Queen’s Gambit Declined
The question arises: How on earth did Capablanca lose his 1927 title match to Alekhine? Capa was clearly the superior player up to around 1929, when he began to decline and Alekhine approached his prime. No one ever dreamed it would happen – probably not even Alekhine! The truth is Capa lost to himself, not Alekhine, by failing to take his rival seriously and declining to properly prepare for the match. To only experience victory was the precursor of his defeat. It was rumoured that Capa hit the night clubs of Buenos Aires each evening seeking female and alcoholic entertainment, while the focused, monomaniacal Alekhine did what he always did: study, prepare, lay in wait for the next game. In the end, it was Capa’s faith in the infallibility of his own genius and simple hubris which cost him the match and title. To his discredit, Alekhine, who must have known deep down inside, that an enraged and focused Capa would probably have defeated him in a rematch, never offered his great rival another shot at the title.
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Nf3 Nbd7 5 Bg5 c6 6 e3 Qa5
The Cambridge Springs line of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, a lively change from the normally dreary Orthodox lines, which GMs at the time churned out like mannequins from the factory.
Question: What is Black playing for?
Answer: The initiative! Black has all sorts of tricks like ... Ne4, ... Bb4 and ... d5xc4, which in some
cases uncovers his queen against a loose bishop on g5. 7 Nd2
Answer: In order to take the sting out of ... Ne4. It also discourages ... d5xc4 since White has options
of recapturing with his knight after playing Bxf6 first. 7 ... Bb4 8 Qc2 0-0 9 Bh4!?
A theoretical novelty at the time. Capa’s home prep had the effect of totally throwing Alekhine off. 9 Be2 is the main move today.
Question: What is the idea behind 9 Bh4?
Answer: Mainly, White keeps clear of tricks on his bishop from ... Ne4 and ... d5xc4. Of course, he
expends a tempo to do it, so it isn’t such a great TN. Still, in this game, it proved a smashing success since it had the effect of provoking Alekhine into an attempted refutation.
9 ... c5
It looks logical to open the position since White is now behind in development.
Question: How did that happen?
Answer: White took two moves each with the dark-squared bishop and his g1-knight.
Black can also try 9 ... e5!? 10 dxe5 Ne4 11 Ndxe4 dxe4 12 e6! with complications, H.Bellmann- C.Fryll, correspondence 2000.
10 ... Qa4!
Question: Why give this artificial-looking move an exclamation mark?
Answer: Black should equalize and it is best through process of elimination. Let’s look:
a) 10 ... Qc7 is met by the annoying 11 Bg3.
b) 10 ... Qb6 11 dxc5! Bxc5 (11 ... Nxc5 12 Bxf6 gxf6 13 cxd5 looks unhealthy for Black) 12 Nxc5 hands White the bishop pair.
11 Bxf6
Avoiding 11 dxc5 Ne4, when Black hopes to make trouble in the centre and on the queenside. 11 ... Nxf6 12 dxc5 Ne4!?
After a staggering 70-minute think, Alekhine offers a rather questionable pawn sac, where he essentially pulls the pin and throws, yet the grenade lands intact and unexploded.
Question: How can such a strong player take over an hour
for a move and make a not-so-great one?
Answer: I have come to the realization that such deep sea dives do not necessarily ensure a deep move
in return. Most strong players find their good moves rather quickly and only burn time on their clocks reassuring themselves of the correctness of the details.
As for Alekhine’s move – which has been condemned as an error by perhaps every annotator from Capa’s time on – I am not so sure it is an error, as much as a speculative pawn sac. The move places difficult defensive problems in front of Capa, so it has its practical value.
Question: Well then, what would you
suggest for Black as a path to equality?
Answer: Don’t get fancy and just work to regain the pawn with something like 12 ... dxc4 13 Bxc4 Qc6
14 0-0 Bxc5 15 Nxc5 Qxc5, when it is hard to imagine White extracting anything from his tiny development lead. For example, after 16 Ne4 Nxe4 17 Qxe4 Qb6, the attack on b2 gives Black enough time to develop with ... Bd7 next move – unless White speculates by 18 Rad1!? Qxb2 19 Rd4 Qb6 20 Rfd1 with compensation for the pawn.
13 cxd5 Bxc3+ 14 bxc3 Nxc5
After 14 ... exd5 15 Rd1 Be6 (15 ... Nxc5 16 Rxd5 transposes to the game continuation) 16 Rd4! White stands better.
16 ... Nxb3?
I feel this is the true error. Alekhine shouldn’t have fixed White’s weakened queenside pawns. I tried 16 ... b6! on several of my students and had them defend White’s position. Supremely gifted as most of them are, they all, to a man and woman, folded like poker players holding a bad hand – as White! Now I am not saying Capa would have done the same against Alekhine, but still, it feels like Black may have enough compensation for the pawn.
Question: What is the exact compensation after 16 ... b6? Answer: The list runs:
1. White is behind in development, with king in the centre, inability to castle or efficiently develop his f1-bishop.
2. White has weak, potentially target pawns on the queenside, especially the one on the open c-file. 17 axb3 Qc6 18 Rd4 Re8
Question: What did Black get for his pawn sac?
Answer: A development lead, though I doubt it is large enough to justify his sacrifice. Black’s position
is vaguely threatening, but a show of force without true focus or a clear target is just that: A show without any true menace to White.
Question: How does White develop his kingside?
Answer: By offering to swap his g-pawn for Black’s h-pawn. Like this!
19 Bd3! Qxg2
This opens the g-file against Black’s king, but there is no choice, since otherwise White just castles and stays up a pawn for nothing.
20 Bxh7+ Kf8 21 Be4 Qh3 22 Qd2 Be6 23 c4 A queen check on b4 is in the air.
The retaliatory counterattack begins.
Question: Can White get away with taking on b7?
Answer: I wouldn’t have even considered it, but Houdini assures me that White can with the tricky
line 24 Bxb7 Rab8 25 Bc6 Rxb3 26 Qd1!. Even here Black gets attacking chances for the exchange. I much prefer Capa’s human move. Why defend when we can go on a counterattack?
24 ... Qxh2
Alekhine regains his lost pawn, but now the initiative and attack fall firmly into White’s hands. 25 Rh1! Qc7 26 Qb2!
White’s forces, silent as cats, lay in wait on just the right squares and at the right time. With his uncanny intuition of relevant squares, Capa targets the weak link: g7.
26 ... Qc5
The unfulfilled queen, a childless woman with a strong nurturing instinct, wanders about, looking to be of use.
Question: Why doesn’t Black get on with his attack by tossing in 26 ... a4?
Answer: The move walks into a forced mate! Black’s position is in far more danger then outer
27 Bd5!
This bishop, stubborn and mean-spirited in equal measure, remains on d5 no matter what the intimidation from the other side.
27 ... Ra6 28 Re4! Rd6
Of course White’s bishop is untouchable: 28 ... Bxd5?? 29 Rh8 mate!
The prelude to a possible exchange sac from Black, whose pieces give the white bishop on d5 icy, malignant stares, yet are powerless to budge him from his post.
Exercise (planning): White’s attack is in full force. How shall we continue? Answer: 29 Rh7!
Attacking g7 is far stronger than chasing the king with 29 Rh8+?! Ke7 30 Rxe8+ Kxe8 31 Qxg7 Qb4+, when Black is back in the game.
29 ... Ke7
No choice. The gangrenous limb on g7 must be amputated since: a) 29 ... f6?? hangs a piece to 30 Rh8+ Kf7 31 Rxe8.
b) 29 ... g6?? 30 Qg7+ Ke7 31 Qxf7+ mates. 30 Qxg7
Threatening to take on f7. The pressure becomes all but unbearable for Black. 30 ... Kd8
The exhausted king rolls out of bed, a sick but dutiful man who refuses to sleep away a work day. If 30 ... Rf8 31 Bxe6 Rxe6 32 Rf4! Qb4+ 33 Ke2 and f7 falls.
31 Bxe6 fxe6 32 Qxb7
Typically, Capa prefers to simplify out rather than pursue an attack with the winning but riskier line 32 Re5 Qb4+.
32 ... Qb4+ 33 Qxb4 axb4 34 c5! Rc6 35 Rxb4 Rxc5 36 Ra7 1-0
Alekhine realized all that remains are a few half-hearted wisps of resistance. Not even the Almighty can hold a two pawn down ending against Capa.