What is wrong with the following position?
Budapest 1921
Sterk, Karoly
Alekhine, Alexander
(After 8...O-O)
[FEN "r1bq1rk1/pp1nbppp/2p1pn2/3p4/2PP4/2N1PN2/PPQ2PPP/R1B1KB1R w KQ - 0 9"]
Hint: Consider the last move, then count the moves made by both players. To play through the complete game see...
Alexander Alekhine vs Karoly Sterk, Budapest 1921
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1012053
...on Chessgames.com.
The following position, from Alekhine's annotated brilliancies, was played against the fourth World Champion's future title challenger (1929 and 1934). Kotov also chose to include the game in his biography of Alekhine.
Of his 16th move, Alekhine wrote,
The reader will clearly perceive a similarity with other games (which also gained brilliancy prizes). The leading characteristic in these games is an unforeseen but immediately decisive attack. The chief point in these attacks lies in the fact that none of them was prepared in the immediate vicinity of its objective. On the contrary, all the preliminary maneuvers which tended to divert the adverse pieces from the defense of their King took place in the center or on the opposite wing.
Those other games (the italics are mine) were Alekhine - Sterk, 1921 Budapest; Alekhine - Rubinstein, 1923 Karlsbad; and Alekhine - Selesniev, 1922 Pistyan. In 'My Best Games of Chess 1908-1923', the game against Selesniev was not marked as having received a brilliancy prize. I'll add it to my list as though it had been so marked.
Triberg 1921
Bogoljubov, Efim
Alekhine, Alexander
(After 11...d5-c4(xP))
[FEN "r2q1rk1/pb3ppp/1pn1pn2/8/2p4Q/2N3P1/PP2PPBP/R1B2RK1 w - - 0 12"]
12.Rd1! Qc8 Alekhine:
Forced. If 12...Qe7 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Qxf6 gxf6 16.Rd7.
13.Bg5! Nd5
On 13...Nd7 14.Ne4, with a strong attack for White.
14.Nxd5 exd5 15.Rxd5! Nb4 16.Be4!! f5 (16...h6 17.Bxh6; or 16...g6 17.Bf6 Nxd5 18.Bxd5) 17.Bxf5! Rxf5 18.Rd8+ and White won easily. The '!'s are all Alekhine's.
To play through the complete game see...
Alexander Alekhine vs Efim Bogoljubov, Triberg 1921
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1012080
...on Chessgames.com.
One of the curiosities on the list of Alekhine's annotated brilliancies is that Alekhine won two brilliancy prizes in each of three different events: 1922 Pistyan, 1923 Karlsbad, and 1926 Semmering. There are undoubtedly good reasons for this. One game might have been awarded a prize for the most brilliant game in the event, while the other might have won a prize for best game featuring an attack on the castled King. I'll check this the next time I visit a chess library.
The following position is from Karlsbad (Carlsbad) 1923. Just like the other brilliant game from the same event (Alekhine - Rubinstein), Kasparov selected this game for 'My Great Predecessors' and Kotov chose it for his biography of Alekhine.
This game against Gruenfeld was played in the round before the game with Rubinstein. Both games saw the same opening, a Queen's Gambit Declined, with Alekhine varying on his ninth move as White against Rubinstein (9.a4 instead of 9.a3); 'I wished to avoid fighting against the defence which I considered then, and still consider now, the best.'
The idea behind pushing the a-Pawn is seen in Black's last move in the diagram. It has allowed White's light squared Bishop to move from f1 to c4 (after ...d5xc4) to a2 to b1. The Queen and Bishop form a battery aiming at h7, a weak spot in Black's position. If it were now White's move and if the Knight were missing from f6, White could force mate in two.
Karlsbad 1923
Alekhine, Alexander
Gruenfeld, Ernst
(After 16.Ba2-b1)
[FEN "r1b1r1k1/3nbpp1/pq2pn1p/1p6/3N3B/P1N1P3/1PQ2PPP/1B1RK2R b K - 0 16"]
Alekhine first pointed out that White's last move, 'appears to prevent 16...Bb7 owing to the possibility of 17.Ndxb5 axb5 18.Rxd7 with a winning attack for White.' 16...Bb7! Anyway! This note and the following notes are all by Alekhine:
Black plays this move all the same, for 17.Ndxb5 would be refuted by 17...Qc6 18.Nd4 (forced) 18...Qxg2 with a strong counter-attack. In this way Black has successfully completed his development. There consequently remains nothing else for White than castling, after the failure of his premature attack.
17.O-O Rac8 18.Qd2
Hindering the double threat 18...Be4 or 18...Ne4.
18...Ne5!
This Knight will occupy the square c4, thereby fixing the weakness of the Queenside, induced by 9.a3.
19.Bxf6
In order to exchange Black's dangerous QB; White's next maneuver is finely conceived, but insufficient to equalize.
19...Bxf6 20.Qc2 g6
Not at all to prevent a harmless check at h7 but rather to secure a retreat subsequently for the KB, whose action on the long diagonal will be very powerful.
21.Qe2 Nc4 22.Be4!
Feeling himself in a strategic inferiority, Gruenfeld attempts to save himself by tactical skirmishing. He now hopes for the variation 22...Nxa3 23.Qf3! Bxe4 24.Nxe4 Bxd4 25.exd4 etc., which would ensure him the gain of the exchange.
22...Bg7! 23.Bxb7
But by this simple move, which is part of his plan, Black retains his advantage.
23...Qxb7 24.Rc1
The threat 24...Nxa3 compels White to retrace his 14th move.
24...e5!
The advance of the e-Pawn will give Black's Knight a new outpost on d3, still more irksome for the opponent than its present position.
25.Nb3 e4
Renewing the threat 26...Nxa3.
26.Nd4 Red8!
To make the following Knight maneuver still more effective, for now when it reaches d3 it will intercept the defence of the White Knight by the Rook.
27.Rfd1 Ne5 28.Na2
After this move, which removes the Knight from the field of action, White is definitely lost.
Alekhine wasn't shy about giving '!' to his moves. The five '!'-moves in the preceding sequence are as annotated by the fourth World Champion. He finished the game with a nice combination where he awarded himself two more '!'-moves as well as a '!!'-move! To play through the complete game see...
Ernst Gruenfeld vs Alexander Alekhine, Karlsbad 1923
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1012180
...on Chessgames.com.
Continuing with Alekhine's annotated brilliancies, the following position is from Karlsbad (Carlsbad) 1923. Although no longer at the peak of his game, Akiba Rubinstein was one of the top five players in the world at the time the game was played.
Kasparov selected this game for the first volume of 'My Great Predecessors'. Kotov also chose it for his biography of Alekhine.
Karlsbad 1923
Rubinstein, Akiba
Alekhine, Alexander
(After 11...Nf6-d5)
[FEN "r1bqr1k1/1p1nbppp/p1p1p3/3n2B1/P1BP4/2N1PN2/1PQ2PPP/2R1K2R w K - 0 12"]
12.Bf4! (Most players would continue 12.Bxe7 without too much thought.) 12...Nxf4 13.exf4 c5 Alekhine:
Dictated by the wish to eliminate White's troublesome Pawn on f4. The position of the Black Rook at e8 is less favorable than on f8, where it hinders a subsequent attack on the point f7.
14. dxc5 (14.O-O cxd4 15.Nxd4 Nb6. This variation and the rest are Alekhine's.) 14...Qc7! 15.O-O! (15.g3 Qc6 16.Be2 e5) 15...Qxf4 (If 15...Bxc5 16.Bd3 Nf6 17.Ne4, or 15...Nxc5 16.Ne5) 16.Ne4! (16.Ne2 Qh6 17.b4 a5)
16...Nxc5 Here Alekhine pointed out that accepting the Pawn sacrifice with 16...Bxc5 17.Neg5 g6 (17...Nf8 18.Bd3) 18.Rfe1 Nf6 19.g3 Qd6 20.Red1 Qe7 21.Ne5 gives 'an overwhelming attack for White.' 17.Nxc5 Bxc5 18.Bd3 b6 (18... Bd6 19.Bxh7+ Kh8 20.Rfd1 and 21.Rd4) 19.Bxh7+ Kh8. Alekhine:
After 19...Kf8 Black's King would be less endangered than after the text move and it would have been very difficult for White to show how he could win, despite his positional superiority.
Alekhine went on to win the game with a series of precise, decisive blows and a combination that gained the exchange. To play through the complete game see...
Alexander Alekhine vs Akiba Rubinstein, Karlsbad 1923
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1012176
...on Chessgames.com.
Continuing with the list of Alekhine's annotated brilliancies, the following position is from the earliest game, a Moscow Championship. In a footnote to the game, Alekhine mentioned that he won first prize without losing a single game.
Brilliant games almost always finish with a surprising sacrifice, and this game is no exception. Finding the winning sacrifice in a winning position is the mark of a good player. Playing to get that winning position is the mark of a great player. I have often enjoyed watching how Alekhine constructed his overwhelming attacks move by move. This game is a good example.
In the following position, the result of an inaccuracy by Black in a Nimzo-Indian, White has built a strong center. Alekhine's next move was prophylactic.
Moscow 1916
Zubarev, Nikolay
Alekhine, Alexander
(After 11...Qd8-e7)
[FEN "r4rk1/pbpnqpp1/1p1ppn1p/8/2PPPP2/2PB2N1/P1Q3PP/R1B2RK1 w - - 0 12"]
12.Qe2! Alekhine:
Preparing 13.Ba3, which if played at once, would cause unnecessary complications after 12...Ng4, threatening 13...Nxh2!.
12...Rae8 Alekhine:
Black has completed his development very rapidly, but none of his pieces has any scope. It is easy to foresee that he will be unable to withstand the attack which his opponent is preparing in the center.
The game continued 13.Ba3 c5 14.Rae1 Kh8 (Preparing the next move.) 15.d5! Ng8 (If, on this move or the next, 15...exd5 then 16.Nf5) 16.e5 g6 (How should White continue after 16...dxe5?) 17.Qd2 exd5 Alekhine:
17...dxe5 18.fxe5 exd5 19.e6 fxe6 20.Bxg6 Rxf1+ 21.Nxf1 Rf8 22.cxd5 and 'White's advantage is sufficient to win.
18.cxd5 dxe5 19.c4! Alekhine:
The opening of the long diagonal for the QB decides the game in a few moves.
The two White Bishops aimed at Black's King on adjacent long diagonals played a key role in the final combination. To play through the complete game see...
Alexander Alekhine vs Nikolay Zubarev, Moscow 1915
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1011976
...on Chessgames.com. (Note: 'My Best Games 1908-1923' gives the year as 1916.)
Continuing with the list of Alekhine's annotated brilliancies, I looked at another game from the great Nottingham 1936 tournament, Alekhine - Alexander played in the 11th round.
In his book 'My Best Games of Chess 1924-1937', Alekhine wrote that it had been awarded a Brilliancy Prize. In fact, the tournament book tells us that the brilliancy prize ('for the most brilliant game in the tournament') went to Mikhail Botvinnik for his game against Savielly Tartakower. Alekhine's game against Alexander won a prize for 'the most brilliant King-side attack'.
The interesting play starts from the following diagram, where Black has just threatened White's d-Pawn. Alekhine wrote, 'White can easily protect it by counter-attacks.' The moves are not obvious and make a pretty continuation.
Nottingham 1936
Alexander, C.H.O'D.
Alekhine, Alexander
(After 14.Nd7-f6)
[FEN "1r1q1rk1/pbp3pp/1p1p1n2/3P1p2/4n3/1P2QNP1/PB2PPBP/3R1RK1 w - - 0 15"]
The first move 15.Nh4, is obvious enough if you see 15...Nxd5? 16.Rxd5 Bxd5 17.Qd4. Better is Alexander's 15...Qd7 16.Bh3 g6 (16...Nxd5 17.Qxe4) 17.f3 Nc5 18.Qg5 Qg7 (18...Nxd5 19.Nxg6) 19.b4 Ncd7 (19...Na4 20.Ba1) 20.e4! Nxe4 21.Qc1!. Here Alekhine pointed out two inferior continuations.
21.Bxg7 Nxg5 22.Bxf8 Nxh3+ 23.Kg2 Rxf8 24.Kxh3 Nf6 and 25...Nxd5; and21.fxe4 Qxb2 22.exf5 Qf6 'yielding White a possible win after a laborious endgame'
21...Nef6 22.Bxf5! Kh8 (if 22...gxf5 23.Nxf5 and the Queen has no retreat) 23.Be6. Alekhine: 'At last the d-Pawn is definitely safe'. A few moves later White sacrificed an exchange and Black resigned. To play through the complete game see...
Alexander Alekhine vs Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander, Nottingham 1936
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008355
...on Chessgames.com. To play through the Botvinnik game that won the overall brilliancy prize see Botvinnik vs Tartakower, Nottingham 1936, also on Chessgames.com.
Following up my previous post, Alekhine's annotated brilliancies, I'm going to look at some of the interesting positions from Alekhine's brilliancies. I'll take the last game first because I'm curious to know what a Quality Prize is. The game is from Nottingham 1936, one of the greatest tournaments of all time. Alekhine finished in 6th place (+6-2=6, 9.0/14) behind Botvinnik, Capablanca (both 10.0), Euwe, Fine, and Reshevsky (all 9.5). Alekhine suffered losses to his arch-rival Capablanca and to Reshevsky.
The tournament book, also annotated by Alekhine but with substantially different notes for this game, said that it 'was awarded a special prize for the best game in the 14th round.' The introduction explains that there was a special prize for 'the best game in each round of the last week' (rds. 12-15) .
Now that I know what a Quality Prize is, here is a key position from the game.
Nottingham 1936
Alekhine, Alexander
Tartakower, Savielly
(After 19.Nb1-c3)
[FEN "r4rk1/p3bppp/2p5/8/2P2Bn1/2N2QPq/PP3P2/R2R2K1 b - - 0 19"]
Alekhine wanted to play 19...Bc5, attacking the f-Pawn, but this is easily answered with 20.Ne4, attacking the Bishop and defending the f-Pawn. To stop the Knight move, he played 19...f5!. The game continued 20.Qg2 Qh5 21.Re1 (preparing the next move) 21...Bc5 22.Nd1 g5! 23.Be5 Rad8. Now Black threatened 24...Rxd1, removing a defender of the f-Pawn. White has no defense to this threat.
A few moves later Alekhine played a nice concluding combination, and the game was his. To play through the complete game see...
Savielly Tartakower vs Alexander Alekhine, Nottingham 1936
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008350
...on Chessgames.com.
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