David Janowski vs Georg Marco (1900)

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David Janowski vs Georg Marco
12th DSB Congress, Munich (1900), Munich GER, rd 2, Jul-24
Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack (D35) · 0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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Apr-21-17		Saniyat24: superb end game by Georg Marco...Janowski did not play badly at all, but nice tactical play gave Georg Marco the upper-hand...

Aug-04-18		KEG: Janowski at his best was a dangerous opponent for anyone. But when he was faced with a tough defender, Janowski often plunged himself into trouble. Such was the case here. Getting little or nothing from the opening, Janowski embarked on a wild king-side attack that included an exchange sacrifice. This would have led to defeat, but Janowski managed to create scary-looking attacking schemes that apparently frightening Marco into giving Janowski two chances to escape with a draw. Janowski, however, had no interest in drawing, and after his unsound 28th move Marco obtained a winning advantage he never relinquished. The game reduced to a Knight versus Bishop endgame which Marco won with fine technique. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bf4 This alternative to 4. Bg5 is usually played after 4. Nf3. Played here, it gives White only a small advantage, but is certainly playable, especially if White is willing to accept a roughly level game. In Janowski's hands, however, the move is part of a plan for all-out attack. 4... dxc4 Akin to a form of the Queen's Gambit Accepted opening. The move is hardly a mistake, but Black's best chance for active counterplay lay in 4...Bb4 or 4...c5. 5. e3 Nd5 Playing to trade off one of Janowski's beloved Bishops. 6. Bxc4 Janowski had little choice. 6... NxB 7. exN Bd6 7...g6 or 7...Nd7 were sufficient for equality. The text gave Janowski some chances. 8. g3 Nd7 9. Nf3 Nb6 This accomplishes little. Marco might have considered 9...0-0 or 9...b6 or even 9...Nf6. But even the text leaves Marco very much in the game. 10. Bb3 Bd7 11. 0-0 0-0 12. Qd3 Bc6 The position was now: click for larger view As is evident, Janowski obtained only a tiny edge in the opening, his advantage in space and control of center squares nearly balanced by his isolated d-pawn and doubled f-pawns. If Karpov had this position, he would have slowly tried to build up pressure with something like 13. Rad1 or 13. Rfd1. But Janowski was not satisfied with that, and tried to land a haymaker: 13. Ng5 Threatening mate in 1! 13... g6 Marco sees it! 14. Rfe1 Be7 Here, Janowski went over the edge: 15. Re5?! 15. h4 was the sensible way to follow-up the attack. Alternatively, 15. Nge4 and 15. Nce4 were ways to play against Black's weak f6 square. Now, he must either retreat to Black's advantage of lose the exchange. 15... Bf6 Will Janowski now back off to save his Rook? No way.. 16. h4 "Attack at any cost." (Tournament Book). Other aggressive alternatives (also involving loss of the exchange) were 16. Nge4 or the wild 16. Rxe6?! 16... BxR 17. fxB Qe7 This left: click for larger view Did Janowski have sufficient compensation for the loss of the exchange? Almost certainly not. But, as will be discussed in my next post on this game, Janowski had just begun to fight.

Aug-04-18		KEG: Post II How was Janowski to justify his exchange sacrifice. Several plans were available to him. The most promising seems to be 18. Nge4, focusing on the f6 square. Another possibility was to begin by denying Marco counterplay and access to b4 as well as creating a retreat for his Bishop by playing 18. a3. Janowski, perhaps predictably, by-passed both these ideas and played to strengthen his g5 Knight and play for an attack on the h-file, beginning with: 18. f4?! Battle-lines are now drawn 18... Rad8 Marco elects to pile up on the center rather than giving his Rook access to the h-file with 18...Kg7 or creating his own chances on the Queen-side with 18...a5. 19. h5 In for a dime, in for a dozen. 19... Bd5 Still ignoring the chance to give his Rook access to h8 via 19...Kg7, and giving Janowski the chance to eliminate his White-square Bishop. 20. Nce4 Given Janowski's love of Bishops, it is surprising that he did not play the stronger 20. NxB. 20... BxN Again missing the chance to play 20...Kg7. 21. NxB? What was Janowski thinking? After playing f4 to secure his Knight on g5, one would expect he would have played the stronger 21. QxB like a shot. Perhaps Janowski decided the Knight was better situated on f6. But if so, why move it back to e4 on his 24th turn? Perhaps Janowski's seemingly madcap 23rd move provides a answer. The position was now click for larger view 21... c5! This powerful thrust attacks the foundation of Janowski's center, and gives Marco what appears to be a strategically won game. But things are never easy in a tactical struggle against Janowski. 22. Nf6+ Others might have played the logical 22. hxg6 to open the h-file. But Janowski wants his Knight on f6, even at the cost of forcing Marco to play the Kg7 maneuver Black should probably have played before. 22... Kg7 23. Qf1?! There are many ways to continue the attack, but perhaps only Janowski would have settled on this approach (i.e., taking his Queen off the b1-h7 diagonal and on the h-file while using his Rook for play on the c-file). Janowski's plan looks bad, and 23. d5 must surely be better. But Janowski's special sauce obviously frightened Marco into some weak defensive moves that let Janowski back in the game. He apparently hadn't considered Janowski's attacking notion. 23... Nd7? This may not have forfeited Marco's winning advantage, but it was hardly best. He had two powerful alternatives: (i) 23...c4--opening up the c-file after 24. Bxc4 Rxd4 [or 24. Bc2 Rxd4]; or even better the simple (ii) 23...Rxd4! trusting that he could defend himself after 24. Qh3 h6 25. hxg6 fxg6 26 Qxe6 QxQ 27. BxQ RxN! 28. exR+ Kxf6 leaving him a pawn up in a won endgame. But the above ideas are much easier to play while sitting at home with all the time to shift pieces around on a chessboard with a computer in easy proximity as compared being at the table with the ferocious Janowski on the other side of the board! 24. Ne4?! Janowski again ignores the seemingly obvious (and seemingly much better) 24. h6+. 24... cxd4 25. Rc1?! Again by-passing the logical 25. Qc4 (his best theoretical chance). This left: click for larger view Marco may have had a (theoretically) easily won game here, but in real life--as I will discuss in my next post on this game--Marco lost his nerve and nearly justified Janowski's tactics. As happened so often with Tahl's opponents, Marco became confused in the complexities Janowski had created.

Aug-04-18		KEG: Post III In the diagrammed position, Marco could simply have played 25...Rc8. After that, Janowski's attack seems to peter out. But Marco, with Janowski's Knight pointing at f6, decided he had to "fix" his King-side and played: 25... f6? With this weakening move, Marco put Janowski bad in business. Janowski now had at least three ways to extricate himself from what had been a seemingly lost position: (i) 26. exf6+ and then after 26...Nxf6 27. Ng5! Rd6 28. Re1 Nxh5 29. Nxe6+ winning back the exchange and reaching near equality; (ii) the wild attacking 26. Rc7?! and then after 26...fxe5 27. Ng5 gxh5 28. Nxe6+ Kh8 29. NxR (f8) QxN leaving Marco somewhat better situated but giving fine chances to draw; and--best of all perhaps: (iii) 26. hxg6 and after 26...hxg6 27. exf6+ Nxf6 28. Ng5 with all sorts of threats and at least even chances. But Janowski had no interest in playing for even chances, and went off the deep edge with: 26. Qh3? This left: click for larger view Janowski's move must have looked scary to Marco, but it seems clear [from the safety of my living-room 118 years later with a computer at hand to check all nasty variations] that Black simply wins with 26...gxh5. If then 27. Qxh5 fxe5 28. Rc7 (perhaps what Marco feared) exf4 [a move much easier to play away from the board] 29. Qg5+ [if 29. Ng5 Kh8 and White has nothing] QxQ 30. NxQ fxg3 31. Nxe6+ Kf6 32. Kg2 h5 33. Nxf8 NxN 34. Kxg3 Rd7 leaving Marco two pawns up in a easily winning endgame. But Marco--perhaps suffering from Janowski-fear (adumbrating Tahl-fear and Fischer-fear) played: 26... fxe5? Now, once again, Janowski is back in the game. With 27. hxg6 h5 [not 27...Rh8? 28. Ng5 Nf8 (28...hxg6?? 29. Nxe6+) 29. gxh7 and Janowski suddenly is better with real winning chances] 28. Rc7 kxg6 29. Bxe6 exf4 30. Rxb7 Janowski, though still down material, would have excellent chances of holding the game. But,yet again, Janowski wants to win, not hunt for equality, and so played: 27. Ng5? This was the losing move. Given a third chance, Marco strikes, and blows Janowski away. 27... exf4 Sometimes the simplest looking moves are best. This allows Janowski to regain the exchange,but at the cost of winding up in a lost endgame. 28. Nxe6+ Kh8 29. gxf4 29. hxg6 does allow Marco to counter with Rg8 as noted in the Tournament Book, but the text is even worse for White. 29... gxh5 30. NxR (d8) RxN 31. Qe6 What else. If, e.g., 31. Kh2, then 31...Nf6 gives Janowski no real chances for survival. 31... QxQ 32. BxQ This left: click for larger view Doubled pawns of not, this ending is a win for Black, as Marco proceeded to demonstrate. 32... Nf8 33. Bb3 d3 Marco's winning plan was simple: (i) advance the d-pawn and force White to defend again Queening; (ii) allow Janowski to win the d-pawn at the cost of having to trade Rooks; (iii) pick off the White c4 pawn; and then (iv) win the Knight versus Bishop ending with his extra pawn on the h-file [or possibly his two pawns on the h-file]. I see no way that Janowski could have foiled this devastatingly effective plan. IN any event, Janowski found no answer, and neither did Fritz and Stockfish. 34. Kf2 d2 35. Rd1 Ng6 36. f5 This only places the f-pawn even farther from where the White King will be after the coming capture of the d-pawn, but Janowski had nothing better. 36... Ne5! Crushing. Janowski could comfortably resigned here. But, being Janowski, he soldiered on for another 22 moves. 37. Ke3 I have explored the alternatives, and nothing works for Janowski. I will spare readers the grisly details. 37... Kg7 38. Rxd2 RxR 39. KxR The position was now: click for larger view A clear win for Marco, who need only maneuver and pick up the White f5 pawn. But, as I will discuss in my next post on this game, Marco's fine winning technique--though hardly the only way to win--is a pleasure to watch.

Aug-04-18		KEG: Post IV What remains is a chance to watch Marco's endgame prowess in action. While no one would confuse his endgame strength with that of Lasker, or Pillsbury--let alone that of later endgame genius' such as Capablanca, Rubinstein, or Carlsen--he was more than up to the task at hand here. 39... Kf6 Time to grab White's f6 pawn. Janowski makes some efforts to hold the pawn, but these efforts were obviously futile. 40. Be6 Nc6 Heading for e7. 40...b5 was another winning plan. 40...h4 and 40...Ng4 may have been faster routes to victory than Marco's move. But Marco's method is sure, simple, and easy to follow. A lesson for all of us who have bungled winning endgames. 41. Ke3 Ke5 Preventing the King from defending the pawn. Janowski should surely have considered resigning at this point. 42. Bc8 b6 43, Bb7 Ne7 44. f6 Kxf6 This left: click for larger view The rest was easy, but nonetheless fun to watch. 45. Be4 h6 46. Kf4 Ng6+ 47. Kg3 Kg5 48. Bb7 Ne5 48...h4+ immediately was perhaps a little faster. 49. Be4 h4+ 50. Kh3 Ng4 51. Bh7 Putting the Bishop here serves no good purpose. But even after the "better" 51. Bc2 Janowski could not have survived for ling. 51. Nf6 51...Nf2+ would have been more brutal and ended the game a few moves sooner (but with Janowski, who can tell?) 52. Bc2 Nd5 After this killer, I would have expected even Janowski to resign. But... 53. Be4 Nf4+ 54. Kh2 Kf6 Now Marco's King charges into the White domain, and the end is near. 55. Kg1 Ke5 56. Bh7 Kd4 57. Bg8 Nd3 Now, Janowski faces loss of his two Queen-side pawns, in addition to Marco's threats to Queen his h-pawn. 58. b3 Kc3 This left: click for larger view In this utterly hopeless position, Janowski at last lowered his flag. 0-1

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