd3 A spectacular
game that needs almost no annotations.
Qxg2 7.Rg1 Qh3 8.Rg3 Qh5 9.Rg5
Qh3 10.Bf1 Qe6 11.Nxd4 Qe7
There is a one move pause in the action.
12.Ne4 h6 Morphy goes on the
offensive again and the game is over at
move 23. 13.Nf5 Qe6 14.Nfd6+ Bxd6
15.Nxd6+ Kd8 16.Bc4 Qe7 17.Nxf7+
Kc7 18.Qd6+ Qxd6 19.exd6+ Kb6
20.Be3+ c5 Mate in 3 21.Bxc5+ Ka5
22.Rg3 b5 23.Ra3# Not bad for a 12
year old.
1-0
C02
McConnell,J
Morphy,Paul
New Orleans 1850
[Gauthier]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 A game in which Morphy
mates his opponent's Queen.
Pretend you're Morphy, play the Black
pieces. d5 Opening = French Defense
3.e5 Morphy attacks White's d4-e5 Pawn
chain at its base. This is standard chess
strategy. f7-f6? is not as good since it
weakens the King's position.
Morphy's plan is to open the c-file and
gain an advantage on the Queen side.
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
The game's dramatic ending, at move 14,
is the result of play on this file.
c5 Attack 4.c3 Defense Nc6 Attack
5.f4 The entire game revolves around
the play for the d-4 square.
How does Black continue his attack on
the key square? Qb6 Attack 6.Nf3
Defense Bd7 7.a3 White plans to follow-
up with b4. Nh6 8.b4 Morphy can't
allow White to capture with 9.bxc.
This would ruin Morphy's plan of taking
the c-file with his Rook. cxd4 9.cxd4
d-4 is a key square. Both sides have two
pieces paying hommage to d-4. A key
square is the square that the players
defend, support, attack, and occupy for a
strategic advantage.
The location of this square may change
during the course of a game. Rc8
Morphy is playing the Sicilian defense
where the idea is to take the c-file as
early as possible.
Morphy wins the game as a result of play
on this file. 10.Bb2 supporting the key
square Nf5 attacking the key square
11.Qd3 White didn't see that his b4-
Pawn was weak and needed support.
Morphy sees it and captures the weak
Pawn with INITIATIVE giving him an
attack.
Bxb4+ CHECK
Morphy sacrifices the Bishop for an
attack, taking advantage of his Queen
side strength which includes the Rook on
the open file.
12.axb4?? This move loses quickly
because of the mobility of Black's
queenside pieces.
The finale is a three move combination
that starts with the c6-Knight.
Black's centrally posted f5-Knight also
plays an important supporting role. Nxb4
2
Morphy has two Pawns for his Bishop.
13.Qd2 The Rook comes to life. Rc2
14.Qd1? What's the winning move for
Black?
It's a crusher. Ne3 White resigns, his
Queen is attacked and immobile: she's
mated.
Press Escape to close the game window.
F10 for the next game.
0-1
C01
Morphy,Paul
Chamouillet,M\Allies
Paris 1858
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3
Nf6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 c5
8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Bg5 Be6 10.Qd2 Nc6
11.Rad1 Be7 12.Rfe1 a6 13.Qf4 Nh5
14.Qh4 g6 15.g4 Nf6 16.h3 Rc8
17.a3 Re8 Watch and see how Morphy's
Queen Knight become a hero.
Also pay attention to how Black's
kingside falls apart. 18.Ne2 h5?
not a good move
Black is weakening his Kingside. 19.Nf4
Nh7 Now Morphy's Knight exposes the
weakness of the King's soldiers. 20.Nxe6
fxe6 21.Rxe6 Bxg5 22.Rxg6+
the initiative Kf8 23.Qxh5
All the soldiers have disappeared.
See comments to Black's move no. 19.
Rc7 24.Nxg5 Ree7 25.Qh6+ Ke8
Mate in 4 26.Rg8+ Nf8 27.Rxf8+ Kd7
28.Bf5+ Re6 29.Qxe6#
1-0
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
Morphy,Paul
Napoleon de Santos,A
New York 1859 35.Qxe5+ Kd8 36.Qb8#
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1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.b4
Bb6 5.b5 Nd4 6.Nxd4 Bxd4 7.c3
Bb6 8.Bc4 Qe7 9.d4 d6 10.0-0 Be6
11.Bxe6 Qxe6 12.f5 Qd7 13.Qd3 c6
14.Kh1 Nf6 15.Bg5 Bd8 16.Nd2 h6
17.Bh4 Nh7 18.Bg3 Bf6 19.bxc6
bxc6 20.Nc4 Qc7 21.h3 Nf8
The game pretty much ends right here.
Morphy takes the initiative and never lets
up until his opponent is mated 15 moves
later.
Black had odds of a Rook when the
game started and he is still ahead by a
Rook at this point. 22.dxe5 Bxe5
23.Bxe5 dxe5 24.f6 Rd8
Morphy wants another Queen. 25.fxg7
Rg8 26.gxf8Q+ Rxf8 Morphy uses the
dark squares to post his Queen
aggressively. 27.Qe3 Rh8 28.Qc5
Look how Black suffocates his King with
his next two moves. Rf8 29.Rf6 Qe7?
30.Qxc6+ Qd7 31.Nd6+ Ke7 32.Nf5+
Ke8 White moves to threaten mate in
3
one. 33.Qc5 White threatens mate on g-
7. Qd1+ 34.Kh2 Rd7 Mate in 2
1-0
C56
Morphy,Paul
Amateur
Paris 1859
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4
exd4 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.Re1 d5 This is a
spectacular game featuring Morphy's
Knights.
Morphy lures the Black Queen into the
center to activate his Knight with
initiative. 7.Bxd5 Qxd5 Black's failure
to castle early is partly to blame for the
problems that ensue.
Morphy takes the initiative, regains his
piece and proceeds to smash Black's
King side. 8.Nc3 Morphy's Knights win
the game almost by themselves.
Notice how both Black's units in the
fourth rank are pinned. Qh5 Morphy is
able to regain his piece.
He sacrificed a Bishop, remember?
9.Nxe4 Black covers up his King. Be6
10.Neg5 ...0-0-0 is a way out of the
coming onslaught. Bb4
Morphy smashes up the King side.
11.Rxe6+ RRfxe6 Pay attention to how
the Knights continue to attack and
protect each other. 12.Nxe6 This move
threatens an insidious fork. Qf7
Morphy has a move that attacks and
protects at the same time. 13.Nfg5 Qe7
14.Qe2 This Queen move, taking the
open file and overprotecting the Knight,
is crucial to the attack.
Morphy threatens Knight captures at c-7,
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
check.
Bd6 15.Nxg7+ The overprotector at
work: Black's Queen is pinned
(immobile). Kd7 Morphy now takes and
holds on to the initiative until the mate at 18.Bxf5 Morphy sacrifices his Bishop for
move 24. 16.Qg4+ƒ Kd8
White sacrifices a Knight in order to
activate his Bishop with initiative.
17.Nf7+ Qxf7 18.Bg5+ Be7 19.Ne6+
Kc8 Mate in 5 20.Nc5+ Kb8 21.Nd7+
Kc8 22.Nb6+ ...King to d-8 leads to
mate in one (1). Kb8 Solve the mate in
2. 23.Qc8+ Rxc8 24.Nd7#
1-0
Morphy,Paul
Budzinsky,J
Paris
[Gauthier]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3
Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Be7 7.0-0 Nc6
8.c4 Be6 9.Qb3 Na5 10.Qa4+ c6
11.Re1 f5 The game practically ends
right here.
Morphy just crushes his opponent.
The problem is that Black has not
castled and Morphy goes to work in the
open e-file.
A file is open when there are no Pawns
on it. 12.cxd5 Notice that Black's c6-
Pawn is pinned. Bxd5 13.Bd2
Black has to give up his best posted
piece.
Or else he loses his a5-Knight. Nxd2
14.Nbxd2 b5 15.Qc2 g6
Morphy sacrifices the exchange to lure
the King to the center. 16.Rxe7+ Kxe7
[ 16...Qxe7 17.Re1 Be6 18.Nb3 Nxb3
19.Qxc6+ Kf7 20.Rxe6 Qxe6
4
21.Ng5+ Press Delete for the main
line. ]
17.Re1+ Kf7 Morphy is willing to give up
more material to expose the Black King.
two Pawns. gxf5 Now the White Queen
is active (mobile). 19.Qxf5+ Qf6
White is in total control of e-5 and the
Black King is exposed. RR20.Ne5+
The Knight is an overprotected outpost in
enemy territory.
The Knight is protected by three (3) units,
two pieces and a Pawn. Kg7 21.Qg4+
Kh6 Morphy mobilizes toward the Black
King. 22.Re3 Black is lost. He has an
idea for an attack that exposes White's
C42 King but it's too late. Bxg2 23.Kxg2
Rhg8 White mates in two (2).
Can you find it? 24.Rh3+ Qh4
1859 25.Rxh4#
1-0
C01
Morphy,P(bl_sim)
Smyth,S
Philadelphia 1859
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3
Be6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.0-0 h6 7.Ne5 Bd6
8.f4 Nc6 9.c3 Qe7 10.Re1 Black gives
up the a3-f8 diagonal (...BxN) and he
blunders two moves later.
The weak diagonal leads to the loss of
the game.
Bxe5 11.fxe5 Nd7 12.b4 0-0??
Black facilitates a combination on the
weak diagonal and loses the game as a
result.
Morphy takes the initiative for three (3)
moves. 13.b5 Na5 14.Ba3 Qg5
15.Bxf8 Rxf8 16.Nd2 Bg4
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
Morphy takes the initiative for three (3)
more moves. 17.Nf3 Qe7 18.h3 Be6
19.Qa4 b6 Morphy develops his last
piece. 20.Rad1 g5? not a strong move
Morphy moves to set up a Queen-Bishop
battery directed at the Black King.
21.Bb1 Kg7 22.Qc2 Rh8
Morphy maneuvers his Knight for the
advanced outpost at f-5.
Fast forward to White's move no. 26.
23.Nd2 h5 24.Nf1 h4 25.Ne3 Rh6
26.Nf5+ Black is forced to give up the
best piece to protect the light squares.
Bxf5 27.Qxf5 Nf8 The action shifts to
the f-file and Black is terminated with a
Queen sacrifice. 28.Rf1 Nc4 29.Rf3
Ne6 30.Qg4 Qe8 31.Rdf1 Qxb5?
Mate in 5 32.Rxf7+ Kh8 33.Qxe6
Rxe6 Mate in 3 34.Rf8+ Kg7 35.R1f7+
Kh6 36.Rh7#
1-0
Morphy,Paul
McConnell,J
New Orleans 1864 But now, Morphy starts his own attack
[Gauthier]
(Diagram)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4
Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.0-0 d6 7.d4 exd4
8.cxd4 Bb6 9.d5 Ne5 10.Nxe5 dxe5
11.Bb2 Qe7 12.Qb3 Nf6 13.Kh1 Ng4
RR14.Qg3 Black thinks he has an attack
against the White King. He makes one
mistake and he is crushed.
Morphy ends up winning the game with
the help of the long diagonal and his
dark square Bishop.
Black's e-5 Pawn is in need of
5
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overprotection. It is a weakness. Qc5
Black took away a defender from e-5, but
now he has the initiative.
15.Bb3 It is a rookie's mistake to
remove a defender and fail to follow-up
properly.
Black blunders by removing e-5's only
remaining defender.
Nxf2+?? 16.Rxf2 Qxf2 McConnell
wins the exchange.
using the weak e-5 square as a pivot.
17.Qxe5+ Kd8 18.Qxg7 Re8
The e5-square is now used as a
passage-way by the Bishop. 19.Bf6+
Kd7 20.Qxf7+ Kd6 21.e5+ Rxe5
Mate in 2 22.Qf8+ Kd7 23.Qd8#
Morpy mates McConnell.
When the game started, McConnell had
odds of the Queen's Knight.
1-0
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
C46
Blackburne,Joseph Henry
Steinitz,William
London 1883 Nuernberg
[Gauthier]
1.e4 Annotations start at move 16. e5
2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.d4 exd4
5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Be2 0-0
8.0-0 Ne7 9.Bf3 d6 10.Qd2 Nd7
11.Bh6 Ne5 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.Be2 f6
14.f4 Nf7 15.Rad1 c6 16.Bc4! Bd7
Black is in full control of e-5 with two
Pawns and the f7-Knight looks on.
White wants to push his f-Pawn to start
an attack, and still be able to deny Black
the use of the e-5 square by his Knight.
How is this done? 17.Bxf7 Rxf7 18.f5
With the f7-Knight gone, e-5 is harmless.
Nc8 Notice that Blackburne has ALL his
pieces in play while Steinitz has almost
NO pieces in play.
Set-ups like this usually end in mate!
19.e5 Black's position will collapse in a
few moves. fxe5 20.Ne6+ Bxe6
21.fxe6 Re7 Blackburne (White) makes
indirect use of the open files for a mating
attack.
First, he de-activates the e-7 Rook with a
pin. 22.Qg5 immobilizing the active
piece Qe8 23.Rd3 A limited advance in
the file so that the Rook can pivot to a
new file that bears down on the enemy
King. Rxe6 24.Rh3 a weak square
Qe7? Can you find the mate in three (3).
Take your time. 25.Qh6+ Kg8 Mate in 2
26.Rf8+ Qxf8 27.Qxh7#
1-0
6
D31
Steinitz,William
Marco,Georg
1896
[Gauthier]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 Opening = Queen's
Gambit e6 Marco declines the offered
Pawn.
3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 Black has held out with
his d-pawn as long as possible.
Now, he takes the initiative. dxe4
5.Nxe4 Marco can maintain the initiative
with a check. Nf6? Instead, he gives the
initiave to Steinitz on a silver platter.
6.Nxf6+ CHECK Qxf6 7.Nf3 Bb4+
8.Bd2 Bxd2+ 9.Qxd2 Nd7 Black's c8-
Bishop is immobile.
Look carefully at Black's position and
imagine a plan to get his Bishop into play.
It is going to take Black a number of
moves to get his Bishop active. Not a
good sign. 10.0-0-0! White supports the
d4 square with his Rook.
Since White is ahead a few tempos in
development, he can take the extra
move to slide his King to safety. RR0-0
Steinitz likes e-5 for his Knight. But it
can't go there just yet because there is
not enough protection for the outpost
square. 11.Qe3! The Queen takes the
semi-open file and supports the strategic
outpost for the f3-Knight.
Black is not active on any files. This
contributes to his loss of the game. c5
White takes the opportunity to open the
d-file. 12.dxc5 The d-file is wide open.
Qf5 three (3) weak squares 13.Bd3
The ideal development move also
attacks. Qxc5 White develops his last
piece. 14.Rhe1 White is fully developed
and in control of two open files.
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
Qc7 Marco, as Black, did not want to
trade Queens so as to keep up the
pressure on White's King.
Only problem is: Marco is about four of
five tempi behind in development.
15.Ne5! Steinitz's Knight occupies a
protected strategic outpost in enemy
territory.
This Knight is going to eat Black alive.
Marco should get rid of it.
Re8 Black has two Rooks on closed
files and an undeveloped Bishop.
16.Kb1 White slides his King into safer
ground.
Black has another opportunity to get rid
of the well-posted Knight. Nf8?
Black is cramped for space meaning that
his pieces are not very mobile.
When this happens to you, try to
exchange pieces. 17.c5! White takes
control of d6.
Look at how the e5-Knight is beautifully
set up for ¤-c4-d6 to end up on an even
more advanced outpost. f6 Black is
helpless on d6. He simply does not have
a good move. 18.Nc4! The ¤ has eyes
for d6.
Look at Black's development. All his
pieces are on the first rank and his
Rooks are not connected.
Connected ¦¦s help each Rook defend
the other. That way, if one is captured,
the other Rook recaptures. Strong
players try to connect their Rooks early
in the game. e5 Black seals the half
open e-file. 19.Nd6 Steinitz takes a
protected oupost with initiative. Re7
[ 19...Rd8?! This is a variation from the
game moves. 20.f4 There's lots of
pressure on the-e file. exf4?? 21.Bc4+
Kh8 22.Qxf4 Threatening ¤f7+
leading to the loss of the d8¦ Rxd6
7
23.cxd6 Black is in serious trouble
because of poor development and the
two center files.
Press the Delete key to return to the
main line. ]
20.f4 Black can't play exf because Black
will win the e7-Rook.
This move (f-4) is possible, courtesy of
the strong e-file. Bd7 21.f5 Now the e-
file is shut down, just in case Black was
thinking of doubling his Rooks.
The strong e-file has given Steinitz a
kingside attack. Even though it is partly
closed now. Bc6 22.Bc4+ƒ Kh8 23.g4
b6 24.g5 Attacking the dark squares to
create a weak king side. fxg5 25.Qxg5
Black's king side is now very weak. h6
26.Qh5 A very weak square (not well-
guarded) bxc5 27.Nf7+ CHECK Kh7
28.Ng5+ Kh8 Attack the weak square.
29.f6 gxf6 another weak square
30.Qxh6+ Nh7 White exchanges to win
the two center Pawns. 31.Nxh7 Rxh7
32.Qxf6+ Rg7 33.Rxe5 Black Resigns.
White is threatening ¦h5-mate. The
Black g7-Rook is pinned.
Black's best defense is to capture the e5-
Rook and lose his Queen.
THE END
0-1
D46
Capablanca,Jose R
Jaffe,Charles
New York 1910
[Gauthier]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 c6 4.c4 e6
5.Nc3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0-0 0-0
The next four (4) moves have to do with
control of the e-4 square.
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
Count the number of units each side has
bearing down on e-4. This is the same
technique grandmasters use. 8.e4 dxe4
9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 Nf6 11.Bc2
Both sides have one piece eying e-4.
It's Black's move, he wants to prevent
White from having additional say on e-4.
How does he do it? (hint: green square)
h6 h-6 prevents the pin and a potential
capture. 12.b3 b6 The pressure of
Capa's Bishops overwhelms Black. The
game ends at move 20. 13.Bb2 Bb7
RR14.Qd3 A weak square is a square
that can use more protection. g6
Black covers up one (1) weak square to
create two (2) others?! 15.Rfe1 Nh5
16.Bc1 two birds with one stone Kg7
Black's King side is very, very weak.
Capa takes advantage with a winning
combination. 17.Rxe6! If Black takes the
Rook, Capa plays
Queen x g6-check and mates on h7. Nf6
Capa moves to occupy a strong (well
protected) center square. 18.Ne5
Black's best move is to take the Knight,
but he doesn't do it. c5??
Black activates his b7-Bishop, but he
should have been concerned about his
King.
The Bishops come alive and it's sudden
death for Black. 19.Bxh6+ Kxh6??
Can you find the mate in two? 20.Nxf7+
It's mate in one regardless of the move,
so Black resigns.
Satisfy yourself that Black has no way
out. Kg7 21.Qxg6#
1-0
8
D30
Alekhine,Alexander
Leonhardt,Paul Saladin
DSB-17.Kongress (6) 1910
[Gauthier]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.dxc5 Nf6 4.e3 e6
5.a3 Bxc5 6.c4 0-0 7.Nc3 Qe7 8.b4
Bb6 9.Bb2 a5 10.c5 Bd8 11.Be2 b6
12.cxb6 axb4 13.axb4 Rxa1 14.Qxa1
Qxb4 15.Ba3 Qa5 16.0-0 Re8 17.Rb1
Bxb6 18.Qb2 Nbd7 19.Nb5 Ne4
Alekhine makes a strange-looking move
to make use of an open file.
Alekhine was one of the greatest
tacticians of all time. His bold
conceptions on the chessboard are
unparalleled. 20.Bf8! Alekhine is
threatening to win the Black Queen. Bd4
The f3-Knight takes over and doesn't quit
until Black is mated.
[ 20...Rxf8 21.Ra1 Qxa1+ 22.Qxa1
Bb7= Black has a Rook, a Bishop and
a Pawn for his Queen. The position is
even.
Press Delete to jump to the beginning
of the line. Replay the variation. ]
21.Nfxd4 Rxf8 Alekhine was counting
on (hoping) that Black would give up the
e-7 square so that he could post his
Knight there. 22.f3 Alekhine takes the
time to remove the advanced outpost.
Nec5 The d4-Knight takes the initiative
for two moves and ends up on e-7.
23.Nc6 Qb6 24.Ne7+ Kh8
The Knight's position on e-7 is crucial to
the coming finale. 25.Qc2 Notice that
ALL Alekhine's pieces are in play as
compared to Black who has two pieces
out of play.
Do you remember that e-4 was formerly
occupied by Black's Knight and that
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010 9

Alekhine chased it away? Bb7 26.Rb4 B13

Black does not understand what's going
on.
Qd8?? Mate in 2 27.Qxh7+ Kxh7
28.Rh4# You have to replay this game.
Press the Delete Key.
1-0
Alekhine,Alexander
Tenner,Oscar
Cologne
1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.Nc3 Nf6 takes matters into his hands.
5.Bc4 Nc6 6.d3 Bg4 7.Na4 exf4
8.Bxf4 Nh5 9.Nxc5 dxc5 10.Be3 Ne5 6 to f-1diagonal. 18.Qe2? Handing over
Alekhine takes the Black Knight with
impunity.
He follows-up with an attack featuring his isolated Pawn with a fresh piece. Bf6
Bishops. 11.Nxe5 Black can have the
Queen if he wants it. Bxd1 Alekhine
launches the attack. The centralized
Bishops play a key role.
Contrast White's three (3) centralized
pieces with Black's two (2) pieces on the
edge of the board.
The end comes quickly. 12.Bxf7+
CHECK Ke7 13.Bxc5+ CHECK Kf6
Alekhine brings a fresh piece into the
fray (a developing move). 14.0-0+
CHECK Kxe5? Mate in 1 15.Rf5#
1-0
Fahrni,Hans
Nimzowitsch,Aaron
Karlsbad 1911
[Gauthier]
1.e4 c6 Opening = Caro-Kann 2.d4 d5
3.exd5 cxd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.c4 Nc6
6.Qb3 e6 7.Nc3 Na5 8.Qc2 Nxc4
C30 9.Bxc4 dxc4 10.0-0 Be7 11.Qa4+
Bd7 12.Qxc4 0-0 13.Ne5 Qa5 14.Qd3
Rfd8 15.Be3 Nd5! 16.a3 Be8
1911 17.Nxd5 Qxd5 White makes a tactical
error and Nimzo's light square Bishop
White should be concerned about the a-
the initiative and a Pawn. Bb5 19.Nd3
Qe4 20.Rfd1 Nimzo attacks the weak,
21.a4? Bc6 The long diagonal wins the
game for Nimzo. 22.Qf1 Black wins the
d-Pawn. Bxd4 23.Nc5 Bxc5 24.Bxc5
The coming combination wins another
Pawn. Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Qxa4
Nimzo threatens Bishop captures at g-2
winning the g2-Pawn.
26.Ra1 Nimzo moves to attack two
units.
[ 26.-- Null move (the oppponent
makes "no move") is used in training to
see what the threats are.
Black now captures the Pawn. Bxg2
If White takes the Bishop with the
Queen, he loses his Rook. 27.Kxg2??
Qc6+ 28.f3 Press Delete for the main
line. ]
26...Qc2 27.b4 a6 28.Rc1 Qf5
White takes the open file. 29.Rd1
Nimzo attacks the support of the White
Bishop. a5 White centralizes a piece
(increasing its mobility) and protects his
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
Bishop.
30.Qc4 Nimzo shuts down the open file
with initiative. Bd5 31.Qc1
Nimzo begins play against a weak
square. Qg4 The rest of the game is
about Nimzo threatening mate with
£xg2.
32.f3 The g2-Pawn is pinned.
Black has a strong move. Bxf3! 33.Rd2
axb4 34.h3 Qg5 35.h4 Qg4 36.Qf1
White is threatening to win the f3-Bishop
(Queen x Bishop) Bd5 37.Qf2 b3
Look how White plays the advanced b-
Pawn.
Even in a losing effort by White, this is
exemplary technique for stopping the
criminal passed pawn. 38.Bd4 Rc8
39.Bb2! Physically stopping the Pawn's
advance. Rc4 40.Qe3 White threatens
Rook x Bishop. If Black responds exd,
he's mated on e-8. h6 Securing against
the threat of mate in the back rank.
41.g3 Nimzo closes in on his opponent.
The game is soon over at move 44. Re4
42.Qf2 Qh3 43.Rd1 ...Mate in 2 Re1+
44.Rxe1 Qh1#
0-1
D07 kingside action. 19.Qe2 b5 Black didn't
Alekhine,Alexander
Prat
Paris 1913 The poor d7-Bishop and d8-Rook might
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3
dxc4 5.e3 Nf6 6.Bxc4 Bb4 7.0-0
Bxc3 8.bxc3 0-0 9.Qc2 Ne7 10.Ba3
c6 11.e4 h6 12.Rad1 Bd7 13.Ne5
Re8 14.f4 Qc7 15.f5 Rad8 Alekhine's
next move draws the King into the f-file
under the spell of his Rook at f-1.
Not only does White "control" the center
10
squares, he's also occupying them with
two (2) pieces and three (3) Pawns.
White clearly has the stronger position.
Alekhine's Bishops give an excellent
assist in winning the game. 16.Nxf7
Kxf7 Black's pieces will remain confined
to the two back ranks for the entire game,
thanks to White's domination of the
center.
Notice that Alekhine's light square
Bishop has an enhanced role since
Black's e6-Pawn is now weak. RR17.e5
Black's f-6 Knight takes on the role of a
Pawn.
The problem for Black is that his King is
on a file that White controls and can
open at any time.
Black moves to protect his high-priced
"Pawn." Neg8 White's next move, with
initiative, continues his domination of the
center. 18.Bd6ƒ This is the next to last
time that Black will move a piece in the
entire game. The next time he moves a
piece is to avert mate.
Black is reduced to Pawn moves from
here on. Qc8 White's next two moves do
the following:
1) overprotect his strong e5-Pawn, and
2) increase the mobility of two pieces for
really have a good move. His pieces
remain bottled up.
as well be frozen in ice. They can't go
anywhere. In chess, mobility is life.
20.Bb3 more Pawn moves a5 21.Rde1
White's pieces are about to cause an
explosion right in front of Black's King.
White's advantage is due to his control
and occupation of the center squares.
Black's doesn't have a strategy. He's
just "attacking" like an amateur. a4
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
White sacrifices his Queen and opens
the file where the Black King is sitting.
For his investment in the center, White
earns a mate in ten (10). 22.Qh5+!
Nxh5 White moves and gets a double
check. 23.fxe6+ Black has one (1) move
available to him. Kg6 24.Bc2+
Again, Black has one move.
Take time to appreciate how Alekhine's
"Two Bishops" dominate the board. Kg5
The Bishops have mostly played a
supporting role.
It's Alekhine's Rooks that close the
game. 25.Rf5+ Kg6 26.Rf6+ Kg5
27.Rg6+ Kh4 28.Re4+ Nf4 29.Rxf4+
Kh5 See a mate in two (2)? There's
more than one way to do it. 30.g3 Bxe6
31.Rh4#
1-0
D30
Nimzowitsch,Aaron
Tarrasch,Siegbert
It, Peterburg 1914 Pay attention to how he is able to take
[Gauthier]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.c4 e6 4.e3 Nf6
5.Bd3 Nc6 6.0-0 Bd6 7.b3 0-0 8.Bb2 We will point out everything just relax
b6 9.Nbd2 Bb7 10.Rc1 Qe7 11.cxd5
exd5 12.Nh4 g6 13.Nhf3 Rad8
14.dxc5 bxc5 15.Bb5 Ne4 16.Bxc6
Bxc6 17.Qc2 Tarrasch (Black) activates
his c6-Bishop and terminates Nimzo.
Nxd2 Tarrasch clears the long diagonal
with initiative. 18.Nxd2 d4 The diagonal moves.
is wide open for the c6-Bishop.
Both Black Bishops have the White King
in their scope. 19.exd4 Tarrasch
sacrifices both Bishops for the win.
Bxh2+ 20.Kxh2 Qh4+ 21.Kg1
Tarrasch sacrifices the second Bishop.
11
Bxg2 22.f3 Tarrasch takes the open file.
[ 22.Kxg2 Qg4+ 23.Kh1 Rd5 ]
22...Rfe8 23.Ne4
[ 23.Kxg2?? ...Mate in 3 Re2+ 24.Rf2
Rxf2+ 25.Kg1 Qh2# Press Delete for
the main line. ]
23...Qh1+ 24.Kf2 Bxf1 25.d5
[ 25.Rxf1?? This move loses the White
Queen. Qh2+ 26.Ke3 Press Delete
for the main line. ]
25...f5 26.Qc3 ...Mate in 5 Qg2+
27.Ke3 Rxe4+ 28.fxe4 Qg3+ 29.Kd2
...Mate in 2 Qf2+ 30.Kd1 Qe2#
0-1
D38
Lasker,Edward
Capablanca,Jose R
New York 1915
[Gauthier]
1.d4 This is an outstanding game of
Capablanca's.
and maintain the initiave in the opening,
in the middlegame and again in the
endgame.
and enjoy. Annotations start at move 8.
d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Nbd7
5.Bg5 Bb4 6.e3 c5 7.Bd3 Qa5 8.Qb3
Ne4 Capa, playing Black, threatens to
win a piece. 9.0-0 Capablanca takes
and maintains the initiative for six (6)
[ 9.h3?? cxd4 10.exd4 dxc4
11.Bxc4-+ White is a piece down.
Press Delete for the main line. ]
9...Nxg5ƒ White is force to recapture.
10.Nxg5 The action shifts to the
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
Queenside.
Play the moves slowly.
cxd4 White is forced to move his Knight.
11.Nb5 A third move that maintains the
initiative. Nc5 12.Qc2 Nxd3 FOUR
13.Qxd3 a6 FIVE 14.Nxd4
Can you figure out the sixth move that
maintains the initiative? dxc4
The sixth move in a row that maintains
the initiative.
15.Qxc4 ...b5 or ...b6 are blunders
because certain light squares are weak
White is threatening a Queen fork, if
Black blunders. Bd7 16.Nb3
It looks like White has the initiave now.
But Capa finds a way to take and
maintain the initiative for another five (5)
moves! Qxg5 17.Qxb4 What's a good
move that maintains the initiative?
Hint: it's the light squares. Bc6ƒ
See the threat of mate? 18.e4 a5
19.Qd2 Qxd2 20.Nxd2 What's the
move for Black that maintains the
initiative? 0-0-0 21.Nc4 Bxe4 22.Rfc1
Kb8 23.f3 Bd5 24.Nxa5 White controls
the c-file for now, so Capa decides to
neutralize it. Rc8 The file is neutralized.
25.b3 White takes a key square.
But Capa is not impressed, he takes the
initiative for two (2) moves. Rxc1+
26.Rxc1 How does Capa challenge
White's possession of the c-file. Rc8
White has to move his Rook off the file or
exchange. 27.Rxc8+ Kxc8 The c-file is
neutralized.
Both Kings head for the center:
Standard endgame strategy 28.Kf2 Kc7
29.Ke3 Capa takes the initiative for three
(3) moves. Kb6ƒ 30.Nc4+ Bxc4
31.bxc4 Kc5 32.Kd3 Capa is able to
win because of White's weak (poorly
guarded) c-Pawn.
12
The annotations end here. But we
recommend that you play this endgame
and study it with the aid of an analysis
engine. e5 33.g4 f6 34.h4 g6 35.Ke4
Kd6 36.f4 exf4 37.Kxf4 Kc5 38.h5
Kxc4 39.Ke4 b5 40.a3 Kb3
0-1
C11
Alekhine,Alexander
Feldt
Tarnopol 1916
[Gauthier]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6
Alekhine's Knights win the game for him.
Here, Alekhine moves to take e-4 for his
Queen's Knight. 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Ne4 f5
Black weakens e-5 and Alekhine takes
advantage. 6.Ng5 Be7 7.N5f3
Alekhine gives an example of basic
chess strategy:
Control, occupy and support key
squares. c6 8.Ne5! Alekhine ends up
occupying the weak square. 0-0
Alekhine begins his support of the key
square. 9.Ngf3 Fast forward to Black's
move 11. b6 10.Bd3 Bb7 11.0-0 Re8
Alekhine wants to develop his Bishop to f-
4 to provide additional support to his
strong e5-Knight.
How does Alekhine get rid of the well
posted Black Knight? 12.c4 Nf6 13.Bf4
RRNbd7 Alekhine overprotects his
strong Knight. 14.Qe2
The "overprotector" Queen will end up
using the file to help win the game. c5
Alekhine has a super strong center and
he is ready to sacrifice for an attack.
The weak (poorly protected) e6-square
provides the inspiration for the attack.
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
15.Nf7 Kxf7 The overprotector comes to
life. 16.Qxe6+ Kg6 Mate in 2
[ 16...Kxe6 17.Ng5# Press Delete for
the main line. ]
17.g4 Be4 18.Nh4#
1-0
C68 Rg6 37.h4 Black makes two "waiting"
Alekhine,Alexander
Verlinsky,Boris
Odessa 1918 will deliver the mortal blow at move 41.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6
dxc6 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.d3 Qe7 7.Be3 Bg4 Who delivers the mortal blow? 41.c5#
8.h3 Bh5 9.g4 Bg6 10.Qd2 0-0-0
11.Bxc5 Qxc5 12.Qe3 Qxe3+ 13.fxe3
f6 14.0-0-0 c5 15.Nd5 c6 16.Nb6+
Kc7 17.Nc4 b5 18.Ncd2 Ne7 19.b3
h5 20.g5 Rc8 21.gxf6 gxf6 22.Rhg1
Rhg8 23.Kb2 Kd7 24.a4 Ke6 25.Ra1!
It's Black's move. He blunders by
creating a path (weak square) for White's
Knights to enter the game.
Notice that for now, White's Knights are
not very mobile. f5? From here, the
entire game revolves around Alekhine's
Knights and their access to the e-4
square.
Alekhine takes the initiative for seven (7)
moves. 26.Ng5+ Kd6 The a-file
becomes crucial in the end. 27.axb5
axb5 White makes way for his d2-Knight.
The e-4 square becomes the pivot of
Alekhine's operations.
By the way, notice how Alekhine
maintains the initiative for five (5) moves.
28.exf5 Bxf5 29.Nde4+ Bxe4
30.Nxe4+ This central Knight wins the
game practically by himself. Ke6
31.Nxc5+ Kd5 Alekhine exchanges to
maintain his control of the a-file.
13
If Alekhine doesn't exchange, Black can
challenge the a-file at any time with Rook
to a8.
32.Rxg8 Nxg8 33.b4 Nf6 Alekhine
owns the e-4 square so he moves in.
34.e4+ Kd6 Alekhine takes the seventh
rank and shuts Black's King in a box.
35.Ra7 There's the box. Rg8 36.Rf7
moves and that's all Alekhine needs to
set up a mating net. Rh6 The c-Pawn
38.c4 Rg6 Mate in 3 39.Nb7+ Ke6
40.Nd8+ Kd6 It's mate in one (1).
1-0
C24
Gonssiorovsky,V
Alekhine,Alexander
Odessa 1918
[Gauthier]
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Qe2
Be7 5.f4 d5 6.exd5 exf4 7.Bxf4 0-0
8.Nd2 cxd5 9.Bb3 a5 10.c3 a4
11.Bc2 a3 12.b3 Re8 13.0-0-0 Bb4
14.Qf2 Bxc3 15.Bg5 Nc6 16.Ngf3 d4
17.Rhe1 Bb2+ 18.Kb1 Alekhine mates
White on the c-3 square, with his f6-
Knight, at move 26. Nd5 19.Rxe8+
Qxe8 20.Ne4 Alekhine maintains his
lock on c-3 with a Queen sacrifice. Qxe4
White has to defend the c-3 square.
21.Bd2
[ 21.dxe4?? Nc3# ]
[ 21.Qd2?? This is not the way to
protect c-3.
White will lose his Queen. Qg6 22.Re1
Bf5 23.Rd1 Finally! Nc3+ The Queen
is forced to capture. 24.Qxc3
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010 14

Press Delete for the main line. ]
21...Qe3! A second Queen offer
Despite White's efforts, he can't shake
off the weakness at c-3. 22.Re1
White can't move his Bishop because of
the threat of mate at c-3.
[ 22.Bxe3 Nc3# Press Delete for the
main line. ]
22...Bf5 White finally takes the Queen.
Make sure you see that White can't
capture with the Bishop, or else it's mate.
23.Rxe3 Alekhine maintains his
dominance on the dark squares. dxe3
A Pawn fork 24.Qf1 ...Mate in 3 exd2
25.Bd1 Now the White King has an
escape square at c-2. Ncb4
No more escape square 26.Nxd2
White's move 26 is irrelevant. Nc3#
0-1
D46 power of an open file. d6 Opening =
Capablanca,Jose R
Scott,GW
Hastings (6) 1919 White develops a piece and immobilizes
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6
5.Nbd2 Nbd7 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0-0 0-0
8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 Nf6
11.Bc2 b6 12.Qd3 h6 13.b3 Qe7
14.Bb2 Rd8 15.Rad1 Bb7 16.Rfe1
Rac8 17.Nh4 Bb8 18.g3 Kf8 19.Qf3
Kg8 Capablanca has a mating attack,
compliments of the open file.
Black's Queen is not safe behind the e6-
Pawn. 20.Nf5 Qc7 Capa smashes the
King's position. 21.Nxh6+ If Black takes
the Knight, the White Queen captures at
f-6 and is backed up by two looming
Bishops. Kf8 Capa activates his Bishop.
22.d5 cxd5 What's the combination that Black's e7-Bishop has no mobility as a
weakens the dark squares on the
kingside and wins a pawn? 23.Bxf6
gxf6 24.Qxf6 Ke8 Just like that, it's
mate in 5!
The open e-file started it. See
annotations to Black's move number 19.
25.Rxe6+ fxe6 26.Qxe6+ Kf8 27.Qf6+
Ke8 Can you find the mate in 2?
28.Re1+ Qe5 29.Qf7#
1-0
C62
Adams,E
Torre Repetto,Carlos
New Orleans 1920
[Gauthier]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 A famous game in which
1. White wins and holds on to a strategic
outpost, and
2. there is a stunning example of the
Philidor's Defense 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4
Nc6ƒ Instead of simply moving back,
the Knight. 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxc6
removing the offensive Knight Bxc6
The fight for a key square begins. 7.Nc3
Nf6 8.0-0 White tidies up his position
before moving on to the next phase of
his development which will involve taking
and holding on to a strategic outpost.
Be7 9.Nd5! claiming d-5 as a strategic
outpost in enemy territory
d-5 is now the key square.
The most effective outposts are
supported by Pawns. Bxd5
White's Pawn now comes in handy,
since the Queen can't capture. 10.exd5
White maintains his outpost.
result of White's strategy of taking and
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010 15

occupying d5. 19.Qc4!! Threatening to win the Queen

The outpost serves as a blockade of again:
Black's d6-Pawn. The poor d6-Pawn Initiative
ends up shutting his own Bishop out of If Black captures the White Queen, he's
the game. 0-0 The King is safe, the checkmated on e-8, same story as
Rook is ready for action. 11.Bg5 before. Qd7 20.Qc7!! Threatening to
White attacks the last piece that has a snatch the Queen a third time.
say on his strategic outpost at d5. c6 If Black captures the White Queen with
Black finds the oupost annoying and either piece, he's checkmated on e-8.
attacks it again. 12.c4 White defends Qb5 21.a4! The Black Queen has to
cxd5 13.cxd5 White is able to maintain maintain contact with her e8-Rook or
his outpost. Black is mated. Qxa4 22.Re4 Qb5
Play for the King file begins. Re8 23.Qxb7! Black resigns.
The Rook's scope reaches to e-1. His Queen has nowhere to run.
Once a Rook is on an open file, never Press the Delete key to replay the
underestimate its power, even if it's comedy.
asleep, like here. 14.Rfe1 a5 15.Re2 1-0
White aims to double up on the e-file,
good strategy for handling Rooks. Rc8?
Black sets himself up for a combination. Euwe,Max
He doesn't realize he's weak on the King Reti,Richard
file. Amsterdam 1920
It's not easy to see now but White will
start harrassing the Black Queen with all
sorts of threats. 16.Rae1 White takes
XABCDEFGHY
full control of the file. 8r+l+kvl-tr({
White's power on this file wins him the
game. Qd7 White has a combination
7zppzp-+-zpp'
that exposes the weakness on the e-file. 6-+-+-+-+&
White takes and holds the initiative until 5wq-+-+pvL-%
Black resigns at move 23!
Click on g-5 to capture the Knight. 4-+-wQn+-+$
17.Bxf6!!ƒ Bxf6 18.Qg4!ƒ Threatening 3+-sN-+-+-#
to snatch the Black Queen.
The Black Queen has to run. If she 2PzPP+-zPPzP"
captures the White Queen, it's 1tR-+-tR-mK-!
checkmate on e-8.
Press forward to see the variation. Qb5 xabcdefghy
[ 18...Qxg4?? mate in two 19.Rxe8+ 11...Qc5 White has an opportunity to
Check Rxe8 20.Rxe8# MATE use the strategy of "maintaining the
Press the Delete key initiative"
to return to the main line. ] a) to gain time, and
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010 16

b) to take full control of the d-file. how the combination started. 18.Rxa8
In three moves, White will accomplish a Qxa8 19.Bxg6 hxg6 20.Qxg6+ Kh8
number of strategic goals while Black is Euwe's Rook gets into the fray to
busy scrambling for cover. 12.Qd8+ƒ threaten mate. RR21.Rd4
A check always means you get another Spaans moves so that his e7-Bishop
free move: the initiative. protects the weak square and averts
Black only has time to run out of the way. mate. fxe5 22.Qh6+ CHECK Kg8
Kf7 Click on the c3-Knight. 13.Nxe4ƒ 23.Qxe6+ CHECK Rf7 24.Rg4+
White keeps the initiative! CHECK Kf8 25.Bh6+ CHECK Ke8
Black can't execute any chess strategies, Mate in 2 26.Rg8+ Rf8 27.Rxf8#
he's busy playing defense. fxe4 1-0
White develops the last piece.
Click on d-1 14.Rad1 When you have
the initiative, your opponent is busy C66
defending and you have time to execute Olland,Adolf
good chess strategy. Here, White Euwe,Max
executed three strategies: Amsterdam 1920
1. He took full control of the Queen file, [Gauthier]
2. developed ALL his pieces, and
3. he's threatening to win material. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0
Press the Delete key to review, or press d6 5.d4 Bd7 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Re1 exd4
the Escape key to close the game 8.Nxd4 0-0 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bd3 Re8
window. 11.f3 Rb8 12.Rb1 h6 13.Be3 a5
0-1 14.Qd2 Nh7 15.Ne2 Bf6 16.b3 Qe7
17.c4 Ra8 18.Ng3 Qe5 19.Rbc1 Reb8
20.f4 Qe8 21.Nh5 Be7 White's two
C83 Bishops win him the game.
Euwe,Max Here, White moves to activate his King
Spaans Bishop. 22.e5 dxe5 23.fxe5 Bb4
Amsterdam 1923 White maintains the initiative.
He exchanges the King Bishop to
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 mobilize his Queen for an attack along
Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 the light colored squares. 24.Bxh7+
8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Be7 10.Nbd2 Nxd2 Kxh7 25.Qd3+ maintaining the initiative
11.Qxd2 0-0 12.Rd1 Qe8 13.a4 Na5 Kg8 White has a very strong move.
14.Bc2 g6 15.Qh6 f6 The winning 26.Bxh6!! White wins a Pawn. Qe6
combination starts here. 16.axb5 axb5 [ 26...gxh6?? 27.Nf6+ The Queen is
17.b4 Nc4 Euwe has a winning history. Kf8 Press Delete for the main
combination featuring the two Bishops. line. ]
First, he lures the Black Queen away 27.Bxg7 Qg6 28.Qxd7 Qxh5
from the weak g6-square. White has a very strong Bishop.
Rewind to Black's move no. 15 to see Take time to appreciate White's control
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
of the dark squares in a certain quadrant
of the board. 29.Bf6 Black's strategy of
taking the two flank files on the Queen
side has failed miserably.
As it stands now, White is up in material.
Black should capture the Rook on the e-
file. a4? Euwe goes for the open file.
This is a blunder that allows White's e-
Rook to give an assist in winning the
game. 30.Re4 This is a temporary post
for the Rook. axb3 31.Rg4+ Kf8
White plays to shut out the Black Bishop
from the action. 32.c5 White dominates
the dark squares. Re8 33.axb3
The a-file is finally open for Black. Ra2
But it's mate in three (3) after Black
weakens his back rank. 34.Bg7+ Kg8
35.Qxe8+ Kh7 36.Qh8#
1-0
C73 8.Bd3 Capablanca takes and keeps the
Torres Caravaca,J
Alekhine,Alexander
Sevilla 1922 Janowski, with the White pieces, simply
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4
Nf6 5.0-0 d6 6.Bxc6+ bxc6 7.d4
Nxe4 8.Re1 f5 9.dxe5 d5 10.Nd4
Bc5 11.c3 0-0 12.f4 Qe8 13.Be3 Bb6 squares on White's King side. Qe8
14.Nd2 Bb7 15.N2f3 Rd8 16.Qc2 c5
17.Nb3 c4 18.Nbd4 c5 19.Ne2 Qc6
20.Rad1 h6 21.Rf1 Kh8 22.Kh1 Qg6
23.Neg1 Qh5 24.Nh3 The focus of all
Alekhine's moves from this point is his
b7-Bishop.
White co-operates unwittingly. d4
Alekhine sacrifices a Pawn to activate
his Bishop. 25.cxd4 Black has three (3)
units bearing on d-4. All of them will be
used in the coming combination. cxd4
26.Bxd4 Alekhine continues to exchange
17
on d-4 to remove the f-3 Knight from his
watch-post. Bxd4 27.Rxd4 Rxd4
28.Nxd4 The b7-Bishop is all-powerful
now.
Alekhine moves to clear the last obstacle
blocking the Bishop's path to the King.
Qxh3! White loses his Knight and sets
himself up for... 29.gxh3??
a spectacular ...mate in 2. Nf2+ 30.Kg1
Nxh3# CHECKMATE
0-1
D67
Janowsky,Dawid Markelowicz
Capablanca,Jose R
New York 1924
[Gauthier]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3
Be7 5.Bg5 0-0 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Rc1 c6
initiative for six (6) moves! (Ctrl-f to play
Black)
plays defense for the rest of the game.
dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nd5 10.h4 f6 11.Bf4
Nxf4 12.exf4 Nb6 13.Bb3 Nd5 14.g3
Pawn moves are weakening the light
Capablanca heads for the weak squares
after maintaining the initiative for six (6)
moves. 15.Qd3 Qh5 Capablanca
occupies a weak square. 16.Bd1
Janowski supports his weak squares
(He's playing defense).
Capa's most aggressively posted piece
is his Knight. How does he insure it's
safety? Bb4 He de-activates Janowski's
Knight. 17.0-0 Capablanca sees that his
opponent has castled into a combination
that can end the game in a draw. Bxc3
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
18.bxc3 Capablanca now sacrifices his
Knight for a draw. Nxf4 19.gxf4 Qg4+
20.Kh1 Capa can force a draw by
repetition.
Both sides agree on the draw and shake
on it.
Qh3+ 21.Kg1 Qg4+ 22.Kh1 THE END
½-½
C01 Rd3 24.Be5 Rd8 25.Bxd6 Rxd6
Capablanca,Jose R
Alekhine,Alexander
Buenos Aires WCh (1) 1927 31.Ra8 Re5 32.Rxa7 c5 33.Rd7 Qe6
[Gauthier]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.exd5
exd5 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Nge2 Nge7 7.0-0
Bf5 8.Bxf5 Nxf5 9.Qd3 Qd7 10.Nd1
0-0 11.Ne3 Nxe3 12.Bxe3 Rfe8
13.Nf4 Bd6 Capablanca takes the open
file. 14.Rfe1 The scope of influence of
the e8-Rook extends to the e1 square.
Because of this, Alekhine is able to
devise a plan to win the c2-Pawn.
Play from the perspective of the Black
pieces. Nb4 the initiative 15.Qb3 Qf5
16.Rac1 Nxc2 Black can win the Pawn
without fear, because if White takes the
Knight...
17.Rxc2 Black takes the f4-Knight.
[ 17.Qxc2 After an exchange, Black
gets even. Qxc2 18.Rxc2 Black gets
his piece back with the threat of mate
on e-1. Bxf4 If White dares take the
Bishop, he's mated.
Press Delete for the main line. ]
17...Qxf4 The Bishop is pinned since
there is the threat of mate on e-1.
Black was able to win the c2-Pawn only
because of his Rook's quiet but powerful
influence on e-1.
18
Press the DELETE key to see the other
line. 18.g3 Qf5 19.Rce2 Capa is now
in full control of the e-file in exchange for
the lost Pawn.
Capablanca and Alekhine are both
former world champions and tacticians of
the highest rank. b6 End of annotations
Alekhine goes on to win the game when
Capablanca resigns at move 43. 20.Qb5
h5 21.h4 Re4 22.Bd2 Rxd4 23.Bc3
26.Re5 Qf3 27.Rxh5 Qxh5 28.Re8+
Kh7 29.Qxd3+ Qg6 30.Qd1 Re6
34.Qd3+ g6 35.Rd8 d4 36.a4 Re1+
37.Kg2 Qc6+ 38.f3 Re3 39.Qd1 Qe6
40.g4 Re2+ 41.Kh3 Qe3 42.Qh1 Qf4
43.h5 Rf2
0-1
D64
Capablanca,Jose R
Maroczy,Geza
Karlsbad 1929
[Gauthier]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Bg5
Be7 5.e3 0-0 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.Rc1 c6
8.Qc2 h6 9.Bh4 a6 10.cxd5 Nxd5
11.Bg3 Qa5 12.Nd2! Nxc3 13.bxc3
c5 14.Nc4ƒ White has the initiave since
he knows that Black has to move his
Queen. Qd8 15.Rd1! White plans to
open the d-file and there's nothing Black
can do about it. cxd4 16.Rxd4
There is no question that White is in
control of d6.
Good players devise plans to control key
squares. Bc5 17.Rd2 Qe7 18.Be2 b6
Capablanca takes the outpost with his
Knight. D-6 is a "key square."
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
How many pieces does White have
bearing on d-6? How many pieces does
Black have bearing on d6?
This is an important assessment that
strong players always make in their
games. 19.Nd6! The Knight is on an
advanced post supported by two pieces.
White will maintain control of the d6
square even if Black captures the Knight.
Nf6 20.0-0 Black knows that Capa is
about to take the long diagonal with his
Bishop. Ra7 21.Bf3! Bd7 Which is the
only piece of Capa's that is not bearing
on the center of the board?
How does this piece support the
outpost? 22.Rfd1 Notice how ALL
white's pieces are bearing on the center
of the board.
This is the mark of a very strong player
in a sound position.
e5 Look at how Black's pieces are all
over the place.
Can you figure out what he's trying to
accomplish? He either didnt' have a plan
or was too busy defending White's strong
moves. 23.Bh4 Threatening Black's
castled position.
If the White Knight goes to e-4, the f-6
Knight is attacked and pinned at the
same time. (Not good)
After an exchange on f-6, Black will have
to capture with his g-Pawn. g5
Black ruins his castled position in a
different way. 24.Bg3 Black's castled
position is now riddled with holes.
Black's light squares are weak on the
King side. Kg7 25.Be2 b5
Capa attacks the weakened king side.
26.h4 Black should get rid of the d6-
Knight.
It's usually a good idea to get rid of your
opponent's strongly posted pieces. Rc7?
19
Black takes the semi-open file opposing
the White Queen.
He should be paying attention to his king
side instead.
[ ¹26...Bxd6 27.Rxd6 Press the
Delete key for the main line. ]
27.hxg5 hxg5 Capa's Knight has a
strong move. 28.Nf5+ Bxf5 29.Qxf5
Black resigns.
Press forward to see how it may have
turned out. Re8 30.Qxg5+ Kh8
31.Qh6+ Kg8 White moves to pin the
attacked piece. 32.Bh4!! The Knight is
1) attacked and 2) pinned.
In most cases this means big trouble.
Rc6 33.Rd6 White gives up a Rook to
win a Queen. Bxd6 34.Bxf6 It's the
Queen or mate. Qxf6 35.Qxf6
and White has a big material advantage
THE END
1-0
D52
Euwe,Max
Van den Bosch,Johannes
Amsterdam 1929
[Gauthier]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5
Nbd7 5.e3 c6 6.Nf3 Qa5 7.Nd2 Bb4
8.Qc2 dxc4 9.Bxf6 Nxf6 10.Nxc4
Qd5 11.0-0-0 Bxc3 12.bxc3 b5 13.e4
Black can't capture the e-Pawn. Qd8
[ 13...Nxe4?? 14.Ne3 Qd6 The Knight
is history. 15.Qxe4 Press Delete for
the main line. ]
14.Ne3 Qb6 Euwe's c-4 square is strong
because after the Pawn move, he will
have three (3) pieces bearing on the
square.
This all-purpose move helps the Knight
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
and the Bishop come into play. At the
same time, Black won't have access to d-
5 with his Knight if Euwe plays Pawn to
e5.
15.c4 This Pawn move sets up e5 for
White without fear of the f6-Knight
posting itself on d5.
If Black exchanges bxc, Euwe's Bishop
and Knight are freed (in chess, mobility
is life). c5 16.cxb5 Making way for the
Knight. The game ends before the
Bishop ever gets a chance to make an
appearance. cxd4 Euwe takes the
initiative and Black's Queenside is
overrun with White's pieces. 17.Nc4
Qb8 18.e5 Nd7 Black attacks the
center Pawn. His only sign of life for the
entire game. 19.Nd6+ Ke7 20.Rxd4 a6
Euwe applies more pressure on the c-
file. RR21.Rc4 The Bishop feels heat
from three officers.
Black's heavy guns are all busy
(immobile) protecting the Bishop. Nxe5
c-7: A weak square for Black
A strong square for White 22.Rc7+ Nd7
What's Euwe's move that deserves a
double exclamation? 23.Qc5!!
Euwe centralizes his Queen and
pressures the Black King in to a bad
move. Kf6? Mate in 2 24.Ne4+
The King has one available square. Kg6
25.Qg5#
1-0
20
B15
Alekhine,Alexander
L'Echiquier Feminin
Paris 1932
[Gauthier]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4
Nf6 5.Ng3 e5 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.h3 Bxf3
8.Qxf3 exd4 9.Bc4 Bb4+ 10.c3 dxc3
11.0-0 Nbd7 12.Re1+ Kf8 13.bxc3
Bd6 14.Nf5 Ne5 Alekhine sacrifices the
exchange and never relinquishes the
initiative until his opponent is mated.
In the process, he sacrifices both Rooks.
15.Rxe5 Bxe5 16.Ba3+ Ke8 17.Rd1
Nd5 This position displays the power of
the open file.
Alekhine wins the Knight. Press forward
to see why. 18.Rxd5 If Black takes the
Rook, he loses his Queen. Qf6
Black sees the trouble and does not take
the Rook.
Alekhine wins a second minor piece for
the price of one Rook.
[ 18...cxd5 19.Bb5+ CHECK
The King is immobile. Qd7
Press Delete for the main line. ]
19.Rxe5+ Qxe5 Alekhine closes the
game from here.
It ends in mate, seven (7) moves later.
20.Nd6+ CHECK Kd7 21.Qxf7+
CHECK Kd8 22.Nxb7+ CHECK Kc8
23.Bd6 Qxd6 Mate in 3 24.Nxd6+ Kd8
25.Be6 Re8 26.Qd7#
1-0
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010 21

C15 Lasker develops his Bishop and creates

Lasker,Emanuel another key square.
Capablanca,Jose R He maintains control of e5 from here on.
Moscow 1935 Nxe4 9.Nxe4 Nf6 10.Bd3 Play for the
[Gauthier] key square continues. 0-0 11.Nxf6+
Bxf6 12.c3 Notice that White is in full
1.e4 Two former world champions go at control of the e4-square. Qd5
it in this game. Black still wants some say over e4.
This game is a rare loss for Capablanca, 13.Qe2! White is supporting the key
primarily due to poor development and square e-5 and doesn't want Black to
the lack of scope and mobility for his have the opportunity to push his e-Pawn.
pieces. e6 2.d4 White is in full control of How do you choose key squares? Your
the center. decision should be based on
Look at the play that ensues for the e-4 1) familiarity with an opening and
square up to move number seven (7). d5 2) what the position allows. c6 14.0-0
Black challenges the center. Black's Bishop is cramped. Re8
In the opening, strong players make Simple development towards the center.
moves that support, attack and occupy 15.Rad1 Ditto Bd7 16.Rfe1 White is
center squares. 3.Nc3 Bb4 This move fully developed.
restricts the Knight's mobility so that he Look at the difference in scope of the
can no longer defend e-4. White Bishops as compared to the Black
4.Nge2 The c3-Knight is still immobile, Bishops. White has the superior
but now White can replace him if he's development. Qa5 17.Qc2 g6
captured. Black's d7-Bishop is not in the game
The point is that White insists on having because of the Pawns in its way.
a defender for his e4-Pawn. In essence, Black is one piece down.
Opening play is play for control of the 18.Be5 White takes a strategic outpost in
center. dxe4 5.a3 Be7 6.Nxe4 enemy territory. This is a crucial chess
White is in possession of the key square. strategy as it keeps Black's position
A key square is one that the players cramped, remember the poor d7-
jockey to control. The last few moves Bishop?
revolved around the e4-square. The fact that White's Bishop is supported
Go back to move 3 and pay attention to by a Rook and a Pawn assures White's
the play for the key square. Nf6 control of the e5-square. If Black
Play continues for the key square. captures, White has enough backup to
7.N2c3 White threatens to capture the f6- recapture. This guarantees that Black's
Knight (a defender of the key square) d7-Bishop will remain cramped. The
and then plop his c3-Knight on the e4- pieces need room to breathe (scope) or
square. Nbd7 This move supports the f6- else they're useless. Bg7 Black has two
Knight in case he's captured. pieces in active play. 19.h4 White has
You guessed it! Another move bearing five pieces in active play. Who do you
on the key square. 8.Bf4! think is going to win the game?
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
Look at how all White's pieces seem to
have a focus and purpose, like soldiers
in formation.
You should strive to develop your pieces
so that they bear on the center and on
the opponent's King and good things will
happen for you.
Qd8 The Queen is back on the defence.
If you are on the attack, your opponent is
going to be busy shifting his pieces to
meet your threats and won't have time to
threaten you.
Chess players call this having the
initiative. 20.h5 Qg5 Look for White's
combination that
1) gets both his Rooks in the file with the
key square, and
2) helps to secure the key square.
21.Bxg7!ƒ Kxg7 Black's only active
piece is the Queen. 22.Re5 Go back!
Qe7 Notice that White is active on 5
ranks while Black is active on three
ranks.
Controlling more space on the
chessboard is a sign that your pieces
have more scope and that your're ahead
in the position. 23.Rde1 White has four
active pieces and Black has one active
piece. Control of the e-file and the e-5
square keeps Black all locked up.
The e5 Rook blockades the e6-Pawn
and prevents Black from activating his
d7- Bishop. Rg8 24.Qc1 The Queen
increases her mobility and her scope
(her effective range). Rad8
Because White controls the center, look
at how fast he can shift his pieces to
another sector of the board. In three
moves, White will dominate Black's
castled position.
This strategy is available to White
because of the mobility of his pieces.
22
25.R1e3 ONE Bc8 26.Rh3 TWO Kf8
27.Qh6+ THREE
White is on the offense.
Black, on the other hand, needs about
five or six moves to activate his pieces
and this is after he gets his King out of
check. Rg7 White opens up a file,
increasing the scope of his h3-Rook.
28.hxg6 hxg6 Only a very strong player
would even consider White's next move.
29.Bxg6!! Winning the Pawn with
impunity.
The g7- Rook is pinned (immobile) and if
Black plays fxg6??, he loses his Queen.
You don't believe me? Press the arrow
key and see for yourself. Qf6
[ 29...fxg6?? 30.Qh8+ Check Kf7
31.Rf3+ Check Qf6+- and the lady is
history
Press the delete key to return to the
main line. ]
30.Rg5 Black's Queen doesn't have
much mobility.
There are two squares available to it, a
very bad sign. Speaking of mobility,
take at look at all Black's pieces.
Black's game is lost. If he moves 30...
£e7, he's mated. Ke7 Now the Queen is
cut off by her own King.
White has a good move, do you see it?
[ 30...Qe7?? 31.Qh8+ Rg8 32.Qxg8+
Kxg8 33.Bh7+ Kh8 ( 33...Kf8
34.Rg8# Press the delete key to
continue with the sub variation. )
34.Bf5# Press the delete key for the
main line. ]
31.Rf3! Black's Queen is mated!
Black played on to lose in 33 more
moves.
THE END
1-0
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010 23

B00 28.Ne5+! Discovered check.

Alekhine,Alexander
Kristofil
Kecskemet 1936 By the way, the poor g4-Bishop is "en
1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nf3 Mate in 3 29.Rb1+ Bb6 The Knights
Bg4 5.Be2 0-0-0 6.Be3 e6 7.0-0 h6
8.Nc3 Qd7 9.Qe1 Bb4 10.Rd1 Nge7
11.a3 Ba5 12.b4 Bb6 13.Na4 Nd5
14.c4 Nxe3 15.fxe3 a6 16.c5 Ba7
17.b5 axb5 18.Bxb5 f6 19.Bxc6
Qxc6 20.Qa5 Qa6 21.Qxa6 bxa6
Alekhine takes the open file. 22.Rb1
RRRhe8 Alekhine overprotects a strong
square.
23.Rfc1 Strong players overprotect
strong squares.
This seemingly insignificant move will
have important consequences. Kd7
Alekhine attacks two weak units. 24.Rb7 8.e3 0-0 9.Nf3 c6 10.Rd1 Ne8
Black is forced to un-develop a piece.
Ra8 Alekhine supports a new strong
point with check.
25.c6+ This move would not have been
possible without the support of the
c1-Rook, "the overprotector." Kd6
The best move here is the one that
develops the f3-Knight to where the
action is.
Notice that all the action is on the
queenside.
26.Nd2 After Alekhine checks with his f3- his Knight for duty as an attacker against
Knight, the c7-Pawn will be unprotected.
The old weakness is a weakness anew.
Rec8 Black un-develops another piece.
And now, The d2-Knight enters the fray
with a splash. 27.Nc4+ Black should not
take the Pawn.
Can you see why? Kxc6??
Black blunders by moving into the Rook's
line of fire.
White has a sacrificial combination.
Black has to move his King. He can't
touch the e5-Knight.
prise" and totally helpless. Kxb7??
take over. 30.Nc5+ Kb8 Mate in one (1)
31.Nc6#
1-0
E36
Euwe,Max
Bogoljubow,Efim
Bad Nauheim 1937
[Gauthier]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2
d5 5.a3 Be7 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 Nbd7
11.Bg3 Nd6 12.c5 Nf5 13.Bf4 b6
14.b4 bxc5 15.bxc5 Qa5 16.Bd3 Nh4
17.Nxh4 Bxh4 18.Bd6 Re8 19.0-0
The fate of the entire game turns on
White's d-4 square.
Pay attention to how almost every move
from here on bears on d-4 and how
White loses the game because of the d-4
square. e5 20.Bh7+ Kh8 21.Bf5 exd4
22.exd4 Nf8 Black challenges White's
best piece, the f5-Bishop, and readies
d-4. 23.Bxc8 Raxc8 24.Rd3 Bf6
25.Rfd1 Ne6 26.Ne2? Nxd4
Black's Rook (on the open file) and
Black's Queen are both bearing on the
e-1 square.
This has a dramatic impact on the
outcome of the game. 27.Rxd4
[ 27.Nxd4?? Qe1+ 28.Rxe1 Rxe1#
Press Delete for the main line. ]
27...Bxd4 28.Rxd4?? Qe1#
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
Press Delete to see the other line.
Press Escape to close the game window.
0-1
E10 The back rank is exposed as a
Rotunno,Ernesto
Alekhine,Alexander
Carrasco (12) 1938 choice of
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Ne4 4.Nbd2
f5 5.Qc2 d5 6.e3 Nd7 7.Be2 c6
8.0-0 Bd6 9.b3 0-0 10.Bb2 Qf6 11.g3 2. taking one of the Pawns. 33.Qxd4
g5 12.Ne1 Qh6 13.Ng2 Ndf6 14.f4
Bd7 15.Nxe4 Nxe4 16.Bf3 Nf6
17.Ne1 Be8 18.Nd3 Bh5 19.Bh1 Bg4
20.Ne5 Bh3 21.Rf2 Rae8 22.a4 Re7
23.Ba3 Bxa3 24.Rxa3 Rg7 25.b4
Alekhine takes an excellent center
square for his Knight.
He practically "forces" White to give up
his King side defender. This sets the
stage for Alekhine's h3-Bishop to win the
game.
Ne4 White is forced to get rid of his
Bishop as the Black Knight is too
powerful.
26.Bxe4 The defender of the light
squares is history. fxe4 Alekhine's
Knight move has caused White to
weaken all the light squares around his
King and this is a good part of the reason
White loses the game.
Alekhine's light square Bishop literally
wins the game. 27.Kh1 Alekhine opens
a file for his Rook. gxf4 RR28.exf4
Alekhine exposes the weak (poorly
protected) h2-square.
Bf5 White's Queen comes to help out on
the weak White squares. 29.Qe2
Fast forward to Black's move number 30.
a5 30.b5 c5 White gives up the light
24
squares. 31.Qe3 White has just given
up a key diagonal in the vicinity of the
King.
So what does Alekhine do? Qh5
Alekhine takes the diagonal for himself!
weakness. 32.Ra1 Alekhine takes the
center with initiative. cxd4 White has a
1. allowing Black to keep two connected
and mobile (super strong) center Pawns
or
With the Queen deflected from the g-3
square, Alekhine's Rook on the g-file
comes alive. Rxg3 The Pawn is pinned.
34.Rg1 Alekhine maintains the initiative.
Rxg1+ Taking the initiative means that
your opponent has a limited response
and you in effect get another move for
free. 35.Kxg1 What's the best move for
Black?
Consider a good square for the Bishop.
Bh3! Good job!
This move turns a practically worthless
Bishop into a a powerful attacking piece.
36.c5 Alekhine sacrifices his Rook for an
attack. Rxf4 White is looking to Queen a
Pawn, but never quite makes it.
White doesn't take the Rook, but that
was his best move. 37.c6 ...Mate in 5
Qe2 If Rook captures Queen, it's mate
on f-1. 38.Nf3 Rg4+ 39.Kh1
...Mate in 3
(it's the Bishop) Bg2+ 40.Kg1 Bxf3+
41.Rg2 Pick your mating square. Qe1#
0-1
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
Alekhine,Alexander
Milner Barry,Philip
Plymouth
[Gauthier]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3
b6 5.Bg5 Bb7 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 0-0
8.Bd3 d5 9.cxd5 Qxd5 10.Bxf6 gxf6
11.e4 Qh5 12.g4 Qg6 13.Qe2 Nd7
14.h4 c5 15.0-0-0 cxd4 16.Nxd4 Nc5
17.f3 Nxd3+ 18.Qxd3 Rfd8 19.Qb5
Bxc3 20.bxc3 Rac8 21.Kb2 Rc5
22.Qa4 Ra5 23.Qb4 Rc5 Alekhine has
a sacrificial combination, courtesy of the
open file.
In the end, the d-file and the Rook win
the game for Alekhine. 24.Nxe6 Rxd1
25.Rxd1 RRfxe6 Alekhine is able to win
the unprotected Bishop, thanks to the
open file. 26.Rd8+ Kg7 27.Rd7+ Kg8
Alekhine ends up winning a Pawn.
He sacrificed a Knight, remember?
28.Rxb7 Black takes the initiative.
Always look for moves that threaten the
opponent in your games. Here, Black
has a move with an insidious threat. Qe8 e-5 to the White Queen. 15.Bxg4
Black has a threat that can win White's
Queen. 29.Kc2 Black wants his Queen
to take the attractive diagonal that runs
from b-8 to h-2.
The diagonal is attractive because the
Queen's mobility will be greatly
enhanced.
Black has the tactical means to achieve
this goal. Qa8 30.Rd7 Look at how
Black enhances the mobility of his
Queen. Qb8 Alekhine moves to
challenge two center squares and to
support his Rook. 31.Qd4 Black makes
us of his mobility. Qh2+ 32.Kd3
Alekhine has the much better position
25
E13 due to his control of the d-file.
Black now blunders and hands the win to
Alekhine.
1938 Qxh4?? Mate in 3 33.Rd8+ Kh7
34.Qd7+ Kg6 35.Rg8#
1-0
B82
Tal,Mihail
Gulko,Boris F
Exhibition 1969
[Gauthier]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4
Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.f4 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7
8.Qf3 a6 9.0-0-0 Qc7 10.g4 Nxd4
11.Bxd4 e5 Watch how the e-5 square
is the road that leads to Black's demise.
12.fxe5 RRdxe5 Tal doesn't make the
obvious move.
He makes an aggressive move aimed at
the weak (poorly protected) e5-Pawn.
13.Qg3 The center Pawn is pinned.
Nxg4 14.Be2 Tal develops a piece with
a threat. Qa5 Tal forces Black to give up
Black has to give up e-5 or he's down a
piece. exd4 Black gives up the center
and Tal wins the game.
For a great player like Tal, it's that
simple. 16.Nd5 Qxa2 Tal makes a
strong threat against the weak (poorly
protected) e-7 square. 17.Qe5
The threat is mate in one (1). Qa1+
Check 18.Kd2 Qa5+ Check 19.b4 Qd8
Tal develops his last piece. 20.Rhg1
Black has four (4) undeveloped pieces.
f6 The finale starts here. 21.Bh5+ Kf8
22.Rxg7 fxe5 Mate in 6 23.Rf7+ Ke8
24.Rxe7+ Kf8 25.Rf1+ Kg8 26.Rff7
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010 26

Qd6 Mate in 2 27.Re8+ Qf8 28.Rexf8# D97

1-0 Byrne,Donald
Fischer,Robert James
USA-ch 1956
C07 [Gauthier]
Tal,Mihail
Zilber,Israel 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.d4
Riga 1969 0-0 5.Bf4 d5 6.Qb3 dxc4 7.Qxc4 c6
8.e4 Nbd7 9.Rd1 Nb6 10.Qc5 Bg4
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 11.Bg5 Na4 12.Qa3 Nxc3 13.bxc3
Qxd5 5.Ngf3 Nc6 6.Bc4 Qh5 7.dxc5 Nxe4 14.Bxe7 Qb6 Black is so ahead
Bxc5 8.Ne4 Nge7 9.Bg5 Qg4 10.Qd3 in development that White forgoes the
b6 11.0-0-0 0-0 Tal attacks the King exchange.
side in sacrificial fashion. 12.Bf6 Qf4+ Frtiz 5.00 says the best move is Bishop
CHECK 13.Kb1 gxf6 14.g3 Qh6 captures Rook, at depth 11. 15.Bc4∓
Tal has a plan to activate his Knights. Fischer can safely capture the c3-Pawn
15.g4 Qf4 16.g5 Both Knights are because the White King is on an open
helped by exchanges of the Pawns. fxg5 file.
Both Knights come alive. 17.Nfxg5 Ng6 Press forward to see what we mean.
Tal plays to open the h-file. 18.h4 Nb4 Nxc3 If Byrne takes the c3-Knight,
19.Qh3 e5 20.Qg2 Bf5 Tal plays for Fischer has time to win the e7-Bishop.
the h-file. 21.h5 Notice that the f7-Pawn This is possible because the King is on
is pinned. The King is in a line of fire. the open file. 16.Bc5 Fischer moves to
Kg7 22.hxg6 h6 Tal wins a Pawn. take the initiative.
23.Bxf7 The Bishop is a very strong (He gets a free tempo.) Rfe8+ 17.Kf1
(well protected) outpost. Rxf7 Fischer, playing Black makes a stunning
Instead of what seemed like a sacrifice, move.
Tal ends up winning an exchange. Most analysis engines pick it up
24.gxf7 Black takes a piece, but he ends immediately. Be6!! With this move,
up activating the h-file. hxg5 25.Nxg5 Fischer takes and maintains the initiative
Qxf2 Mate in 8 for seven (7) moves and ends up ahead
The isolated King makes a pitiful figure. in material. 18.Bxb6 Bxc4+ 19.Kg1
26.Ne6+ Kxf7 27.Qg7+ Kxe6 28.Rh6+ Fischer's Knight takes the initiative to win
Bg6 29.Qxg6+ Ke7 30.Rh7+ a Pawn(d4), a Rook(d1), a Bishop(b6)
Look at the White King's castled position. and the game.
Kf8 Mate in 3 This is one of the most famous chess
31.Qg7+ Ke8 32.Qd7+ Kf8 33.Rh8# games ever played. Fischer was
1-0 fourteen years old and his opponent is a
grandmaster. Ne2+ CHECK 20.Kf1
Nxd4+! CHECK 21.Kg1 Fischer now
goes after the Rook. Ne2+ CHECK
22.Kf1 Nc3+ CHECK 23.Kg1
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
White's Bishop has been en prise since
move 18.
Fishcer takes it with initiative. If he
takes the Rook first, the Bishop will have
time to run. axb6! 24.Qb4 Ra4!
25.Qxb6 This poor Rook has been en
prise since Fischer's move 22. Nxd1
Take time out to convince yourself of
Black's material advantage. (Two Rooks
equal a Queen.)
This ends a combination that started at
Fischer's move 18. 26.h3 The King feels
the heat. Rxa2 27.Kh2 Fischer's Knight
takes the initiative again. Nxf2 28.Re1
The Rooks are exchanged. Rxe1
29.Qd8+ Bf8 30.Nxe1 The mobility of
Fischer's pieces wins the game.
White is helpless. RRBd5 The move
finds a weak square (poorly protected)
and cuts off the Queen's influence on the
d-file. 31.Nf3 Ne4 Notice how Fischer's
two pieces are centralized. This is not a
coincidence. It is the mark of a strong
player in a good position.
Notice how both center pieces are both
protected. 32.Qb8 A weak square b5
33.h4 h5 34.Ne5 The Bishop is pinned.
If White is allowed to attack the pinned
piece, Fischer loses it. Kg7 Now Fischer
chases the King down the first rank until
he's mated. 35.Kg1 Bc5+ It's not a
coincidence that all Black's minor pieces
are centralized an the Rook is on the
second rank.
Even Aaron Nimzovich would be proud
of this set-up. 36.Kf1 Ng3+ 37.Ke1
Fischer misses a mate in four (4):
Rook-e2 Check! Press forward to see
the line. Bb4+
[ 37...Re2+! ONE 38.Kd1 Bb3+ TWO
39.Kc1 Ba3+ THREE 40.Kb1 Re1#
MATE
27
Delete for the main line. ]
38.Kd1 Bb3+ 39.Kc1 ...Mate in 3 Ne2+
40.Kb1 Nc3+ 41.Kc1 Rc2#
[ 41...Ba3# ]
0-1
B12
Tal,Mihail
Golombek,Harry
Munich olm 1958
[Gauthier]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.c4 e6
5.Nc3 dxc4 6.Bxc4 Ne7 7.Nge2 Nd7
8.0-0 Nb6 9.Bb3 Qd7 10.a4 a5
11.Ng3 Bg6 12.Bc2 Bxc2 13.Qxc2
Ned5 14.Nce4 Nb4 15.Qe2 N6d5
16.f4 g6 17.Ra3 Be7 18.Bd2 Nc2
19.Rd3 Ndb4 20.Bxb4 Nxb4 21.Rdd1
Rd8 22.Kh1 h5 Tal takes the initiative
with his Knights.
Black is so busy playing defense, he
ends up getting overrun. 23.Nf6+ Bxf6
24.exf6 Tal's dominance of the dark
squares on the kingside and in the
center lead to Black's demise. Kf8
Tal's Knight heads for the queenside.
25.Ne4 Black makes a weak move in an
effort to get his Rook into play.
The poor fellow never got a chance to
castle. h4 26.Nc5 Tal has the initiative.
Qc8 Tal makes a move that will open
pathways to the Black King. 27.f5 gxf5
Now the Queen has a pathway to Black's
King.
It is Tal's Queen that dominates the
game from here. 28.Qe3 The White
Queen's ultimate goal is g-7.
Black is helpless on the weak dark
squares. b6 This move by Black is
almost irrelevant. 29.Qg5 Rh7
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
Tal plays to deflect Black's Rook from h-
7. 30.Rf4 bxc5 31.Rxh4 The Black
Rook has nowhere to go.
He must give up the weak square. Rxh4
Tal's Queen takes over.
It's mate in six (6). Forget about the
hanging Rook.
32.Qg7+ Ke8 33.Qg8+ Kd7 34.Qxf7+
Kd6 35.Qe7+ Kd5 Solve the mate in 2.
36.Qxc5+ Ke4 37.Qe5#
1-0
D71
Byrne,Robert E
Fischer,Robert James
USA-ch 1963
[Gauthier]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5
5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.e3 0-0
8.Nge2 Nc6 9.0-0 b6 10.b3 Ba6
11.Ba3 Re8 12.Qd2 e5 13.dxe5 Nxe5
14.Rfd1 d-3 is a weak square. White
doesn't have a Pawn supporting it.
Watch how Black's Knights destroy the
King's safety and set the stage for the
Bishops to win the game at move 20.
Fischer was 19 years old when he
played this masterpiece. Nd3! 15.Qc2
Fischer takes the initiative from here and
never lets up until his opponent resigns.
Click on f-2 to capture the Pawn. Nxf2
16.Kxf2 The other Knight takes over
from where his comrade left off. Ng4+
17.Kg1 Nxe3 18.Qd2 Fischer is not
playing for material advantage, he's
looking to expose the King.
Pretty soon, Fisher will dominate the
long light square diagonal bearing down
on the King.
Click on the Bishop at g-2 to capture it.
28
Nxg2! 19.Kxg2 Fischer clears the long
diagonal with initiative. d4² 20.Nxd4
Bb7+ CHECK!!
The two (2) Bishops take over and the
game practically ends right here. 21.Kf1
Qd7 Black threatens mate in three (3).
Byrne resigns to end the saga that
started at Fischer's move 15.
Press forward to see the possibilities.
[ 21...Qd7 22.Qf2 This is what could
have happened. ( 22.-- null move
(allows you to skip the other side's
move to play a threat) Qh3+ 23.Kg1
Bxd4+ White has two legal moves.
They both result in mate and lose the
Queen.
Click on f-2. 24.Qf2 The Black Queen
mates.
Figure out how she does it.
Qg2# MATE
Bishops are dangerous animals!
Press the Delete key to see the other
line. ) 22...Qh3+ 23.Kg1 Black lures
the defending Rook away from d-4 so
he can skewer the Queen. Re1+
CHECK
with the threat of mate on g-2 24.Rxe1
Bxd4 If the Queen takes the Bishop,
it's mate on g-2. 25.Ne4 Bxf2+
26.Kxf2 Qxh2+ 27.Ke3 Re8 28.Kd3-+
Bxe4+ 29.Rxe4 Qxg3+ 30.Kc2 Qg2+
31.Kc3 Qxe4 Black has a huge
material advantage.
THE END
Press the Delete Key to replay the
possibilities. ]
0-1
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010
B09 Queen. c6 This pawn move prevents
Fischer,Robert James
Benko,Pal C
USA-ch 1963 The d4-Knight is Black's only strongly
[Gauthier]
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4
Opening = Three Pawns Attack Nf6
5.Nf3 0-0 6.Bd3 How does Black
weaken White's support of the d-4
square?
(Ctrl-f to flip the board) Bg4
Black immobilizes the defender. 7.h3
Benko takes the defender. Bxf3 8.Qxf3
Black attacks the weak square. Nc6
White defends 9.Be3 Black attacks
again. e5 White can no longer maintain
his d-Pawn.
Black is threatening a pawn fork on d-4.
10.dxe5ƒ dxe5 11.f5 Fisher's dark
square Bishop is a "good" Bishop since it
bears on the opposing King's territory.
The light square Bishop is blocked by his
own Pawn and is not doing so well right
now. gxf5 RR12.Qxf5 Benko takes the
strong (well protected) outpost with
initiative. Nd4 Fischer is not going to
give up his e3-Bishop. 13.Qf2
The Black Knight is well placed on d-4 as
an outpost. If White captures it, he will
be giving away his good Bishop. Ne8
Fischer castles and attacks a weak
square.
Can you find it? 14.0-0 f-7 is a weak
square (poorly defended) for Black.
Another weakness will soon be exposed
at h-7. Nd6 15.Qg3 Fischer starts
harrassing the Black King. Kh8
Fischer wants to move his Queen to h-5
to attack both weak squares on the King
side. 16.Qg4 Notice that the dark
squares are off limits to the White
29
White's c3- Knight from moving to b5 and
exchanging either of Black's Knights.
posted piece and the d6-Knight is
nursing the weak f7 Pawn. 17.Qh5
Two (2) weak squares for the price of
one Qe8 Fischer now decides to
activate his dormant light square Bishop
for an attack. How is this done?
18.Bxd4!! exd4 Once a weak square,
always a weak square, look at poor h-7.
The King Pawn is now free to move but
... 19.Rf6!! preventing any exchanges
that would kill the attack.
And now the game is over for Black as
there is no way out. He will soon be
mated or have to resign.
[ 19.e5? This is a bad move that just
seems good on the surface. f5!
and White's attack is now finished
because Black has counterplay.
20.Qxe8 Nxe8= The game is now
about even. The one mistake would
cost White his attack.
Press the Delete Key to go back to the
main line. ]
19...Kg8
[ 19...Bxf6? Mate in four (4) 20.e5 Ne4
21.Bxe4 h6 22.Qxh6+ Kg8 23.Qh7#
Press the Delete key for the main
line. ]
20.e5 Do you see the mate threat? h6
the c3 Knight has been in trouble since
move 18. 21.Ne2 White's e2-Knight is
now safe and Black's Knight is now in
trouble.
Benko resigned because if he saves his
Knight, he gets mated. Press forward.
Nb5 Mate in 2 22.Qf5 Bxf6 23.Qh7#
Escape closes the game window.
ChessBase 10 Printout, Microsoft , 5/27/2010 30

Delete takes you to the previous line.

1-0