Amos Burn vs Georg Marco (1900)

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Amos Burn vs Georg Marco
12th DSB Congress, Munich (1900), Munich GER, rd 15, Aug-11
Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Move Order (D31) · 1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

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May-26-19		KEG: This game decided 4th place. Going into this final round game, Burm and Marco were both too far behind the three leaders (Pillsbury, Schlechter, and Maroczy) to have any chance at finishing in the top three, and were far enough ahead of the rest of the field that they could not finish lower than fifth. Marco was one-half point ahead of Burn going into this game, so the situation was simple: if Burn won, he would finish fourth and Marco would be fifth. Otherwise, Marco would take fourth and Burn would be fifth. Thus, Burn had nothing to lose in playing all out for a win, while for Marco a draw was as good as a win. Marco had been towards the top of the standings throughout Munich 1900. He had lost only one game before this round: to Maroczy. Burn, by contrast, had experienced a roller-coaster of a tournament. He had started badly, losing two of his first three games (to Showalter and then to Maroczy, losing an ending in which he had been a pawn up in the latter case). From there, however, he had excellent results, winning seven of his next eleven games against one loss (to Schlechter) and three draws. The game itself shaped up as an intriguing struggle, with Burn holding the better position for most of the game. The tough struggle came to an abrupt end when Marco blundered away his Queen on his 22nd move. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 f5 Trying to set up a Stonewall formation. 4...Nf6 is normal and best here. click for larger view 5. Bf4 5. Bf4 and 5. cxd5 are good alternatives for White here. 5... Nf6 5...dxc4 or 5...Bd6 were better. 6. e3 Be7 7. Bd3 7. h3 (to hold the g4 square) or 7. Be2 were perhaps more accurate. 7... 0-0 8. Qe2 This square may be needed for White's c3 Knight. 8. 0-0 or 8. h3 were better. 8... Nbd7 A normal move in defending against the Queen's Gambit Declined. But 8...Ne4 or 8...dxc4 immediately were stronger. 9. cxd4 This is in the spirit of the opening. But 9. Ng5 to exploit the weak pawn on e6 was better. 9... cxd5 9...Nxd5, allowing the f8 Rook to defend the f5 pawn so that Black can recapture on d5 in some variations with his weak e-pawn. 10. Rc1 10. 0-0 or 10. h3 (moves Burn will have to make anyway) were better here to avoid committing the placement of his Rooks. 10... a6 Weak. 10...Ne4 or 10...Nb6 or even 10...Nb8 were better. After 10...a6, the position was: click for larger view 11. 0-0 Ne8 11...Nh5 or 11...Ne4 or 11...Nb6 were better. 12. Rc2 g5?! Suddenly, the game became sharp: click for larger view 12...Nb6 or 12...Nb8 or 12...Ndf6 were sounder choices. But the text set the tone for the combative struggle that followed. The game had been prosaic to this point, but the rest of the game--including Marco's dreadful blunder that brought the game to a shocking conclusion--was fascinating.

May-26-19		KEG: Post II 13. Bg3 Burn need not fear 13...f4?? because that would lose--as noted in the Tournament Book--to 14. exf4 gxf4 [14...Nc5 is probably best for Black here, but obviously also hopeless] 15. Qxe6+ Kh8 16. Qh6. 13... Rf7 As noted above, Marco could not have played 13...f4, but he might have tried something more dynamic that the placid text; either playing to protect the e-pawn with 13...Nb8 or 13...Nb6 or else seeking counterplay with 13...g4 or 13...b5. After 13...Rf7, the position was: click for larger view 14. Re1 Instead of this pointless move, Burn could either have played the prophylactic 14. h3 (to stop 14...g4--a move which Marco somehow also overlooked) or 14. Rfc1 (loading up on the c-file (on which the game was ultimately decided). 14... b5 Like Burn, Marco overlooked the possibility of playing 14...g4. White would still be better, but after 14...g4 Black would have some form of counterplay on the King's side. 15. h3 Belatedly addressing the issue of g4 by Black. Alternatively, Burn might have played 15. Ne5 or 15. Qd2 (making room for his c3 Knight to come to e2) or 15. Rec1 (loading up on the c-file, as Burn in fact did on his next move). 15... Bb7 15...Bd6 immediately contesting the scope of White's g3 Bishop was perhaps more accurate. 16. Rec1 Finally getting around to stacking his Rooks on the c-file. 16... Bd6 17. BxB 17. b4 was an interesting sacrificial alternative. 17... NxB click for larger view 18. b3 Giving up much of his advantage. Burn should have either moved his Queen to make room for Ne2 [i.e., 18. Qe1 or 18. Qd1] or else undertaken Queen-side action immediately with 18. a4 (rather than delaying this til his next move). 18... Rg7 19. a4 "!"--(Tournament Book). Burn should still have considered getting his Queen off e2 with 19. Qd1 or 19. Qd2 to make room for his c3 Knight to come to e2. click for larger view 19... b4 This was one way for Marco to generate action, but 19...g4 looks like Black's best chance to contest White's initiative. 20. Nd2 a5 click for larger view The key moment of the game had arrived. Though it may not be apparent from the above position, the game was destined to be decided in the next two moves.

May-27-19		KEG: Post III Oops. In my last post, "20. Nd2" was a typo and should have read "20. Na2." I did manage to get the diagram right, and it correctly shows a Knight at a2 rather than at d2. 21. Bb5? To the extent White (with one of his Knights marooned on a2) still had any remaining advantage, that edge lay in his control of the c-file. Burn should therefore have played 21. Rc7. His actual move (21. Bb5?) was weak, but turned out to be the winning move since it led Marco to commit his fatal blunder on his 22nd turn. After 21. Bb5, the position was: click for larger view 21... NxB? I append a question mark to this move not only because it was bad intrinsically (as it was by removing the protection by the Knight of a Rook incursion by White on c8) but also because of the losing plan it contemplated that was revealed on Marco's next move. With 21...Nf6, Marco would suddenly have had the better chances. The text removes on of Black's minor piece defenders for c8. With his Bishop still on b7, Marco should have been able to survive even after the second-best text move. 22. QxN click for larger view Marco's position--with his Bishop standing guard on b7--was still quite defensible. All he had to do was deal with the not so terrible threat of QxB. This "problem" could have easily been dealt with by 22...Ba6 (best) or 22...Nf8 (allowing the g7 Rook fo defend the b7 Bishop). But here Marco miscalculated and decided that he had a winning attack on the King-side, forgetting that with the b7 Bishop gone, c8 became a lethal inroad for Burn. As will be seen, Marco may have had a little trap in mind for Burn here. But this trap was one into which Burn was unlikely to fall. 22... g4?? "??"--(Tournament Book) Talk about hanging a piece! 23. QxB Game over! 23... gxN This loses the Queen, but the alternatives (23...Rb8; 23...Nc5; 23...Rb8; 23...Ne5) were no prizes either. After 23...gxN, the position was: click for larger view 24. Rc8! As pointed out in the Tournament Book, 24. QxR?? [Burn's little trap] would lose after 24...Rxg2+ (i.e., 25. Kf1 QxQ 26. Rc8+ QxR 27. RxQ+ Kf7 leaving Black two pawns ahead in the ending). But Burn didn't fall for this, and now Marco was simply lost since Burn's Queen remained while Marco's was soon to be gone. 24... Rxg2+ 25. Kh1 RxR 26. RxR QxR 27. QxR+ Nf8 click for larger view What followed was not of much interest. Burn's winning method was probably not the fastest or most pleasing, but it was sound and sure. Marco should probably have spared himself further trauma and just resigned. 28. Qc2 Ng6 29. Nc1 Kg7 30. Nd3 Rg5 31. Ne1 Nh4 32. Qd1 1-0

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