ALOR LEGAL
1.7 DE LA DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE UNIDADES REGIONALES
Queen’s Gambit Declined
Rubinstein and Capablanca were stylistic twins, yet Rubinstein lacked a certain quality which Capa possessed.
Question: Which quality?
Answer: I don’t know! When I interviewed Spassky in 1986, I asked him why someone like him went
on to become world champion, but other incredibly gifted players like Rubinstein (to be fair, Rubinstein never got a title shot!), Keres and Korchnoi, hovered at the top but failed to reach the summit? Spassky told me the reason he won the title was that he was absolutely honest with himself about his own failings and strove tirelessly to eradicate them. I am not implying that Rubinstein, Keres and Korchnoi were dishonest with themselves, but we sense a missing element. What that mysterious element is I can’t say.
1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 c4 e6 4 Nc3 Nbd7 5 Bg5 Be7 6 e3 0-0 7 Rc1 Re8 8 Qc2 c6
The Orthodox QGD, the dullard’s paradise. Didn’t players at this time get tired of unsweetened gruel for breakfast every morning? One wonders what heights Capablanca would have reached had he possessed the Alekhine/Fischer opening work ethic.
9 Bd3 dxc4 10 Bxc4 b5
My mother always said that if you hang around with questionable friends you begin to take questionable actions yourself.
Question: What is wrong with the move?
Answer: Capa plays Bernstein’s rather awful pet idea from Game 8 in Chapter 1. This game was
actually played a few rounds before the Capablanca-Bernstein game, but I think Capa was familiar with the idea. Some ideas are better left stored in the basement closet. 10 ... Nd5 is preferable, as Lasker played against him (see Game 28). But even better would be to simply avoid this ridiculously passive line as Black!
11 Bd3 a6? Also wrong.
Question: How so? Black secures b5 in order to play ... c6-c5.
Answer: A break which he achieves on move 25 in this game! It is too slow, and in the meantime
White clamps down on the c5-square. Kasparov suggests 11 ... Bb7 12 0-0 h6 13 Bxf6! gxf6!? (the fight was for the critical c5-square; Kasparov gave recapture with the knight, which gave White the advantage) 14 Rfd1 a6 15 Ne4 f5 16 Nc5 Nxc5 17 dxc5 Qc7, when White stands better but Black has his chances with the bishop pair.
12 Ne5!
This powerful disruption idea is given “!” by Tarrasch. 12 ... Bb7
12 ... Nxe5 is of no help. 13 dxe5 Nd5 14 Bxe7 Qxe7 15 Bxh7+ Kh8 16 Be4 Qc7 17 f4! Qb6 18 Nd1! Nxe3?? 19 Qxc6 and Black has too many hanging pieces.
13 Nxd7! Qxd7 14 Bxf6! Bxf6
On 14 ... gxf6 White’s best plan is to ignore the free h7-pawn and go for the blockade instead with 15 Ne4!.
15 Bxh7+ Kh8 16 Be4
16 ... e5 17 dxe5 Rxe5 18 0-0
After his customarily limp opening play, Capa finds himself a full pawn down against the leading contender for the world title at the time. Black’s bishop pair helps but clearly doesn’t offer enough compensation. No benefit is gained by dwelling on that which we lack the power to change. Now Capa begins the process of methodically improving his position, move by move.
18 ... Qe7 19 Bf3 Rc5!
Capa composes himself for a vigorous defence. We don’t get to pick the family we are born into. In this case the dark-squared bishop must carry the burden for his dysfunctionally lazy brother on b7. Capa tries to make good use of his dark-squared bishop by inflicting damage to White’s queenside structure. His plan looks stronger than activating his queenside majority with 19 ... c5.
20 Qe2
20 Qb3 is met with 20 ... a5 with some but not enough counterplay for the pawn. 20 ... Bxc3 21 Rxc3
Kasparov suggests returning the pawn with 21 bxc3!? Qf6 22 Rfd1 Rxc3 23 Rxc3 Qxc3 24 Be4! with the initiative and attacking chances for White. But the problem is that this line suits Kasparov’s style, not Rubinstein’s. Rubinstein, like Capablanca, loved to play risk-free chess, and so naturally he kept his extra pawn rather than return it and speculate.
21 ... Rxc3 22 bxc3 Rd8 23 Rd1 Rxd1+ 24 Qxd1 Kg8 25 h4 c5 Correctly activating his pawn majority.
Question: Why did White leave his h-pawn to be taken on h4?
Answer: Be careful. That is a trap. The h-pawn is taboo due to 25 ... Qxh4?? 26 Qd7.
Both players had foreseen this position but Capa assessed it more accurately. First, let’s find the clues to unlock the peculiarities of the position:
1. White is a pawn up.
2. White’s infiltrating queen looks more active than her counterpart. 3. White’s king is safe from perpetual check.
4. Black’s 3-2 queenside pawn majority looks faster than White’s 4-2 majority on the other side.
Exercise (critical decision): White has three points in his favour; we have only one on Capa’s side.
What is our best shot at survival and counterplay?
Answer: Black survives only due to the vagary of a single anomaly in the position: He can create a fast
passed pawn. 27 ... b4!
Question: How does this create a passer?
It looks to me like Black just dropped a pawn.
Answer: Please see the game continuation.
28 Qxc5?!
Suffering an agony of indecision, Rubinstein remains tongue-tied and unable to respond properly to Black’s burst of counterplay. After this natural move White’s advantage fades quickly. Tarrasch, Keres and Kotov all gave 28 c4! as White’s best chance. Keres, after lengthy analysis of the ending, added: “Even after 28 c4! Black could have played on, retaining excellent drawing chances.”
28 ... bxc3 29 Qxc3 Qb1+
There it is. Black creates a passed a-pawn. 30 Kh2 Qxa2 31 Qc8+ Kh7 32 Qf5+
Rubinstein’s resolve turns into pudding, realizing he is the victim of a cruel joke. There is no win, despite his extra pawn. The queen’s function, an abandoned boat on a dry lake bed, is at odds with her existence. One queen alone fails to deliver checkmate. All White can do is play for perpetual check.
32 ... g6!?
Capa begins to play for the win a pawn down, refusing the perpetual check which is his after 32 ... Kg8.
Question: Can’t White play for mate by
pushing his pawns on the kingside?
Qxa5 Qxh6+ 37 Kg1 Qxe3+ and it is White who finds himself a pawn down and fighting for the draw. 33 Qf6 a5 34 g4
Not liking the way the wind blows down the a-file, White hopes to divorce himself from the proceedings by hurrying to expose Black’s king and deliver perpetual check.
34 ... a4
The passed a-pawn continues his unseemly display of gloating, as he glides down the file toward the queening square.
35 h5
35 ... gxh5
Question: Can Black play for the win with 35 ... Qe6?
Answer: That is a blunder which risks loss after 36 hxg6+ Kg8 37 Qd8+ Kg7 38 gxf7 Qxf7 39 Kg3,
when White may get chances to deliver mate before Black promotes. 36 Qf5+
Keres thought 36 gxh5?! Qe6 would give Black all the chances to win. 36 ... Kg7 37 Qg5+
Drawing or losing a won game leaves an awful aftertaste which no known sweetener is capable of cloaking.
37 ... Kh7 38 Qxh5+ Kg7 ½-½
Kasparov commented upon the deceptive ease with which Capa drew a pawn-down ending against one of the greatest endgame players in the history of the game.