Max Euwe vs Paul Keres (1948)

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Max Euwe vs Paul Keres
FIDE World Championship Tournament (1948), The Hague NED / Moscow URS, rd 11, Apr-11
Spanish Game: Morphy Defense. Modern Steinitz Defense Siesta Variation (C74) · 0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

Given 16 times; par: 28 [what's this?]

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Apr-26-05		Hidden Skillz: nice game.. by move 16 all of keres pieces r developed..

Sep-30-06		Open Defence: seems to be level pegging until Move 14.. maybe a slight plus for White but Black has a free game under not much pressure and certainly not as cramped as other Steinitz Deferred Games... but 15Nd2 seems wrong.. thats the problem... developing the Queen side.. maybe thats why Euwe tried Qf3xe3 to help get the Q side pieces out I wonder if he would have been better off playing 0-0 earlier and Bxe3

May-02-09		whiteshark: click for larger view <19...Bxf4!!> This tactical stroke is already decisive. Question: Why didn't Keres move <19...Nxf4> instead?

May-06-09		DrGridlock: <Question: Why didn't Keres move <19...Nxf4> instead?> Keres annotation of the game is: "Black must avoid the other enticing sacrificial opportunity 19 ... KtxP; 20 PxKt, QxP, wince then White could force an exchange of Queens by 21 QK6ch, K-R1; 22 QKt-B3." Rybka agrees, scoring Bxf4 as (-.66) and Nxf4 as (-.16). Rybka prefers the continuation Nh3 to gxf4 for white at move 20.

Jul-10-10		GrahamClayton: <Open Defence>but 15.♘d2 seems wrong.. <Open Defence>, I agree - 15.♘f3 followed by ♘e5 blocking the Black bishop on d6 seems a better idea.

Apr-03-18		Toribio3: Keres is one of the greatest player in the world. Only destiny that did not let him to become World Champion. But we can learn a lesson from his games.

Apr-03-18		whiteshark: <19.Qxe1 Bxf4> click for larger view White to move 1) -1.06 (32 ply) 20.Nh3 Bd6 21.Nf2 Bf5 22.Nf1 c5 23.dxc5 Bxc5 24.Be3 Bd6 25.Qe2 Bd7 26.Re1 Bb5 27.Qd1 Qf5 28.Qg4 Qf7 29.Nd2 Ne5 30.Qf4 Qe6 31.Qg5 Nd3 32.Nxd3 Bxd3 33.Bf2 Qf7 34.Qe3 Kh8 35.Nb3 h6 36.Nc5 Bxc5 37.Qxc5 Be4 38.Qe3 Qh5 39.Qe2 Qh3 40.Be3 Kh7 2) -2.93 (31 ply) 20.Ndf3 Bd6 21.Qe3 Bf5 22.Bd2 h6 23.Rf1 Bg4 24.Rf2 hxg5 25.Nxg5 Qxf2+ 26.Qxf2 Rxf2 27.Kxf2 c5 28.dxc5 Bxc5+ 29.Be3 Be7 30.Nf3 a5 31.b3 Kf7 32.h4 Bd6 33.Ng5+ Kg8 34.c4 dxc4 35.bxc4 Ne5 36.Ne4 Nxc4 37.Nxd6 Nxe3 3) -3.27 (31 ply) 20.Ngf3 Bd6 21.Qe3 Bf5 22.Kg2 Bg4 23.Ng1 h5 24.Ndf3 h4 25.Bd2 h3+ 26.Nxh3 Bxf3+ 27.Kg1 Bg4 28.Ng5 Qf5 29.Re1 Qc2 30.b4 Ne7 31.Rc1 Qxa2 32.Qd3 Bf5 33.Qe3 Be4 34.Re1 Nf5 35.Qe2 Nxg3 36.hxg3 Bxg3 37.Nxe4 Bxe1 6.0 minute analysis by Stockfish 9 v010218 = = = <19.Qxe1 Bxf4 20.gxf4?> click for larger view Black to move 1) -5.96 (27 ply) 20...Nxf4 21.Ndf3 Ne2+ 22.Kg2 h6 23.h3 hxg5 24.Nxg5 c5 25.a4 cxd4 26.cxd4 Qxd4 27.Bd2 Qxb2 28.Rc1 Qe5 29.Rc3 Be4+ 30.Nxe4 Qxe4+ 31.Kh2 Qe5+ 32.Kh1 d4 33.Rxc7 d3 34.Rc1 Qh5 35.Kg2 Nxc1 36.Bxc1 Qf3+ 37.Kh2 Qe2+ 38.Qxe2 dxe2 2) +1.90 (27 ply) 20...Qxf4 21.Qe6+ Kh8 22.Ndf3 Qf5 23.Qxf5 Bxf5 24.Ne1 h6 25.Ngf3 Be4 26.Nd2 Bf5 27.Kf2 Nh4 28.Kg3 Re8 29.Nef3 Nxf3 30.Kxf3 g5 31.Nf1 Kg7 32.Be3 a5 33.Re1 a4 34.h4 gxh4 35.Bxh6+ Kf7 36.Rxe8 Kxe8 37.Ne3 Bd3 1.0 minute analysis by Stockfish 9 v010218

Mar-19-22		cehertan: Blacks 9.e3 is a clever gambit. If 10.Bxe3 h6 11.Nh3 Bxh3 12.gxh3 Qh4+ with advantage. The engines like whites 10.f4 but Euwe was caught off guard.

Mar-26-24		plang: Keres had played 5..Bd7 against Euwe in the 1st round and had gone on to win despite White getting a good position out of the opening; here Keres surprised Euwe with the rarely played Siesta variation. The theoreticians seem to universally condemn 9..h6!? as bad for Black after 10 fxe..hxg 11 exf..Bd6 but, in practice, Black has scored very well. Nether the less Keres' 9..e3 is at least as strong. 11..Qd7 had been played in Horowitz-Fine Syracuse 1934 where White went on to win; 11..Qf6 was Keres' improvement. As Keres pointed out 13 Bxc6+? was a serious error because it 1) weakened White's position on the white squares, 2) strengthened Black's center and 3) gave Black the two bishops; 13 0-0 would have been preferable. After 15 Nd2? Black obtained a decisive attack; better would have been 15 Nf3..Bxb1 16 Rxb1..Qg6 17 Bd2..Rxf4 with some edge for Black. Even stronger would have been 17..h6 18 Ngf3..Bxf4! and if 19 gxf..Nxf4. After 19 Qxe1 White was counting on Qe6+ to neutralize Black's initiative but was rudely surprised by 19..Bxf4! when Black wins after 20 Qe6+..Qxe6 21 Nxe6..Be3+ 22 Kh1..Rf1+ 23 Kg2 (23 Nxf1..Be4#) 23..Rf2+.

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