Jose Raul Capablanca vs Max Euwe (1931) "J.R. Euweing"

Jose Raul Capablanca vs Max Euwe
"J.R. Euweing" (game of the day May-25-09)
Capablanca - Euwe (1931) · Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical. Noa Variation (E35) · 1-0

[Event "Capablanca - Euwe"]
[Site "Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Scheveningen NED"]
[Date "1931.07.03"]
[EventDate "1931.07.01"]
[Round "3"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Jose Raul Capablanca"]
[Black "Max Euwe"]
[ECO "E35"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "61"]

1. d4 {Notes by Capablanca} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5
5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Qd6 {To unpin the Knight. To go back with
6... Be7 would be a regular variation of the Queen's Gambit
with Black a move behind. To play 6... h6 7. Bh4 7...g5 would
be too risky.} 7. e3 Ne4 8. Bf4 Qg6 {The alternatives would be
8... Qe7 or 8...Qc6. The other Queen moves are much less
satisfactory. It should be noticed that in the eight moves
played so far, Black has moved his Queen twice and his King's
Knight twice also. In a closed position such things are often
possible and good, but in a rather open position they can very
seldom be done without getting into trouble.} 9. a3 {Black
threatened 9...Nxc3. The text move forces Black to exchange
the Bishop for the Knight, thereby not only releasing the
pressure against the Queen's Knight and the King, but also
strengthening White's position.} 9...Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Bf5 {This
involves the loss of a pawn, but Black had very little
choice. The only way to avoid immediate loss would be to play
10...Qc6, another Queen move in ten. 10...c6 was not feasible
because of 11. f3 Nf6 12. Bd3 Qh5 13. h4 and Black cannot stop
14.g4 winning a piece.} 11. Qb3 O-O {Black plays for
attack. He is slightly ahead in development and now offers a
pawn in order to gain more time.} 12. f3 {Should White play
12. Qxb7 12...Nc6 would give Black such an advantage in
development that it would be impossible for White to avoid
serious loss. White, however, could have played 12. Qxd5 and
obtained the better game thus: 12...Nxc3 13. Qb3 Ne4 14. Nf3
Qb6 [best; if 14...Nc6 15. Rc1 Nd6 16. Ne5 Nxe5 17. dxe5 with
a winning position] 15. Qxb6 axb6 16. Bd3 with what should be
a winning position. White could also play 12. Nf3 and obtain a
winning game since Black's best answer would be 12...Qb6 and
then would follow 13. Qxb6 cxb6 14. c4. Instead of adopting
the simple course White went in for complications: a policy
not to be advised when there is a simple continuation in sight
offering a definite advantage.} 12...Nd6 13. g4 Bd3 {Black
insists in playing an attack at all costs: a wrong policy in a
case like this where the number of pieces for the attack is
inferior to the number of pieces for the defense. Black could
succeed only if he were able to throw into the fray the
balance of his pieces before White could bring his to the
defense. Since that is not the case he is bound to suffer the
consequences. He should have played 13...Be6 when White would
probably have played 14.Rd1 in order to start an attack
against Black's King through Bd3. The continuation 14. Bxd6
cxd6 15. Qxb7 15...Nd7 would give White a very doubtful game.}
14. Qxd5 Bxf1 15. Kxf1 Qd3+ 16. Ne2 Nc4 17. Kf2 17...Nxe3 {! A
very clever sacrifice.} 18. Qxb7 { White cannot take 18. Bxe3
because of 18...Re8 which would regain the piece for Black
with a good game. But unfortunately for Black he has not
enough force for the attack. All he is attacking with is a
Queen and a Knight, and the only other piece he can throw
immediately into the battle is the King's Rook. Against that
White has all his pieces ready to go to the defense of his
King. Under such conditions, unless the position is of a very
unusual nature, the attack cannot succeed.} 18...Na6 19. Qb1
19...Qxb1 {Black had to exchange Queens to avoid the loss of
the Knight. As a result White comes out a pawn ahead with a
good game, advantage enough to win with proper play.}
20. Raxb1 Nc4 21. a4 Rab8 22. Rb5 Rb6 23. Rhb1 Re8 24. Ng3 Rf6
25. Rf5 {White wants to keep his Bishop at f4 where it
controls the moves of the two Black Knights. At the same time
he wants to place his Knight at e4 in order to block any
possible entrance of the Rook at e8 into White's position. The
Knight at e4 would be in a very strong central position. It is
true that as a result of this maneuver Black will be able to
reunite his Queenside pawns and also White's pieces will be
crowding one another a little, but as White's ultimate
intention is to advance on the Kingside, the overcrowding of
White's pieces will not become too serious a fault. The
alternatives would be either 25.Nf5 or 25. Bc1 [threatening
26.Ne4]. The first move would prevent the placing of the
Knight at e4. The second move would remove the Bishop from the
one square where he controls most of the moves of both the
Black Knights. The course of the game vindicated White's
judgment in playing the text move.} 25...Rb6 26. Rxb6 axb6
27. Ne4 f6 28. h4 c6 29. h5 Kf7 {Black could not play 29...h6
because of 30. Bxh6.} 30. Bc1 {? A bad move. White should have
gone on with his original plan, which would have won without
much trouble thus: 30. h6 30...Rxe4 31. fxe4 g6 32. Rb5 cxb5
33. axb5 and White would regain the piece with a won
position. White made the text move forgetting that it released
the Knight at a6.} 30...Re6 {A blunder due to time
pressure. The game was being played at the rate of 32 moves in
two hours. Black was short of time and probably tired from the
ordeal. Incidentally it has been assumed by all annotators
that Black could now easily draw by playing 30...Nc7. They
have stated that White could not play 31. a5 because of
31...Nd5, threatening to win the Rook by 32...g6. The
assertion is entirely wrong. Not only can White play 31.a5 but
it is the best move, and the one move that gives White the
best winning chances. The position is so interesting that it
will repay study. Suppose 32. axb6 g6 33. Rf4 Rb8 [ Let us go
back again. If 33...Re7 34. Ng5+ followed by 35.Re4 with
winning chances. Black's best chance for a draw is to play
33...Nxf4 34. Bxf4 Nxb6 35. Nd6+ Ke7 36. Nxe8 Kxe8 37. Ke2 and
while it would be hard to prove a win, White would have
chances for victory. ] 34. Nxf6 Nxf4 35. Bxf4 Rxb6 36. Nxh7
and with three pawns for the Exchange White has an excellent
chance to win.} 31. Ng5+ 1-0

To move:

Last move:

Given 20 times; par: 45 [what's this?]

Annotations by Jose Raul Capablanca. [26 more games annotated by Capablanca]

explore this opening	find similar games	17 more Euwe/Capablanca games
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< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 2 OF 2 · Later Kibitzing>
Jan-15-06		Gregor Samsa Mendel: I only wish I could have "oops!" moments in games like the ones cited on the Euwe page, or in this one: Euwe vs H Steiner, 1946.

Jan-16-06		kevin86: I loved the pun-too bad the game wasn't played in DALLAS. Euwe makes an unpardonable blunder and gets "mangled" by the Machine.

Jan-16-06		Calli: Capablanca gives rather extensive notes for this game. He notes that Euwe's error of Re6 was caused by time trouble. The time control was 32 moves for the match. So to all you kibitzers trying feel superior to the GMs or pile on Euwe, I say BACKOFF! :-)

Jan-17-06		CapablancaFan: These kind of blunders at GM level play is rarely seen. Did Euwe have a senior moment or what?

Feb-18-06		raydot: <blingice>I know Euve was world champ. My point: I think when you ask people who their all time favorite chess players are, "Max Euve" doesn't spring to the lips. I also don't think he was a better player overall than Capa was.

Apr-30-06		patzer2: After 30...Re6??, Capa plays 31. Ng5+! to with a simple fork and pin combination. Euwe should have played 30...Nc7 instead.

May-29-06		beatgiant: <patzer2> After the suggested 30...Nc7, White can increase the positional advantage with <31. h6> breaking up the kingside. For example, 30...Nc7 31. h6 Nd5 32. hxg7 Kxg7 33. Rh5, etc. To avoid that, Black may play 30...h6, after which White could try to break through with <31. Bxh6> ending with several pawns for a piece.

Jan-04-07		paladin at large: My, 16. Ne2 is a cool move - followed by move after move where Capablanca not only meets Euwe's threats, but continuously, it seems, improves his position. The black knight is hopelessly out of place on a6. 19. Qb1 is wise, to exchange queens, thereby defusiing the nasty threat of 19....Re8.

Jan-04-07		CapablancaFan: <paladin at large> Glad to see your still here. I agree with everything you said. Funny thing is that Euwe's king is tucked safely away while Capa's king is stuck in the middle, but look how he solves the problem. After 17...Nxe3 <Notice that if 18.Bxe3? Re8 regains the piece with interest.> 18.Qxb7! An extremely difficult move to find. This was not an attack on the rook, but to merely buy a tempo to play 19.Qb1! This forces queens off the board as any other move loses the knight!

Apr-12-07		whiteshark: <30. Bc1?> De enige winstvoortzetting bestond in 30. h6 Rxe4 31. fxe4 g6 32. Rb5! cxb5 33. ab5

Jan-18-08		paladin at large: <whiteshark> Yeah, Capa said that was a bad move and that he should have followed through with his kingside assault. Capa's very interesting annotation to this game is appended to a duplicate game on this very same site.

May-25-09		YoungEd: I'm with <calli>. These are the most expansive notes I've ever seen from Capablanca, with the most actual variations. This is an interesting game!

May-25-09		capatal: (IIRC), Euwe said, "Capablanca does not make moves, but paints a picture with his pieces."

May-25-09		Samagonka: Very good notes by Capablanca. Free chess tution.

May-25-09		randomsac: I agree with everybody in saying that the annotations are very instructive.

May-25-09		WhiteRook48: sometimes I miss these knight forks myself

May-25-09		visayanbraindoctor: Capablanca�s notes make the game look so simple, yet it�s not. For example, Capablanca did not make any comment after 13. g4, yet there are probably many players who would not dare play this move, or go into a line that enters into this move, as it apparently weakens White�s Kingside at a moment when Black has a possibly dangerous attack coming. For example, after 13. g4, Black has a possible target which he can hit with an eventual f5. In the ensuing complications, Capa navigated his way through without an error until 30. Bc1 (which he himself pointed out) which not surprisingly was just two moves before time control, when many errors occur. In order to play 13. g4, Capa would have to seriously think ahead trying to calculate everything after both 13� Be6 (the move he recommended), and 13� Bd3, the move which Euwe actually played. IMO probably most players would choose 13� Bd3, like Euwe did, as it gives Black a dangerous attack and is not really a blunder. A fascinating thought is that Capablanca could have seen the resource 19. Qb1 even before he entered into the 13. g4 line. Another interesting thought is to give the position after 13. g4 to two GMs who have never seen this game, and see how they would play it out. Would some such hypothetical games even end up in a Black victory, and how many would end in draws? There are naturally reactions to Euwe�s blunder at the end. The blunder somewhat spoils the game�s aesthetic value, and we miss out on another Capablanca endgame lesson. Capablanca himself seems disappointed that Euwe blundered; his notes indicate he was eager to demonstrate a White win.

May-25-09		Chessmensch: Don't blast Euwe too much. Worse has happened, and not long ago. Remember Kramnik vs. Deep Fritz? Deep Fritz vs Kramnik, 2006

May-25-09		RandomVisitor: After 25.Nh5! click for larger view [+2.09] d=14 25...Rb6 26.a5 Rxb5 27.Rxb5 c6 28.Rb7 Ra8 29.Rd7 Kf8 [+2.33] d=14 25...Rc6 26.Rg5 Rg6 27.Rb7 Rxg5 28.Bxg5 Ra8 29.Bf4 Na5 30.Rb5 Nc4 31.Bxc7 Nxc7 32.Rc5 Nd5 33.Rxc4 g6 34.Rc5 Nxc3 35.Rxc3 gxh5 36.gxh5 Rb8 37.Rc7 a6 38.d5 Rd8 39.Rc5 Kf8 [+2.86] d=14 25...Rfe6 26.Rb7

May-26-09		RandomVisitor: After 13...Be6 click for larger view [+0.05] d=18 14.Ne2 Nd7 15.Bxd6 cxd6 16.Nf4 Qf6 17.Kf2 Nb6 18.Bd3 Rac8 19.Rab1 Qe7 20.Kg2 g5 21.Nh5 f5 22.h3 Qf7

May-26-09		kevin86: Euwe was to be champion in a few years-so better play is ahead for the Hollander.

Oct-25-09		Jonathan Sarfati: There are parallels to Capablanca vs Euwe, 1938, where Capa likewise gained a positional advantage, and hacked through the complications Euwe generated to score a good won.

Aug-13-11		positionalgenius: Rf5! Typical capablanca

Feb-06-12		RookFile: Capablancs calculates well, as usual.

Jul-16-12		FSR: Fun fact: Capablanca and Lasker both had a +3 score against Euwe. In Capablanca's case, that was +3 over 18 games (+4 =13 -1). http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... In Lasker's case, it was +3 over <three games>. http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... And Lasker had the disadvantage of being 20 years older than Capablanca. Did I mention that Lasker was a god?

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 2 OF 2 · Later Kibitzing>

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