Winter on Capablanca

Capablanca: How I Learned to Play Chess

Reminiscences by Capablanca

Capablanca in the English Review

Capablanca on his Predecessors

The Capablanca-Pokorny Fiasco

Capablanca on San Sebastián, 1912

Steinitz Stuck and Capa Caught

Capablanca v Fonaroff

How Capablanca Became World Champion

Capablanca’s Reply to Lasker

Morrison v Capablanca, London, 1922

The London Rules

A Chess-Billiards Concoction

Capablanca in New York World (1925)

Analytical Disaccord

Capablanca on Moscow, 1925

Capablanca v Alekhine, 1927

A Fake Chess Photograph

A Lecture by Capablanca (1932)

Capablanca Interviewed in 1939

Capablanca on Maróczy

The Genius and the Princess

Capablanca’s Death

Books about Capablanca and Alekhine

Capablanca Goes Algebraic

Capablanca Book Destroyed

Immortal but Unknown

The Mysterious Frederick D. Rosebault

Andor Lilienthal, RIP

Just three days after his 99th birthday the world's oldest grandmaster has passed away.  Andor Lilienthal was born in Moscow but spent most of his life in Hungary. In his long career he recorded wins against Emanuel Lasker, José Raúl Capablanca, Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik and Vasily Smyslov.

Lilienthal was the last living member of the Capablanca Club. Truly the end of an era.

Look familiar?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_beaten_Jos%C3%A9_Ra%C3%BAl_Capablanca_in_chess

http://mychess.blogspot.com/2004/10/capablanca-club.html

Capablanca-Tartakower, New York 1924

This game, from round 6 of the New York 1924 Tournament, was Capa's first win after 4 draws and a loss (against Reti in round 5). I had mentioned it in an earlier post where I recommended the tournament book. The highly challenging and instructive rook endgame from this game is featured in Pal Benko's "Endgame Lab" column in this month's Chess Life magazine. The column includes analysis by Alekhine, Goldin, Kasparov and Zaitsev, as well as insights from Benko himself. A great read, the best column in this month's magazine.

The Capablanca Club

It is well known that Capa lost the least number of games (and the smallest percentage of games played) of any grandmaster, with only 35* losses (23 with Black and 12 with White) over the course of a professional career spanning 30 years and approximately 700 official games. The list of players who defeated Capablanca as an adult (not counting his numerous simultaneous exhibits, of course) numbers 26 . . .

Seven wins
Alexander Alekhine - 1927 Match Games #1,11,12,21,32,34 and AVRO 1938

Two wins
Frank Marshall - 1909 Match Game #7 and Habana 1913
Emmanuel Lasker - Saint Petersburg 1914 and Moscow 1935
Richard Spielmann - Bad Kissingen 1928 and Carlsbad 1929

One win
Roy Black - New York 1911
Akiba Rubenstein - San Sebastian 1911
Charles Jaffe - New York 1913 (**)
David Janowsky - Habana 1913
Arnold Aurbach - 1913 Match Game #1
Eugene Znosko-Borovsky - 1913 Match Game #2
Siegbert Tarrasch - Saint Petersburg 1914
Oscar Chajes - New York 1916
Richard Reti - New York 1924
Alexander Ilyin-Zhenevsky - Moscow 1925
Boris Verlinsky - Moscow 1925
Friedrich Saemisch - Carlsbad 1929
Mir Sultan-Khan - Hasting 1930
George Thomas - Hastings 1934
Andre Lilienthal - Hastings 1934
Nikolai Riumin - Moscow 1935
Samuel Reshevsky - Margate 1935
Salo Flohr - Nottingham 1936
Erich Eliskases - Semmering Baden 1937
Paul Keres - AVRO 1938 (***)
Mikhail Botvinnik - AVRO 1938
Max Euwe - AVRO 1938

(*) The number is often given as 34 with Aurbach's 1913 exhibition match win excluded..

(**) Capablanca and Jaffe played a short informal match in New York in 1912. The first game (10/18/1912) was drawn, and Capablanca won game 2 (10/23/1912) and game 3 (11/9/1912). According to one source I found there was a fourth game that Jaffe won, but I have not been able to obtain a game score or even confirmation of this game's existence.
(***) Keres is the only player with a plus score against Capablanca over more than one game, +1 -0 =5.

Alekhine-Capablanca, AVRO 1938

Alekhine-Capablanca
Amsterdam, 11/19/1938 (Capablanca's 50th birthday)
AVRO Tournament Round 9
French Defense [C06]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ne2 Qb6 8. Nf3 cxd4 9. cxd4 Bb4+?! [9. ... f6 is better. - Kasparov] 10. Kf1!? [This leads to more spirited play, whereas after 10. Bd2 Black can force the exchange of queens. - Alekhine] Be7 [10. ... f6; Spielmann-Stolz 1930] 11. a3 Nf8 [11. ... O-O 12. h4! - Euwe; 11. ... a5!? - ECO] 12. b4 Bd7 13. Be3 Nd8?! [13. ... Rc8 - Panov; 13. ... f5 - Kotov] 14. Nc3 a5 [Kasparov and Alekhine give this move a ?! but suggest nothing better. ECO also provides no alternative move here.] 15. Na4! Qa7 16. b5 b6 17. g3 f5 18. Kg2 [±, ECO] Nf7 19. Qd2! h6 20. h4 Nh7 21. h5! Nfg5 22. Nh4 Ne5 23. Qb2 Kf7?! [23. ... O-O - Kotov] 24. f3 Neg5 25. g4 fxg4 26. Bg6+! Kg8 27. f4! Nf3 28. Bxh7+! Rxh7 29. Ng6 Bd8 30. Rac1! Be8 31. Kg3! Qf7 32. Kxg4 Nh4 33. Nxh4 Qxh5+ 34. Kg3 Qf7 35. Nf3. In this lost position, Capablanca lost on time. [Capa was clearly getting slower as he aged; the only other occasion on which he ever lost on time was in Moscow 1935.]

This game constitutes the only time that Alekhine beat Capablanca outside their 1927 match. It's also the last time these two chess giants met over the board (they both participated in the Buenos Aires 1939 Chess Olympiad but did not face each other), with Capa retiring from professional chess due to ill health just 10 months after this game.

The final tally between these two players was Capablanca 9 wins, Alekhine 7 wins and 33 draws.

Capablanca-Alekhine, AVRO 1938

Capablanca-Alekhine
Amsterdam, 11/8/1938, AVRO Tournament Round 2
Queen's Indian Defense [E17]

1. PQ4 NKB3 2. PQB4 PK3 3. NKB3 PQN3 4. PKN3 BN2 5. BN2 BK2 6. O-O O-O 7. QB2 [The main line is 7. NB3.] BK5 8. QN3 [8. QQ2 and 8. QR4 are also options, the latter often transposing back to the main line.] NB3 9. BK3 PQ4 10. QNQ2 PxP 11. QxBP BQ4 12. QB2 [12. QB3!? RB1 is unclear. - Matanovic, Ugrinovic] PKR3 13. KRQ1 RB1 14. BB4 QK1 15. PQR3 NQR4 16. PQB4 NN2 17. NK1 BxB 18. NxB PB4 19. NPxP NPxP 20. QN2 NQR4 21. PxP RxP 22. QRN1 QB3 23. NK1 NQ4 24. BK6 NB6 25. BxN RxB 26. KRB1 RB1 27. RxR QxR 28. PQR4 QxQ 29. RxQ RB8 30. RN1 RB6 31. RN8+ KR2 32. RN5 NB5 33. NxN RxN 34. RN7 BB3 35. NQ3 RxP 36. RxBP PQR4 37. NB5 RR8+ 38. KN2 PR5 39. RR7 PR6 40. NxP BN7 41. NB4 BQ5 42. RR4 BN7 43. PK4 PN4 44. RR7+ KN1 45. NQ5 BQ5 46. RR8+ KB2 47. NN4 RQN8 48. NB2 BxP Draw agreed

Capablanca-Alekhine, Nottingham 1936

Capablanca - Alekhine
Nottingham, 8/11/1936, Round 2
Dutch Defense [A81]

This was the first meeting between the two players since their world championship match in 1927; they had studiously avoided playing in the same tournaments since relations between them had soured in the aftermath of failed negotiations for a return match for the crown.

1. PQ4 PK3 2. NKB3 PKB4 3. PKN3 NKB3 4. BN2 BK2 5. O-O O-O 6. PB4 NK5 [Alekhine's signature continuation] 7. QN3 [Besides this move, Alekhine's opponents also tried 7. QNQ2 (Saemisch-Alekhine, Dresden 1936), 7. NK1 (Flohr-Alehkine, Podebrady 1936) and 7. QB2 (Fine-Alekhine, Amsterdam 1936). However, the correct continuation turns out to be 7. PQ5!, which was found by Reshevsky.] BB3 8. RQ1 QK1 9. NB3 NB3! 10. NQN5 [10. QB2 - Alekhine] BQ1 11. QB2 PQ3 12. PQ5 [12. PQR3 - Alekhine] NN5 13. QN3 NR3 14. PxP N(R3)B4 15. QB2 NxKP 16. KNQ4 [16. BK3 - Alekhine] NxN 17. NxN BB3 18. NN5 [18. BK3 - Alekhine] QK2 19. BK3 QK2 20. NQ4 BQ2 21. QRB1 QRK1 22. PQN4 PQN3 23. NB3? [23. QN3 - Alekhine] NB6 24. RQ3 PB5?

Here Alekhine thought he was winning both exchanges but in fact was trading three minor pieces for two rooks. I must admit the position is quite hypnotic; when analyzing this game, I thought black was up two exchanges in the final position until I actually counted the pieces on the board. This position and its associated error are featured in The Inner Game of Chess by Soltis (a book about accurate calculation in chess). The simple 24. ... BQR5 would have left Black with a superior (but not yet won) position after White's final inaccuracy on the 23rd move. The game continued ...

25. PxP BB4 26. QQ2 BxR 27 PxB PB4? [Still not realizing his error. Black could have abandoned his combinaton with 27. ... NR5 with an inferior (but not yet lost) position.] 28. RxN BxR 29. QxB QB3 [Also the middle game would be hopeless. - Alekhine] 30 QxQ PxQ 31. NQ2! PB4 32. PN5 PQR4 33. NB1 KB2 34. NN3 KN3 35. BB3 RK2 36. KB1 KB3 37. BQ2 KN3

There was a minor incident in this game at adjournment. Alekhine was so absorbed in the position that he made at the board this last move, which should have been sealed since it was 6:15 (adjournment was scheduled for 6:00 for a two-hour dinner break). The tournament director asked Capablanca to seal a move, which he did, 38. PQR4. However, when the game was due to resume, Alekhine resigned without even asking what the sealed move was; his position was clearly lost.

Alekhine was definitely off his game at this tournament. He didn't even finish among the prizewinners, although his score of 9, only 1 point behind the winners, must still be considered a moderate success.

Capa was likewise off to a bad start; besides the slight incident in this game (caused in some part because he was not at the board for the adjournment, as required by the rules), there was a more serious incident in the next round when he lost to Flohr (his only loss of the tourney) and got into an argument with Euwe regarding Euwe's talking as the time control in that game approached. However, he did manage to catch his stride and eventually tied for 1st with Botvinnik at 10 points (his second major tournament win in 1936, after Moscow).

Capa's worst opening blunder ever

Mentioning Spielmann - Capablanca, Carlsbad 1929, in an earlier post made me think of Capa's other loss in that tournament (Saemisch - Capablanca, round 16), a game which witnessed the worst opening blunder of Capa's career.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 d6 6. f3 e5 7. e4 Nc6 8. Be3 b6 9. Bd3 Ba6?? 10. Qa4! Bb7 11. d5, winning a piece. (Amazingly, Capablanca held on until move 62 but eventually succumbed to the unavoidable.)

This blunder is so unusual and inexplicable that it was featured in Chess Traps, Pitfalls and Swindles by Horowitz & Reinfeld (1954). It remains one of the worst super-grandmaster opening blunders ever. Kasparov in My Great Predecessors Part I claims that Capa was distracted by the unexpected arrival of his wife (because he was having an affair at the time), but I have not found independent confirmation of this story (either part of it).

Capablanca-Spielmann, 1927

The following game was awarded the prize for the best played game of the New York 1927 Tournament.

Capablanca – Spielmann
New York, 3/9/1927, Round 13
QGD Manhattan Defense [D38]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 Nd7 4. Nc3 Ngf6 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. cxd5 [6. e3 - ECO] exd5 7. Qa4! [In the first round, Capablanca had played 7. Qb3, which led to equality; Alekhine-Vidmar in the same tournament continued 7. e3.] Bxc3+? [7. ... Qe2 or 7. ... c5 - Golombek] 8. bxc3 O-O 9. e3 c5 [9. ... Qe8 10. Qc2! (10. Bd3?) c6 11. Bd3!] 10. Bd3 c4 11. Bc2 Qe7 [11. ... Re8 - Alekhine] 12. O-O [±, Pachman] a6 13. Rfe1 Qe6 [13. ... b5? - Golombek] 14. Nd2 b5 15. Qa5! Ne4 [15. ... Bb7 - Golombek] 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. a4! Qd5 18. axb5! Qxg5 [18. ... Bb7 loses just as quickly. - Golombek] 19. Bxe4 Rb8 20. bxa6! Rb5 21. Qc7 Nb6 22. a7 Bh3 23. Reb1! Rxb1+ 24. Rxb1 f5 25. Bf3 f4 26. exf4! 1-0

The final scores at New York 1927 were Capablanca 14 (undefeated), Alekhine 11.5, Nimzowitsch 10.5, Vidmar 10, Spielmann 8 and Marshall 6.

Spielmann got his revenge for this game by defeating Capa at Bad Kissingen 1928 and in the penultimate round at Carlsbad 1929 (costing him first place on this occasion). The latter game is discussed in chapter 20 of Pachman's Decisive Games in Chess History.

Capablanca v Alekhine, New York 1927

Alekhine – Capablanca
New York, 2/24/1927, Round 5
Queen’s Indian Defense [E15]

1. PQ4 NKB3 2. PQB4 PK3 3. NKB3 PQN3 4. PKN3 BN2 5. BN2 PB4 6. PQ5! [Pachman] PxP 7. NR4 PN3 8. NQB3 BN2 9. O-O O-O 10. BB4 [10. BN5! - Capablanca-Marshall, Carlsbad 1929; 10. PxP! – Vajda-Monticelli, Budapest 1926] PQ3 11. PxP NR4 12. BQ2 QNQ2 13. PB4? [13. PK4 - Golombek] PQR3 14. BB3? [14. PQR4 - Golombek] N(4)B3 15. PR4 PB5! 16. BK3 QB2 17. PKN4 [17. KR1 - Golombek] NB4 18. PN5 [18. BxN QxB+ 19. KR1 - Golombek] N(3)Q2 19.PB5 [19. NN2 - Golombek] KRK1 20. BB4 BK4 21. BN4 [21. NN2 - Golombek] NN6 22. PxP RPxP 23. RN1 BxN 24. PxB QB4+ 25. PK3 NK4 26. BB3 NQ6! 27. KR1 BxP 28. RxN NxB 29. RQN1 RxP 30. NN2 RxB! 31. RxR NxN 32. KxN RK1 33. KB1 BxR 34. QxB QxP 35. RK1 RxR+ 36. KxR QN8+ 37. KQ2 QxP+ 38. KB1 QK4 39. KN2 KN2 40. QB2 PQN4 41. QN6 PxP 42. QxRP QK7+ White resigns

Capablanca – Alekhine
New York, 3/5/1927, Round 10
QGD Semi-Meran Defense [D47]

1. PQ4 NKB3 2. NKB3 PQ4 3. PB4 PB3 4. PK3 PK3 5. NB3 QNQ2 6. BQ3 PxP [6. … BQ3 (Chigorin) is the main line; 6. … BK2 – Bogoljubow; 6. … BN5 – Romi] 7. BxBP PQN4! 8. BK2 PQR3 9. O-O [9. PK4 – ECO] BN2 [=, ECO] 10. PQR3 PB4 11. PxP NxP 12. PQN4 QxQ 13. RxQ N(4)K5 14. BN2 NxN 15. BxN BK2 16. QRB1 O-O 17. NK5 KRQ1 18. RxR+ RxR 19. BQ4 BQ3 20. BKB3 NQ4 21. NQ3 KB1 22. NB5 BxN 23. BxB+ KK1 24. KB1 RB1 25. KK1 RB2 26. BxN BxB 27. PB3 BB5 28. RQ1 RQ2 Draw agreed

Alekhine – Capablanca
New York, 3/12/1927, Round 14
Caro-Kann Defense [B15]

1. PK4 PQB3 2. PQ4 PQ4 3. NQB3 PxP 4. NxP NB3 [4. … BB4 is known as the Capablanca system.] 5. NN3 [5. NxN+! – Pachman] PK4 6. NB3! PxP 7. QxP [7. NxP – Alekhine-Tartakower, Kecskemet 1927] QxQ 8. NxQ BQB4 9. N(4)B5 O-O 10. BK3 BxB 11. NxB BK3 12. O-O-O QNQ2 [=, ECO] 13. BB4 NB4 14. BxB NxB 15. N(N3)B5 NK5 16. KRB1 PKN3 17. NQ6 NxN 18. RxN KRQ1 19. R(1)Q1 RxR 20. RxR RQ1 21. RxR+ NxR 22. KQ2 KB1 23. KQ3 KK2 24. KQ4 NK3+ 25. KK4 PB3 26. PKB4 NB4+ 27. KQ4 NK3+ 28. KK4 NB4+ Draw by repetition

Capablanca – Alekhine
New York, 3/23/1927, Round 20
French Defense [C11]

1. PQ4 PK3 2. NQB3 PQ4 3. PK4 NKB3 4. BKN5 PxP 5. NxP BK2 6. NxN+ [6. BxN is the main line; this innovation doesn’t get White anything.] BxN 7. BxB QxB 8. NB3 O-O 9. PB3 NQ2 10. BK2 PK4 11. PxP NxP 12. NxN QxN 13. O-O BK3 14. BB3 PQB3 15. QR4 KRK1 16. QRQ1 QQB4 17. KRK1 QB5 18. QxQ BXQ 19. RxR+ RxR 20. PKR4 KB1 21. PQN3 BK7 22. BxB RxB 23. RQ7 RK2 24. RQ8+ RK1 25. RQ7 RK2 26. RQ8+ Draw by repetition

[edited]

Alekhine-Capablanca, 1924

Alekhine-Capablanca
New York, 4/2/1924, Round 12
QGD Slav Defense (D10)

Going into the 12th round (the halfway mark), the scores were: Em. Lasker 7.5, Alekhine 6.5, Reti and Capablanca at 6, and four players following at 5.

1. PQ4 PQ4 2. PQB4 PQB3 3. NQB3 NKB3 4. PK3 BB4 [In the tournament book, Alekhine gave some (imo unwarranted) criticism of this move.] 5. PxP PxP [5. … NxP 6. BB4! – Rubinstein-Bogoljubow, Hastings 1922] 6. QN3 BB1 7. NB3 [7. PKB4!? – ECO] PK3 8. BQ3 [8. NK5!] NB3 9. O-O BQ2 [The only move which promises equalization. – Alekhine] 10. BQ2 QN3 11. QQ1 BQ3 12. RB1 [The pawn sacrifice 12.PK4!? would have led to equalization at the most. – Alekhine] O-O 13. NQR4 QQ1 14. NB5 BxN 15. RxB [15. PxB PK4! – Alekhine] NK5 [=, ECO] 16. BxN PxB 17. NK5 [17. NN5? PQN3! – Alekhine] NxN 18. PxN Draw agreed

Given the competitive situation, this grandmaster draw is somewhat surprising. After this round, the scores were: Em. Lasker 8.5, Reti and Alekhine 7, Capablanca 6.5 and two players following at 5.5.

Capablanca-Alekhine, 1924

Capablanca-Alekhine
New York, 3/21/1924, Round 4
French Defense (C12)

1. PQ4 PK3 2. PK4 PQ4 3. NQB3 NKB3 4. BN5 BN5 [Obviously, Alekhine had developed as a player in 10 years.] 5. PxP [5. PK5 – Pachman] QxP?! [But apparently not all that much; there is some difference of opinion here, but it appears that correct is 5. … PxP.] 6. BxN [6. NB3 NK5! – Pachman] BxN+ [The general consensus seems to be that better is 6. … PxB.] 7. PxB PxB 8. QQ2! [This was a theoretical novelty at the time; 8. NB3 was usually played here.] NQ2 [8. … PQN3 – Pachman; 8. … PQB4 – Alekhine] 9. PQB4 QK5+ 10. NK2 NN3 [10. … PQN3 is probably better.] 11. PKB3 QB3 12. PB5 NQ4 [12. … NB5? 13. QB3 PN4 14. PQR4 – Alekhine] 13. PQB4 NK2 14. NQB3 PKB4 15. BK2 [±, ECO] RKN1 16. O-O BQ2 [16. … PN3? 17. BQ1! – Alekhine] 17. QK3 PN3 18. KRQ1 PxP 19. PQ5 QQ3 [The only move; 19. … PxP 20. NxP QQ3 21. QRN1 decides matters very quickly. – Alekhine] 20. PxP QxP 21. QxP QQN3 22. QB2 PB5!? [Desperate continuation – Alekhine] 23. QB2 [Not 23. RQ4 QN7 24. QK1 BR6 – Alekhine] QxQ+ 24. KxQ BB3 25. RQ4 [Missing 25. NN5! – Alekhine] NN3 26. BQ3 NR5 27. BB1 NN3 28. NK2 KK2 29. RK1 KRQN1 30. NxP+ KB1 31. NxN+ RPxN 32. BQ3? [White overvalues his chances in the subsequent rook play; he should have striven not to exchange the bishops. – Alekhine] RN7+ 33. RK2 QRN1 34. BK4 RxR+ 35. KxR BxB 36. PxB KK2 37. RQ2 KK3 38. KK3 PQB3 39. PKR4? [The critical point in the game as Capablanca misses his best winning chance here. The position is discussed in great detail in Technique for the Tournament Player. Alekhine gives 39. PKR3! RKR1 40. PB5. If instead 39. ... PKB4, Dvoretsky gives 40. RQ5 RN7 41. PKN4 with "excellent winning chances."] RKR1! 40. PN3 RR4! 41. RR2 RR4! 42. KB4 PB3 43. RQB2 RK4 44. PB5 RR4 45. RB3 PR4 46. RB2 RK4 47. RB3 KK2 48. KB3 KK2 49. KN4 KB2 50. RB4 KN2 51. RQ4 RxP 52. RQ7+ KB1 53. KB4 KN1 54. RQR7 KB1 55. PQR4 KN1 56. PN4 [Not the most accurate, but Black no longer seems in any real danger of losing after White's 32nd and 39th move inaccuracies. Alekhine suggests 56. KK3.] PN4+ 57. PxP RxP 58. RR6 RQB4 59. KK3 KB2 60. KQ4 RKN4 61. RxBP RxP 62. RB5 RN4 Draw agreed [63. RxR KxR 64. KK5 KN3 65. KQ6 KB2 =]

Alekhine-Capablanca, 1922

Alekhine-Capablanca
London, 8/11/1922, Round 9
QGD Orthodox Defense (D64)

1. PQ4 PQ4 2. NKB3 NKB3 3. PB4 PK3 4. NB3 QNQ2 5. BN5 BK2 6. PK3 O-O 7. RB1 PB3 8. QB2 PxP 9. BxP NQ4 10. BxB [10. NK4 QR4+] QxB [10. … NxN?] 11. O-O [11. NK4! – ECO] NxN! 12. QxN PQN3 13. QQ3 PQB4!? [ECO] 14. BR6 BxB 15. QxB PxP 16. NxP [16. PxP!? – Tartakower] NB4 17. QN5 [=, ECO] Draw agreed

Capablanca v Alekhine, Saint Petersburg Final, 1914

Alekhine-Capablanca
Saint Petersburg, 5/15/1914
Final Tournament, Round 5
Four Knights Game (C48)

1. PK4 PK4 2. NKB3 NQB3 3. NB3 NB3 4. BN5 NQ5 5. NxN PxN 6. PK5 PxN 7. PxN QxP 8. QPxP QK2+ 9. QK2 QxQ+ 10. BxQ PQ4 11. BKB4 PQB3 12. PQB4 BK3 13. PxP BxP 14. O-O BB4 15. KRK1 O-O 16. BQ3 KRK1 [=, ECO] 17. PQR3 PB3 18. KB1 PKN3 19. PKB3 KB2 20. RxR RxR 21. RK1 RxR+ 22. KxR KK2 23. KK2 BQ3 24. KK3 BB4+ 25. KK2 BQ3 26. KK3 BB4+ 27. KK2 Draw by repetition

Capablanca-Alekhine
Saint Petersburg, 5/22/1914
Final Tournament, Round 10
French Defense (C11)

1. PQ4 PK3 2. PK4 PQ4 3. NQB3 NKB3 4. BKN5 PKR3?! [Stepping outside the book early, but with poor results.] 5. BxN QxB 6. PxP BN5 7. BN5+ PB3 8. PB3 PxBP NxP 9. NK2 O-O 10. O-O RQ1 11. NK4 QR5 12. BxN PxB 13. PKB4 BR3 14. PB3 BKB1 15. QK1 QR4 16. RB2 PQB4 17. NxP BxN(B5) 18. PxB QxP 19. NQ4 RQ4 20. PKR3 R1Q1 21. QK3 PK4 22. PxP RxP 23. QB3 QK2 24.NB6 RK8+ 25. RxR QxR+ 26. KR2 RQ2 27. NQ4 BQ6 28. QN3 QK8 29. QN8+ KR2 30. QK8 RN2 31. NK6 BN4 32. QQB8 RK2 33. NB8+ KN1 34. NQ7+ KR2 35. QB5 QK8 36. QB5+ KN1 37. QxB RxN 38. RK2 QQ8 39. RK8+ KR2 40. QB5+ PN3 41. QK5 PB3 42. QxP QQ3+ 43. QxQ RxQ 44. RK7+ RN1 45. RxP Black resigns

Alekhine-Capablanca, 1914

Alekhine-Capablanca
Saint Petersburg, 4/29/1914
Preliminary Tournament, Round 6
Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defense (C66)

1. PK4 PK4 2. NKB3 NQB3 3. BN5 PQ3 4. PQ4 PxP 5. NxP BQ2 6. NQB3 NB3 7. O-O BK2 8. NB5?! [ECO] BxN 9. PxB O-O 10. RK1 [Illogical; White should play 10. PKN4 NQ2! (10. … PQ4? 11. PN5 NK5 12. NxN PxN 13. BxN PxB 14. QN4 with advantage) 11. PB4. – Golombek] NQ2 11. NQ5 BB3 12. PQB3 NN3 13. NxB+ [13. PKN4! – Golombek] QxN 14. BxN PxB 15. QB3 KRK1 16. BK3 PB4 17. RK2 RK4 18. QRK1 QRK1! [18. … RxP? 19. BQ4! while 18. … QxP?! dissipates Black’s advantage. – Golombek] 19. QN7 [19. PKN4? PKN3! – Golombek] QxP 20. QxBP QK3 21. QxRP NQ4 22. KB1 NB5 23. RQ2 NxP! 24. KxN QN5+ 25, KB1 QR6+ 26. KK2 RxB+! 27. PxR QxKP+ 28. KQ1 QxR(K8)+ 29. KB2 QK5+ 30. KN3? [White is lost, but more resistance would have been offered by 30. KB1 PKR3 31. QB7. – Golombek] QB3 31. PQR4 [31. PB4 – Golombek] PQ4! 32. PR5 [A more prolonged fight could have been put up with 32. RKB2. – Golombek] QN4+ 33. KR3 RN1 34. KR2 PR3 35. PR6 QN6+ White resigns

Alekhine-Capablanca, 1913

Alekhine – Capablanca
Saint Petersburg, 12/23/1913
Exhibition Match Game 2
Ruy Lopez, Closed Defense (C90)

1. PK4 PK4 2. NKB3 NQB3 3. BN5 PQR3 4. BR4 NB3 5. O-O BK2 6. RK1 PQN4 7. BN3 PQ3 8. PB3 NQR4 [8. … O-O is more usual] 9. BB2 PB4 10. PQ4 QB2 11. PQR4! [This is the reason that 8. … NQR4 has fallen out of favor. – Pachman] PN5 [Later 11. … RN1 was tried in Löwenfisch-Lilienthal, Moscow 1939, but appears to be weaker. Tartakower recommended 11. … RR2, which seems too passive. Pachman recommends 11. … BN2.] 12. QNQ2 [Keres-Reshevsky, Stockholm 1937, seems to have found an improvement with 12. PxNP.] O-O 13. NB1? [ECO] BPxP 14. PxQP BK3 15. NK3 KRB1 16. BQ2 NB5 17. NxN QxN 18. RQB1 PN6 19. BN1 QxRP 20. PxP PxP 21. NxP RxR 22. BxR RQ1 23. QK2 PR3 24. PR3 BQB4 25. BB4 NQ2 26. RQ1 BN3 27. NB3 BB5 28. QK1 NB4 29. BQ6 NQ6 30. BxN RxB 31. RR1 QN4 32. BxB QxB 33. RB1 QB7 34. KR2 QxNP 35. PK5 BxP 36. QB1 RKN3 37. RB8+ KR2 38. RB8 QB7 39. RxP PN7 40. RN7 BN3 41. NQ2 QxN 42. PK6 PN8=Q White resigns

Capablanca-Alekhine, 1913

Capablanca – Alekhine
Saint Petersburg, 12/14/1913
Exhibition Match Game 1
QGD Slav Defense (D30)

1. PQ4 PQ4 2. PQB4 PQB3 3. PK3 NB3 4. NKB3 PK3 5. QNQ2!? [With the idea of retaking with the Queen's Knight when Black plays ...PxP thus controlling e5. - Capablanca; However, 5. NB3 is the usual and best move.] QNQ2?! [5…. PB4! is best. The lost tempo is made up for in the bad position of White’s QN.] 6. BQ3 BK2 [Usually ...BQ3 is played, but I believe the text move is superior. - Alekhine] 7. O-O O-O 8. QB2 [This is not as strong as 8. PQN3, reserving the Queen for K2. – Golombek; Played on the spur of the moment to change the ordinary course of the game but not to be recommended, 8. PQN3 would be the natural way to continue. - Capablanca] PxP? [This move plays into White’s hands and gives him control of K5, correct was 8. … PB4. – Golombek; He should have played ...PB4 before ...PxP. - Capablanca] 9. NxP PB4 10. QNK5 PxP 11. PxP [A position similar to the Panov attack of the Caro-Kann defense now arises, White has the initiative by virtue of his advanced knight and greater space. - Alburt] NN3 12. NN5 [Compelling Black to play ...PKN3, which will weaken his Kingside and make holes for White's Queen's Bishop. - Capablanca] PKN3 [If 12. ... PKR3? 13. BR7+! - Alburt] 13. N(N5)B3 [Best, if 13. QK2!?, then not 13. … QxP? 14. N(N5)B3! with a violent attack but 13. … QNQ4!] KN2 14. BKN5 QNQ4 15. QRB1 BQ2 16. QQ2 NN1 17. BxB QxB 18. BK4! [White wants to exchange his bad Bishop for Black’s strong defensive Knight.] BN4? [Better was 18. … KNB3 19. BxN NxB 20. NN4 PB3 21. QR6+ KR1 with a fair defensive position. – Golombek] 19. KRK1 QQ3 20. BxN PxB [20. … QxB? – Golombek] 21. QR5! [The winning move.] PQR3 [21. … BB3 likewise leads to a lost endgame.] 22. QB7! QxQ 23. RxQ PR3 [White threatened NN5. - Capablanca] 24. RxP QRB1 25. PQN3 RB7 26. PQR4 BK7 27. NR4! [The knockout blow. - Capablanca] PKR4 28. N(R4)xP RK1 29. RxP+ KR3 30. PB4 PR4 31. NR4 RxN 32. BPxR KN4 33. PN3 KN5 34. RN7+ KR6 35. NN2 [Mate follows by 36. NB4. - Alburt] Black resigns

A quarter century of Capablanca v Alekhine

I just bought a new book on Capablanca's games (volume 1 and volume 2), so I will be updating my entries on the Capablanca-Alekhine rivalry. Rather than reposting all of them, I thought I'd just create this entry linking to all of them and just leave the posts where they are.

Capablanca-Alekhine, Saint Petersburg Match 1913 (Capa)
Alekhine-Capablanca, Saint Petersburg Match 1913 (Capa)
Alekhine-Capablanca, Saint Petersburg Preliminary Tournament 1914 (Capa)
Capablanca v Alekhine, Saint Petersburg Final Tournament 1914 (two games) (1 Capa win, 1 draw)
Alekhine-Capablanca, London 1922 (draw)
Capablanca-Alekhine, New York 1924 (draw)
Alekhine-Capablanca, New York 1924 (draw)
Capablanca v Alekhine, New York 1927 (four games) (1 Capa win, 3 draws)
Capablanca-Alekhine, Nottingham 1936 (Capa)
Capablanca-Alekhine, AVRO 1938 (draw)
Alekhine-Capablanca, AVRO 1938 (Alekhine)