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ANNOTATED GAME
Manhattan CC Masters Tournament, New York
Jose Raul Capablanca (?) vs. Frank J. Marshall (?)
Annotated by: ethansiegel
(1986)
Chess opening: Ruy Lopez (C89), Marshall counter-attack, 11...c6
Jose Raul Capablanca (?) vs. Frank J. Marshall (?)
Annotated by: ethansiegel
(1986)
Chess opening: Ruy Lopez (C89), Marshall counter-attack, 11...c6
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19. Rxf2 |
! White decides to give back Rook for knight to break the attack. | ||||||
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19... Qh1+ 20. Ke2 Bxf2 |
Also possible here was Qxc1, where the game is very much in doubt. | ||||||
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21. Bd2 |
! Another excellent defensive move. Note that 21. Qxf2? is met by Qxc1, where black has a big advantage. 21. Bxf7 may also be worth considering. | ||||||
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21... Bh4 |
Saving the bishop, but note that, with the attack now over, black is just down two minors for a rook. Incredible over-the-board defense by Capablanca! | ||||||
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22. Qh3 |
! Now, offering a queen exchange works out great for white, and is much better than the alternative 22. Bxf7 Kh8! 23. Be3 Rae8!, and black is winning. | ||||||
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22... Rae8+ 23. Kd3 Qf1+ |
These checks are forced to avoid exchanging queens and to save the black bishop. | ||||||
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24. Kc2 |
The king is quite safe here, and despite all of black's innovation, he has no more tricks up his sleeve. | ||||||
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24... Bf2 |
What else? Maybe Be1? Of course not 24. ... Re2? 25. Qxh4. Black is probably despairing now. | ||||||
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25. Qf3 |
! Pinning the bishop and pressuring f7. | ||||||
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25... Qg1 26. Bd5 |
Threatening to free the knight and rook with 27. Qd1. | ||||||
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26... c5 |
Again, I don't know what else is better. Once white develops his knight and rook the game is over -- his material advantage is too great. | ||||||
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27. dxc5 Bxc5 28. b4 Bd6 |
Not a great looking move, but again, it's hard to see what could've been better. Marshall has played excellently, and it's hard to find an improvement. But Capablanca was just a little bit better. (Of course, he was just a little bit better than *everybody*.) | ||||||
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29. a4 |
At last, the rook is freed, through quite an unusual chute. Now white takes over. | ||||||
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29... a5 |
Again, what can black do here? I look at this and say, "that wasn't very good," but I can't find anything better. | ||||||
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30. axb5 axb4 31. Ra6 |
Looks better than cxb4, as it develops the rook, threatens the bishop, and frees the pin on the knight. | ||||||
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31... bxc3 32. Nxc3 |
"I LIVE" roars the knight! When was the last time you saw a game where white didn't develop one of his knights until the 32nd move, and won?! This looks better to me, by the way, than either Bxc3 or Rxd6. | ||||||
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32... Bb4 |
And with the pin of the knight, black takes back control of ... nothing. Look at this position. That Rf8 is doing nothing, while all of white's pieces are ready for an attack. Maybe black's plan was to exchange as much as possible? Unfortunately, that passed pawn on b5 is looking pretty menacing... | ||||||
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33. b6 |
...did I say menacing? Make that terrifying... | ||||||
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33... Bxc3 34. Bxc3 h6 35. b7 |
...terrifying? Make that petrifying... | ||||||
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35... Re3 |
Again, not a good looking move, but what else does black have? | ||||||
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