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Alexander Alekhine vs Efim Bogoljubov
Alekhine - Bogoljubov World Championship Rematch (1934), Stuttgart GER, rd 12, May-02
Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation. Rellstab Attack (D49)  ·  1/2-1/2

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
Mar-14-08  Knight13: 13...Qd5, very strong.
Oct-09-13  Owl: Does anyone see a win here for Bogo with all those pawns in the endgame?
Sep-04-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: Game 12 of this fascinating match. It was played on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd May 1934 in Stuttgart, capital of southwest Germany’s Baden-Württemberg state, known for Mercedes-Benz and Porsche cars.


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41.Ra1! "This was the move I had sealed, the point of the pawn sacrifice!" - AAA

Bogoljubow sacrifices his bishop for the passed b-pawn (and some other pawns) and after 58.Rxb8 this is the position:


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*****
Black advances everything, and things look bad for White after 66.Bb5


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66...Rh2 "In the case of 66...Rc7 to answer 67.Bd7 with Rxd7!, I would have played 67.Be8, or perhaps 67.Kb2." - AAA

66...Ke3 looks good, though. It keeps the white king away from the c-file. There might follow 67.Rxf5 Rc1 68.Ba4 d2 69.Kb2 d1Q 70.Bxd1 Rxd1


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and that is a win.

Final clock times for this very difficult game:
White 4h50m.
Black 4h55m.
Nearly ten hours!

Sep-05-16  Howard: It wasn't until Bonn 2008 that another WC match took place in Germany.

By the way, this "fasciniating match" would have probably been even more so if Capablanca had been Alekhine's opponent, instead.

Sep-06-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: <Howard: ...By the way, this "fasciniating match" would have probably been even more so if Capablanca had been Alekhine's opponent, instead.>

Also the Spassky - Portisch Candidates Semifinal (1977) would have been more interesting if Spassky had been playing Larsen.

Sep-06-16  Howard: Why so ? Granted, Larsen was a much more aggressive player than Portisch, but I had no complaints about Spassky-Portisch.

The third game, in which Portisch won with Black, was a favorite of mine, in fact.

Sep-06-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  plang: Portisch was a great player
Sep-06-16  AlicesKnight: <plang> "Great" is a relative term (cf. Morphy, Emmanuel Lasker, Kasparov?) - but he could give Fischer a run for his money - cf; Fischer vs Portisch, 1966 and Portisch vs Fischer, 1970 - both hard-fought with chances to Portisch.
Sep-06-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: I believe I have just derailed a thread.
Sep-06-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: <Howard: Why so ? Granted, Larsen was a much more aggressive player than Portisch, but I had no complaints about Spassky-Portisch. The third game, in which Portisch won with Black, was a favorite of mine, in fact.>

Okay. How about Petrosian instead of Spassky and Larsen instead of Portisch. That would definitely have been more interesting.

Sep-06-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  beatgiant: <offramp>
66...Ke3 67. Rxf5 Rc1 <68. Rh4>, so that if 68...d2 69. Rh3+ the rook checks eventually allow the bishop to reach e2 and hold the draw. Can Black still win? Only the 7-piece tablebase knows for sure.
Sep-07-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  Pawn and Two: <beatgiant> After 66...Ke3 67.Rxf5 Rc1 68.Rh5 d2 69.Rh3+ Kf4 70.Be2 e3 71.Rf3+ Ke4 72.Rf8 d1Q+ 73.Rxd1 Rxd1, and White loses in 25 moves, per the 6 piece tablebase.
Sep-07-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  beatgiant: <Pawn and Two> 6 piece tablebase even I have.

66...Ke3 67. Rxf5 Rc1 68. Rh5 d2 69. Rh3+ Kf4 70. Be2 e3 <71. Rh4+> Kg3 72. Rd4.


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At first glance probably a draw, but maybe Black can win by driving the bishop off as in 72...Kf2 73. Bg4 <Rg1> 74. Bh5 Rh1 75. Bg4 <Rh4> 76. Kc2 Rxg4, etc.

Sep-07-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  Pawn and Two: <beatgiant> After 66...Ke3 67.Rxf5 Rc1 68.Rh5 d2 69.Rh3+ Kf4 70.Be2 e3 71.Rh4+ Kg3 72.Rd4 Kf2 73.Bg4 Rg1 74.Bh5 Rh1 75.Bg4 Rh4, my Houdini program confirms White will be mated in all variations, including: 76.Kc2 e2; 76.Rf4+ Kg3; 76.Kc4 Rxg4; or 76.Kc3 Rxg4.
Sep-07-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  beatgiant: This ending would have been even more interesting if White's bishop were a knight.
Sep-07-16  AlicesKnight: Given references to Spassky, are there parallels between this game and Spassky vs Fischer, 1972 - pawns against bishop? Again, hard-fought, and not without chances to both sides.
Mar-12-25  tbontb: Another sad miss for Bogoljubow. Alekhine as White temporarily sacrifices a pawn to expose the Black K, seeking complications and hoping to outplay his opponent. However, Bogoljubow defends well and the position remains dynamically equal for a long time. After the error 38.Kf1 (better Kh2) Alekhine feels obliged to enter a difficult ending but fights back resourcefully and finally tricks Bogoljubow who, unable to find the win, again throws away all his advantage in one move 67....Rh5 (better Ra2, still winning).

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