Mar-10-19
 | | KEG: Maroczy employed Bird's Opening, perhaps hoping to unsettle his less experienced opponent. He obtained no advantage from the opening, and von Popiel had if anything the better position after Maroczy's premature 13. Qg4, but von Popiel then erred on his 13th and 14th turns and followed this up with a blunder on move 15 that cost a pawn and should have cost him the game. Maroczy eventually simplified to what should have been a won ending. Given Maroczy's endgame prowess, spectators may have thought the game was in the bag for Maroczy. But Maroczy misplayed the ending and allowed von Popiel to fight his way back into contention, only to commit further errors on moves 39 and 40 that once again seemingly gave the game to Maroczy, who yet again missed his chance and found himself in a pawn up ending that could not be won. Maroczy eventually tied for first but dropped out of the playoff with Pillsbury and Schlechter after one loss because of illness. Perhaps health explains why this strong endgame played failed to capitalize on several winning opportunities in this game. The draw against von Popiel left Maroczy a half-point behind Pillsbury and Schlechter with just three games to play. Had he won this game, he might have ended up the clear winner, and Munich 1900 would be remembered as Maroczy's first important victory in a major international tournament. Instead, he had to wait two years until Monte Carlo to be able to celebrate his first major triumph. 1. f4
Bird's Opening. A surprising choice from Maroczy, who might have been expected to try to wear down von Popiel with solid play after 1. e4 or 1. d4. 1... d5
2. e3 c5!?
There are many good options for Black here. 2...Nf6 is frequently played, and 2...g6; 2...Bf5; and 2...b6 all have point to commend them. The text has been played by a variety of chess stars over the years and in various eras, including such luminaries as Staunton, Janowski, Marshall, Mieses, Gulko, and Irina Krush. The move is an aggressive way to play for central control and Queen-side counterplay: 
click for larger view3. Nf3
3. b3 is an interesting alternative.
3... e6
This move is fine, though it presents the question of how to develop the c8 Bishop. 3...Nf6 is a good alternative. 4. Bb5+
This was a favorite of Mr. Bird himself. 4. b3 and 4. d4 are also reasonable options. 4... Bd7
5. BxB+ NxB
Since the Knight may eventually be better on c6, 5...QxB seems better. The position was now:
click for larger viewWhile there is nothing wrong with Maroczy's position, he hardly obtained any opening advantage here with the White pieces. 6. 0-0 Ngf6
7. b3 Be7
8. Bb2 0-0
9. d3 b5
10. Nbd2 Rc8
This left:
click for larger viewBoth sides have developed normally after the off-beat opening moves, and chances at this stage were about even, von Popiel having an impressive Queen-side pawn phalanx that may prove a strength or a weakness. Maroczy perhaps expected to outplay von Popiel from such a position. As I will discuss in my next post on this game, from here Maroczy over-extended himself, but von Popiel failed to exploit the possibilities Maroczy had allowed him and soon found himself a pawn down in a likely lost position. |
|
Mar-10-19
| | KEG: Post II
11. Ne5
A misguided idea (which superficially resembles the Ne5 atacks for which Pillsbury was famous) that wound up working like a charm. 11. c4, or perhaps 11. Qe2, were better. 11... NxN
click for larger viewHow should Maroczy (White) recapture?
12. BxN certainly looks best, but Maroczy wanted to open the f-file and launch a King-side attack, and therefore played: 12. fxN
Is the White pawn at e5 strength or a weakness? Time would tell, and as the game developed the answer would appear almost immediately. 12... Nd7
13. Qg5?!
This foray seems premature and 13. c4 (or maybe 13. a4) looks best in order to address and attack von Popiel's Queen-side pawn phalanx. As a result of von Popiel's weak next three moves, White quickly gets a won game. This does not seem likely after 13. Qg5, the position now being: 
click for larger view13... Qb6
13...f5? would--as noted by the Tournament Book--have been a mistake 14. exf6 e.p. But 13...c4 or 13...Qc7 would have given von Popiel the better chances. By contrast, the plan of playing on the b6...g1 diagonal, though perhaps superficially attractive, was quickly shown to have been misguided. 14. c4
"!"--(Tournament Book)
"Threatening 15. cxd5 exd5 16. e6"--(Tournament Book). The position was now:
click for larger view14... f6?
"??"--(Tournament Book).
This weakens the pawn on e6 and justifies Maroczy's questionable pawn recapture on e5 (12. fxN). The Tournament Book's suggested 14...f5 was certainly better. Even better was 14...bxc4. 15. cxd5
This left (with von Popiel to choose a recapture): 
click for larger view15... fxe5?
This allows White to trade down to a won endgame. The only (theoretical) chance for Black was 15...Nxe5 16. BxN fxB 17. RxR+ RxR 18. Qxe6+ QxQ 19. dxQ leaves White with the better endgame with his extra pawn soon to fall, the position then being: 
click for larger viewBlack's position has weaknesses here, but the Bishop is at least the equal of the Knight and Black should probably be able to hold the game. After the text (15...fxe5?) however, von Popiel was almost certainly lost with best play by White. 16. QxQ+ QxQ
17. dxQ Nf6
17...Nb6 was no better.
The position was now:
click for larger viewBoth e-pawns seemed destined to bite the dust, but White is--and will remain--up a pawn in what should be a winning ending. Needless to say, with the material left there is plenty of play in the position and Black is nowhere near a stage in which resignation would be appropriate, but as I will discuss in my next post on this game, from here Maroczy ran down his edge (despite some poor play by von Popiel) quickly jeopardized his winning chances. |
|
Mar-10-19
| | KEG: Post III
18. Bxe5
Missing a chance to exploit the placement of Black's pieces. The Black pawn on e5 will not run away, and Maroczy should have tried to strengthen his grip on the position with 18. a4 (and if 18...b4 19. Nc4 Rc6 20. e4 and if 18...a6 then 19. axb5 axb5 20. Bxe5). 18... Rc6
18...Ng4 was better.
19. BxN gxB?
"!"--(Tournament Book).
The Tournament Book notwithstanding, this recapture was a mistake that could and should have cost him the game. The Black Bishop would have been sitting pretty with 19...BxB, while the text left the Black pawn structure in tatters. The position after 19...gxB was:
click for larger viewMaroczy should almost certainly have been able to win from this position. But from here his game quickly went donwhill. 20. Rac1
Pursuing a misguided plan. Maroczy should either have gotten his King into the action with 20. Kf2 (the king is a fighting piece in the endgame) or attacked on the Queen-side with 20. a4. 20... Rex6
There was no rush to grab this pawn, and 20...Rd8 immediately was better. 21. Ne4?
The Knight belongs on f3, not e4. Thus Maroczy should have defended his e-pawn with 21. Kf2. The position was now:
click for larger view21... f5?
"!"--(Tournament Book)
I must again part company with the Tournament Book. 21...Re5, 21...Rd8, and 21...c4 were all much better. As will be seen, the text was based on a hallucination. 22. Nxc5 Rxe3
23. d4
As is so often the case, passed pawns should be pushed. The position was now: 
click for larger view23... Rd8?
This move, on which von Popiel had perhaps relied in playing 21...f5, in fact hangs a pawn. White can just play 24. Rxf5 and if 24...Rxd4? White has the remarkable winning move 25. Kf2! after which Black must lose the exchange. This position, in which the Black Rook is trapped in the middle of the board, is so remarkable I give a diagram: 
click for larger viewvon Popiel would have avoided all this with 23...f4 or 23...Bg5. But no worries, Marocy had the same blind spot. 24. Rcd1?
Missing the chance to win a pawn with 24. Rxf5 and allowing von Popiel to scrap back into the game. 24... Rd5
The Black Bishop is far better than Maroczy's Knight, and Black has a bundle of threats: 
click for larger viewDid Maroczy still have a win? I think not. In fact, and as I will discuss in my next post on this game, Maroczy squandered whatever was left of his advantage and was even worse by move 29. |
|
Mar-10-19
| | KEG: Post IV
25. b4
To retain any realistic chances of winning, Maroczy should have played either 25. Kf2 or 25. g3. 25... Bf6
In his zeal to gang up on White's d-pawn, von Popiel missed a golden opportunity to work on the 3rd rank with either 25...Rc3 or 25...Ra3. (The ability to use Rooks horizontally is often overlooked. See Lasker's victory against Marshall in his first match game in 1907 for a wonderful example of this technique). 26. Nb3
Maroczy in turn missed a chance to seize the initiative with 26. g4. 26... Be7
"!"--(Tournament Book).
The Tournament Book is correct that 26...Re4 would be bad, but not because of 27. Kh1 which would be net by 27...Re2 with near equality and not with the Tournament Book's horredous 27...Bxd4 which would lose to 28. g3 (but not to the Tournament Book's 28. Rd3? in light of 28...Rd8 or 28...Rd6). The position was now 
click for larger view27. Rf2?
27. Kf2 (Maroczy seems allergic to using his King as a fighting piece at this stage of the game) or 27. Nc5 were better. The text hangs the b4 pawn (White can pick up the f5 pawn, but will likely lose his pawn advantage soon thereafter, e.g., 27...Bxb4 28. Rdf1 a5 29. Rxf5 RxR 30. RxR a4 31. Nc5 Ra3 32. Rf2 BxN 33. dxB Rc3 etc. 27... Kg7?
Missing the chance to play 27...Bxb4 as discussed above. This left:
click for larger viewHere, Maroczy had an amazing possibility. He could hold an edge with the remarkable 28. Na1! [I love this move]. This would leave the Knight ready to spring to c2 to disrupt von Popiel's counterplay. It is rare to see Na1 by White as a powerful resource. But Maroczy missed his chance and played the prosaic: 28. Rdf1 Kg6
29. Rf3
29. Rc1 was better. The position was now:
click for larger viewvon Popiel now got around to snatching the b4 pawn after: 29... RxR
30. RxR Bxb4.
This left:
click for larger viewAny advantage here surely lay with Black. Objectively, the game should be a draw. Yet, as will be seen, Maroczy was still playing to win and von Popiel was still hoping for a draw. 31. Kf2
Finally bringing the King to battle.
31... a5
31...Rd6 was stronger.
32. Ke3 a4
This strategy of advancing his Queen-side pawns eventually cost von Popiel a pawn, though as will be seen this need not have happened. 33. Nc1
Heading for e2 and then either c3 or f4.
33... Bd6
Still declining to play Rd8 or Rd7, which he should have done on his last move also. 34. Kd3
The position was now:
click for larger viewFrom here, as I will discuss in my next post on this game, von Popiel erred and got into trouble, giving Maroczy new chances to tough out a win. |
|
Mar-12-19
| | KEG: Post V
34... h5
This put Maroczy under no pressure and gave him time to get the better game. Could von Popiel have played 34...Bxh2 here? The Tournament Book stated that Black would then be in trouble after 35. g3 threatening Ne2. But then von Popiel could have played 35...b4 with equal chances (e.g., 36. Ne2 Rb5 37. Kc4 Rb7 38. d5 h5 39. Rf2 b3 40. axb3 (or 40. RxB b2 41. Nc3 Rc7+ 42. Kb5 RxN 43. Rxb2 Rxg3 44. d6 Rd3 45. Kc6 h4 46. d7 h3 47. Rb4 h2 48. Rh2 Rc3+ 49. Kb5 Rd3 is an exciting draw] axb3 41. RxB b2 42. Nc3 Rc7+ with a clear draw). von Popiel would also have been fine after 34...Bb8 or 34...Kg5. After the text, things got exciting. 35. Ne2!
"Planning Nc3" (Tournament Book).
The excellence of Maroczy's move was its flexibility. As will be seen, c3 was only one of the Knight's potential destinations. 35... b4
35...Bc7 or 35...Bb8 were better.
The position was now:
click for larger viewQuite an interesting endgame. Maroczy milked the position for all it was worth in his following moves: 36. Kc4
He could also have played 36. Nf4+ immediately.
36... Ra5
37. Nf4+ Kg5
38. Ne6+ Kf6
39. Nc5
This left:
click for larger viewvon Popiel could have held the game with 39...Bxh2 (e.g., 39. Rh3 Bf4 40. Kxb4 [or 40. Rxh5 Ra8 41. Kxb4 Rg8 43. Kxa4 Rxg2 44. Kb3 Be3 with a likely draw] Ra8 42. Nxa4 Bd2+ 43. Kb3 Rb8+ 44. Kc2 Ra8 45. Nc5 Rxa2+ 46. Kb3 Ra8 47. Rxh5 Rg8 and a draw seems inevitable). But von Popiel played:
39... b3
40. axb3
The position was now:
click for larger viewvon Popiel here might have tried 40...a3 (e.g., 41. Rf1 Bxh2 42. b4 Ra8 and would have had reasonable chances of holding the game. Instead, he played the potentially dangerous: 40... axb3
Maroczy now picked up a pawn:
41. Ne4+ Ke6
42. NxB KxN
43. Kxb3
This was better than 43. Rxb3 Ra4+ (or 43...Ra2). This left:
click for larger viewMaroczy was now up a pawn. But can he win? I will address this issue in my next post on this game. |
|
Mar-12-19
| | KEG: Post VI
It is unclear whether Maroczy could have won this endgame with best play on both sides. Let's see how he went about trying to squeeze out a win and whether we can find anything better. My improvement, if there is one, appears on move 45. The Tournament Book believed the game was a win and that Maroczy blew it on move 51. As I will attempt to show, this analysis appears to be wrong. 43... Ke6
44. Rh3
"!"--(Tournament Book)
44. Rf4 or 44. Re3+ are other tries, but I am unable to find a win with either of those moves. 44... f4
44...Kd5 (going after the White d-pawn) was perhaps another plan, but White seems to end up two pawns to the good in an ending that--though difficult--is a win according to Basic Chess Endings and Smyslov (44...Kd5 45. Rh4 Ra6 46. Rxh5 Kxd4 47. Rxf5 Rg6 48. g3). The text seems to be the critical line.
The position was now:
click for larger view45. Rh4
If there is a win to be had, this may be where Maroczy lost his chance. 45. Kc4 looks best, and White seems to come out two pawns ahead in the variations I have examined: e.g., 45. Kc4 Rg5 46. Kd3 Rxg2 47. Rxh5 f3 48. Ke3 f2 49. Ke2 Kf6 50. Rh4 Kf5 51. Kf1 Rg1+ 52. Kxf2 Ra1 53. Ke3 and White should win. After the text, I think the win was gone.
45... Rf5
"!"--(Tournament Book)
46. Kc4 Kf6
47. Kd3 Kg5
The position was now:
click for larger view48. Rh3
48. Ke4 looks like the best chance for White (if indeed a win is still to be had). But Black still seems to hold on, e.g., 48. Ke4 Rf6 49. Rh3 Re6+ 50. Kd3 Rb6 51. d5 Rb2 52. Kc3 Rxg2 53. d6 Kf6 54. Rd3 Rg8 55. d7 Rd8 56. Kd2 Ke7 and White end up with only his Rook pawn. At this point, the game looks like a draw. But Maroczy can still torture von Popiel for a while. 48... Ra5
49. Ke4 Ra2!
The saving move
50. g3 Re2+
This left:
click for larger viewThe Tournament Book devoted considerable time and space to analyzing this position. 51. Kf3
"??"--(Tournament Book)
The Tournament Book claimed a win for White with 51. Kd3 and considered several long variations. But it ignored what appears to be the best move for Black--which seems to lead to a draw: 51...Ra2! If there is a win from here, I can't find it. 52. Ke4 repeats the position after 52...Re2+, 52. gxf4+ gets White nowhere after 52...Kg4! (not 52...Kxf5 53. Rxh5 and White wins in a walk) 53. Re3 Rxh2 54. d5 Rh1; and 52. d5 leads to a draw after either 52...Ra3+ or 52...fxg3. 51... Re3+
52. Kf2 Re8
52...Rd7 or 52...Re8 look better, but the text seems to be sufficient to hold the game. 53. gxf4+ Kg4
54. Rd3 Kxf4
This left:
click for larger viewAs I will discuss in my next post on this game, White does not appear to have a way to win any longer. |
|
Mar-12-19
| | KEG: Post VII
In the diagrammed position with which I ended my last post, Fritz rates the game as a win for White (2.38). This is clearly wrong. Black has a simple drawing plan: gang up and win the d-pawn at the cost of his remaining pawn, thus leaving a book Rook and Rook Pawn against Rook ending which is a dead draw. The lesson I derive from this is that while computers are fantastic resources which I frequently use to make sure my posts don't include obvious blunders (as <keypusher> said--if I recall correctly--not to check variations with software is malpractice). But it is also wrong to rely SOLELY on computer programs. Sometimes, good old fashioned chess judgment must be used to avoid the glitches in most software. Maroczy made a valiant try to win here, but von Popiel quickly brought him back to earth: 55. d5 Re7
56. d6 Rd7
The d-pawn is now blockaded and the game could be abandoned as a draw here (Fritz' evaluation notwithstanding): 
click for larger viewAll von Popiel had to do was pick off the d-pawn. This was just as easy as could be, and Maroczy did nothing to prevent it: 57. Rd5 Ke4
58. Rxh5 Rxd6
The players could have shaken hands here:
click for larger viewThe only way to win such an ending is to cut off the Black king. That ain't in the cards here. The balance of the game requires no commentary:
59. Kg3 Rg6+
60. Kh4 Kf4
61. h3 Rg8
62. Rh7 Kf5
63. Rh5+ Kg6
1/2 -- 1/2 |
|
|
|
|
Kibitzing
