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Richard Reti vs Alexander Alekhine
"Roughin' Reti" (game of the day Jan-22-05)
Baden Baden (1925)  ·  Hungarian Opening: Reversed Alekhine (A00)  ·  0-1
To move:
Last move:

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Given 27 times; par: 67 [what's this?]

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 12 OF 12 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Jul-05-11  DrMAL: <I play the Fred: Boy AJ, you're on quite the self-promotional streak this morning.> LOL, for better entertainment see: Kasparov vs Topalov, 1999
Jul-06-11  aliejin: I Always remember the first time I saw this wonderful game of Alexander Alekhine ...

I was dazzled by the way the black and white pieces wove ... and the subtle outcome of the combination.

Jul-07-11  LIFE Master AJ: This IS one of the best gaes there are ...

several masters told me ... (long BEFORE I was one!!!) ... that you could "spend the rest of your life studying this game."

The tactics here are almost super-human.

Aug-01-11  50movesaheadofyou: I can't remember the person's name but he has a famous saying about this game

"Should a man fail to study it, or by studying it learns naught, he should give up chess for mah jong."

Aug-02-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  pawn to QB4: CS Howell in The American Chess Bulletin, I'm told.
Aug-15-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  kingscrusher: I have video annotated this game here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtxO...

Aug-15-11  AVRO38: Reti overplayed his hand on move one. He tried to get cute with 1.g3 but Alekhine showed him who's boss!
Aug-16-11  kitbitzer31: At move 16..Bh3, doesn't White win a pawn with 17.Bxh3 Qxh3 18.Nxb7 Ng4 19.Nf3 Nde3 20.fxe3 Nxe3 21.Qxf7+ Kh8(Not 21...Kxf7 which fails to Ng5+) 22.Nh4??? What am I missing?
Aug-16-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  Sastre: <kitbitzer31: At move 16..Bh3, doesn't White win a pawn with 17.Bxh3 Qxh3 18.Nxb7 Ng4 19.Nf3 Nde3 20.fxe3 Nxe3 21.Qxf7+ Kh8(Not 21...Kxf7 which fails to Ng5+) 22.Nh4??? What am I missing?>

At the end of your line, 22...Rf8 23.Qf3 Rxf3 24.exf3 g5 .

Aug-18-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  kingscrusher: kitbitzer31: Classic! - I posted Rf8 whilst walking around Tesco on my Iphone to someone based on earlier analysis pages on Chessgames.com :)
Aug-18-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  kingscrusher: Sorry I should clarify - someone on Youtube posted your Qxf7+ idea, which I myself had also spotted later. The Rf8 at the end is a real killer because of the threat of Rf1 mating because of the N on e3 supporting it.
Aug-18-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  kingscrusher: Apparently there is a large element of psychology around the near 3-fold repetition. Alekhine was pretending to be on his way out of the tournament hall as though it was a draw by repetition. The arbiter disagreed, and the opponent was compelled to break the repetition with Bh1 which hailed the start of the vicious attack.
Aug-18-11  qqdos: <kingcrusher> It's not quite that simple. Alekhine was desperate for the full point, while Reti was more than content with the draw. At the psychological moment when Reti could legally have claimed the repetition, Alekhine (according to an eye-witness <source Bruce Hayden's book Of Cabbages and Kings>) scrambled up the pieces and began walking away with some derogatory comment about Reti getting the draw he so badly wanted (needed?). This put Reti into a psychological bind. The draw was his to claim but he found himself insisting on the correct etiquette. The pieces were replaced and to Alekhine,s delight Reti played the losing(?!) move Bh1? A tragedy for Reti but a bonus for the rest of us!
Aug-18-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  twinlark: 20. Bh1 was not the losing move. The best candidate for that was 27. Nf3 and possibly 28. Qxb5. Until then, Reti had an equal if not slightly better game.
Aug-19-11  qqdos: <twinlark> thanx. Objectively and in analytical terms, you are right. I meant "losing" in the subjective sense that Reti threw away the 1/2 point with which he was more than content (given the current state of the tournament) and as White would not want to retreat that Bishop to a palpably less active square.
Aug-19-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  twinlark: I get what you're saying now.
Sep-28-11  kitbitzer31: Hey Sastre thanks alot. I really appreaciate it.
Oct-04-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  Cemoblanca: 9...Na6!? I love this move.

14...Bg4! h3 and f3 doesn't work.

15...Qc8!? The roughing can begin. ;0)

20...h5! The start of a deep plan (22...h4, 24...Qc7!? and 26...Re3!).

21.b4 [21.f3?! b6! 22.fxg4 (22.Ne4!? Nxe4! 23.fxe4 Ne7 24.Rf1 Rf8) Ne3!, etc.]

23.a4?! A dubious plan, since the action takes place in the center. [However, it would be better to counter with 23.e4! Nb6 24.Qd3 Qc7 and then maybe 25.f3!, etc.]

24...Qc7!? The cheetah sneaks as far as possible at its loot along in order to strike down the last meters and it in maximum speed on the loot-animal with hits of the front-feet. I guess it fits with this move! ;0)

26...Re3! 27.Nf3?! [27.Bf3! Bxf3 28.exf3 cxb5!? 29.Nxb5 Qa5! 30.Rdd1 Re7! Ne4, etc.]

28.Qxb5 [28.Qd4 Ra4! 29.Nxa4 Qxc1 30.Rd1 Qc7! and the monster is back again.]

28...Nc3! Maybe the game-deciding move!

29.Qxb7 It's already too late to simplify anything.

31...Ne4! The cavalry is coming!!!

32.Rc4 Even if he finds the best moves, it doesn't help.

34.Rcc2?(?) [34.Rb4 Ng4+! 35.Kh3 (35.Rxg4? Bxg4 36.Ng5 f6! Ne4 Raa3!, etc.)] 35...Ne5+! 36.Kh2 (36.g4?? Ng1+! 37.Kg3 Raa3!) 36...Rxf3! 37.Rxe2 Ng4+! 38.Rxg4! There is nothing better! 38...Bxg4 39.Bxf3 Finally, the roughing would come to an end. ;0) 39...Bxf3 40.Re7]

34...Ng4+! 35.Kh3 [35.Kh1?? Ra1+ and mate is inevitable.]

35...Ne5+ and the rest was a matter of form.

Mar-11-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  plang: What an unusual opening; after 4 moves the position is unique. I have a number of sources for this game but none mention Reti's idea in playing 2 Nf3!?. 3..c5 or 4..c5 both look more ambitious than what Alekhine played (though Larsen had some success on the White side of similar formations).

Most of the discussion in this thread has concentrated on 26..Re3! but even after Reti's error 27 Nf3? the position looked balanced after 31 Kh2. The ending combination starting with 31..Ne4! is quite remarkable. A quote from Fischer: "It was Alekhine's stamina that carried him to victory. It was in the most complicated positions that Alekhine found the greatest concepts."

Jun-24-12  master of defence: The winning line is 41.Rf2(e3) Nxf3 42.Rxf3 Bd5 and 43...Bxb7. Or i´m wrong?
Feb-18-13  Jafar219: Fantastic play by Alekhine.
Feb-19-13  RookFile: Couldn't agree more, this is an amazing game.
Mar-11-13  IndigoViolet: <The Dance of the Knights> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUmq...
May-19-13  pawntificator: Amusingly, I just read an old article by C.J.S. Purdy on this game. In it he states that Alekhine mistakenly claimed a draw. So that answers the question I asked 11 years ago on this page.
May-19-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  PurdyGUDsoFAR: I once submitted the move 27.Rd3 to Dworetski as a refutation of the combo,... He told me I was correct and this move along with several others would of refuted the entire idea.

It is still marvelous though,... I mean alekhine's combo Re3

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