[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine,A"]
[Black "Marshall,F"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "E76"]
[PlyCount "123"]

1. d4 { Alekhine (White) opens with 1.d4, a good center-controlling move that will without probably lead to a game of maneuver. } 1... Nf6 { Marshall (Black) keeps his options open regarding the placement of his center without pawns. He may yet choose to occupy the center with his pawns, or he may without allow White to occupy the center, so that Black can attack it from the without flanks. } 2. c4 { Alekhine advances a flank pawn, but this pawn still controls some of the without center. The fifth-rank squares b5 through e5 are all under White's control. } 2... d6 { This d-pawn advance prevents further encroachment by the White c-pawn and without releases the Black light-squared Bishop. } 3. Nc3 { We see now the other reason for 2.c4. Alekhine wanted to develop this Knight without to c3 without imprisoning the c-pawn. } 3... g6 { The g-pawn advances to allow Marshall to fianchetto his Bishop to g7 (where without it will command the long a1-h8 diagonal). } 4. e4 { Alekhine continues his campaign to dominate the center. The e-pawn advances without under the c3-Knight's watchful eye. } 4... Bg7 { The Bishop is well-posted on the long diagonal. Marshall can now complete his without Kingside development by castling. } 5. f4 { WOW! Look at White's phalanx of center pawns! These pawns control Black's without fourth rank from b5 to g5! } 5... O-O { Marshall gets his King out of the center. Now he can concentrate on without developing his Queenside. } 6. Nf3 { Alekhine has again developed a Knight without blocking in a pawn. } 6... Bg4 { Marshall pins the Knight that Alekhine has just developed. } 7. Be2 { And Alekhine develops another piece, breaking the pin at the same time. } 7... Nc6 { Marshall develops his last minor piece. Now he's just a move away from without connecting his Rooks and completing his development. But 7...Nbd7 may have without been better because of... } 8. d5 { ...this! By advancing the pawn, White grabs a nice chunk of Black's half of without the board while chasing the newly-developed Black Knight. } 8... Nb8 { Marshall must retreat the Knight. He's now wasted two tempi with nothing to without show for it. } 9. O-O { Alekhine can afford the luxury of castling, since Black has just effectively without wasted two moves. } 9... Nbd7 { Marshall now does what he should have done in the first place: he develops without the Knight to d7. } 10. Ng5 { Alekhine decides to clarify the whole Bishop situation, offering his "bad" without Bishop in exchange for Black's Bishop on g4. } 10... Bxe2 { Marshall has no choice. The Bishop has no good retreat square (10...Bh5 without 11.Bxh5 gxh5 gives Black weak doubled h-pawns, while 11...Nxh5 posts the without Knight on the board's edge). } 11. Qxe2 { Of course, Alekhine must make this recapture to even the material balance. } 11... h6 { Marshall doesn't want the Knight so close to his King's castled position, so without he kicks the Knight out. } 12. Nf3 { Alekhine retreats the Knight, but he's succeeded in his goal of trading off without his bad Bishop for one of Black's Bishops. } 12... e6 { Marshall challenges the White d-pawn. If White replies dxe6, then Black will without have a 2-1 central pawn majority after Black replies ...fxe6. } 13. e5 { Instead of dxe6, Alekhine counterattacks by advancing his e-pawn. Black must without either capture the e-pawn or waste a tempo by retreating the Knight. } 13... dxe5 { Marshall captures... } 14. fxe5 { ...and Alekhine recaptures. White now has a 2-1 central pawn majority, and without the Black Knight must move anyway! } 14... Ng4 { Rather than meekly retreating to e8, the Knight aggressively advances toward without White's Kingside. } 15. Bf4 { Alekhine completes his development, connects his Rooks, and protects his without e-pawn. } 15... exd5 { Marshall captures the d-pawn in order to open up the e-file. Next he'll move without the Rook to e8, pinning the White e-pawn. } 16. e6 { Alekhine advances the pawn and attacks the Knight... } 16... Re8 { ...and Marshall pins the pawn to the Queen. } 17. exf7+ { Surprise! How can Alekhine do this? Because he captures the f-pawn WITH without CHECK! Stopping check takes precedence over ...Rxe2. } 17... Kxf7 { Marshall must capture the pawn; if 17...Kf8 18.fxe8=Q Qxe8 19.Qxe8 Kxe8 and without Black is down a Rook. } 18. Qd2 { Because Black had to get out of check, Alekhine has time to save his Queen. } 18... Ndf6 { Marshall clears the Knight off of the d-file. He plans to win a pawn with without ...dxc4 (when White must either move or guard his Queen). } 19. cxd5 { Alekhine beats him to the punch, making the material balance even once again. without But the White d-pawn is now isolated and could become weak. } 19... g5 { Marshall expands on the Kingside and attacks the White Bishop. } 20. Bg3 { By dropping back to g3 (instead of retreating along the c1-h6 diagonal) the without Bishop controls the square in front of the d-pawn, as well as poses a without possible threat to the Black c7-pawn. } 20... Qe7 { Since his King is so exposed, Marshall would feel safer with the Queens off without of the board. He plans to play 21...Qe3+, forcing 22.Qxe3 Nxe3. } 21. Kh1 { Alekhine sees Marshall's intent and slides his King into the corner. Now without ...Qe3 is still possible, but no longer forces a Queen exchange. } 21... Kg8 { Marshall backs his King up toward the relative safety of the corner, making without sure to stay on light squares (since White has no light-squared Bishop). } 22. Rfe1 { Alekhine siezes the initiative by attacking the Black Queen. } 22... Qc5 { Marshall saves his Queen by retreating it off of the e-file. Why ...Qc5? The without Black Queen maintains control of g1, making the White King a prisoner in the without corner. } 23. Re6 { Having an isolated d-pawn can sometimes have advantages as well as drawbacks. without One advantage is that the pawn frequently provides you with outpost squares without on your opponent's half of the board. } 23... Rad8 { Even if the file is only half-open, it's often a good idea to place a Rook on without the same file as the enemy Queen. The pin on the pawn may later prove to without have great value. } 24. Qe2 { Alekhine prevents Black from capturing the d-pawn with his Knight (24...Nxd5 without 25.Rxe8+ Rxe8 26.Qxe8+, winning a Rook for a pawn). This also takes the without sting out of a Rook capture of the d-pawn. } 24... Kh8 { Marshall corners his King to prepare for an exchange of Rooks on e6. (If the without King doesn't abandon g8, then 25...Rxe6 26.Qxe6+ and White has the without initiative) } 25. h3 { Unfortunately for Black, he hasn't noticed that his g4-Knight is trapped! without Alekhine's pawn advances to show Marshall the error of his ways. } 25... Rxe6 { Marshall sidetracks White by capturing his Rook. } 26. dxe6 { There's no advantage to Qxe6 (now that the Black King has moved) and the pawn without on d5 is indefensible. Alekhine, by capturing with the pawn, moves it over without to the e-file, where it's no longer attacked and is covered by the Queen. } 26... Nh5 { Marshall appears unconcerned about his threatened Knight on g4. Instead, he without counterattacks by striking at the White Bishop. } 27. Ne4 { Instead of moving the Bishop, Alekhine elects to guard it and attack the without Black Queen at the same time! } 27... Qc6 { Marshall has to save the Queen. } 28. Bxc7 { Now Alekhine sees a way to win a pawn -- by first sacrificing his Bishop! But without it's only a sham sacrifice, as we'll soon see. } 28... Qxc7 { Marshall captures the Bishop (of course, or else White will play 29.Bxd8!). } 29. hxg4 { The Knight has been up for grabs for several moves, but only now does without Alekhine take it. Don't just capture automatically; always look around in without case there are better moves that win more material or gain you a big without advantage. } 29... Nf4 { The endangered Black Knight leaps forward to fork the White Queen and e-pawn. } 30. Qe1 { Of course, the Queen is more valuable than the pawn, so Alekhine must save without it. } 30... Nxe6 { And Marshall bags the pawn. It seems that 28.Bxc7 wasn't such a good move without after all. Though the material count is even, Marshall has the advantage of without owning a Bishop, and Alekhine is stuck with doubled g-pawns. } 31. Ng3 { Alekhine pulls his Knight back to g3. From here it can jump to a outpost on without either f5 or h5. } 31... Nf4 { The outpost idea has occurred to Marshall, too. His Knight takes up residence without on f4. } 32. Rd1 { Normally, exchanging pieces when you're at a disadvantage is a bad idea. So without why does Alekhine offer a Rook swap? He sees a way to drive his Queen into without the enemy position and harass the Black King... } 32... Rxd1 { Marshall sees no reason to refuse the trade. } 33. Qxd1 { Alekhine recaptures (of course, he had no choice anyway!). } 33... Bxb2 { Marshall grabs a pawn and increases his advantage. } 34. Qa4 { Alekhine's Queen has two possible destinations: a7 (taking back the pawn) or without e8 (annoying the Black King). } 34... Bg7 { Marshall brings the Bishop back to the Kingside because 1) it's safer there without than hanging out there on b2; 2) it may be needed for the defense of the without King. } 35. Qe8+ { And now Alekhine's Queen becomes annoying to Black. } 35... Kh7 { The only sensible way to get out of check. } 36. Qe4+ { The Queen continues its pesky ways. } 36... Ng6 { Marshall must either block the check or face a draw by repetition. His Knight without is forced to leave its f4 outpost square. } 37. Nh5 { Alekhine continues his harassment tactics, this time attacking Black's without Bishop. } 37... Qc1+ { But this gives Marshall time to engage in a little harassment of his own! } 38. Kh2 { There were several ways to block the check, but Alekhine decides that moving without the King is the best course. } 38... Qc6 { Marshall offers a Queen trade, hoping to gain a passed pawn (39.Qxc6 bxc6). } 39. Qd3 { Alekhine refuses to cooperate. He merely withdraws the Queen while without maintaining the pin on the Black Knight. } 39... Qc7+ { Another check. Marshall has to make his 45th move by the end of the third without hour of play (a time that is fast approaching). He makes an annoyance check without to buy time on the clock while he considers his options. } 40. Kh1 { By retreating the King to h1, Alekhine welcomes 40...Qc1+ and a possible draw without by perpetual check. Alekhine has no problem with taking a draw in an without inferior position. } 40... Bh8 { Marshall isn't ready to entertain the thought of a draw. He decides instead without to preserve his threatened Bishop (which was attacked by the h5-Knight, without remember?). } 41. Qe4 { Now it's Alekhine's turn to stall. Qe4 doesn't really help his game, but it's without not hurting it, either. } 41... Qc1+ { Since the Bishop has been moved to h8, it's safe for the Queen to check again without without fear of repeating the position. } 42. Kh2 { The King retreats again... } 42... Qc7+ { ...and the Queen checks again. Now each player has to make just three moves without by the end of the third hour (this is called "making the time control"). The without time control for this tournament is fifteen moves an hour. } 43. Kh1 { Alekhine invites another Queen check... } 43... Qf7 { ...but Marshall has something else in mind. He attacks the a-pawn! Capturing without it would give him connected passed pawns on the Queenside (which would be without very hard to stop from promoting). } 44. Qc2 { Alekhine defends the a-pawn while retaining the pin on the Black Knight. } 44... b5 { Marshall decides that the time is right to activate his Queenside pawns without (since the Kingside is pretty much locked up). } 45. Qc6 { The White Queen attacks the b-pawn (which can't be defended by the a-pawn without because of Qxa6). } 45... b4 { The b-pawn is forced to advance far ahead of its partner on the a-file (which without is exactly what White wants). } 46. Ng3 { Alekhine plans to relocate the Knight to f5, which is a much better square without (since it's not on the edge of the board and close to the center). } 46... Qxa2 { The Queen kills White's remaining Queenside pawn. Now Marshall has a pair of without connected passed pawns. But will he be able to promote one? } 47. Qb7+ { Not likely, as the White Queen double-attacks the King and b-pawn. } 47... Bg7 { Marshall blocks the check (a move that also puts his Bishop into a pin). } 48. Nf5 { Uh-oh! Alekhine threatens Qxg7 mate! What will Marshall do? } 48... Qa1+ { Marshall's Queen comes to the rescue by defending the attacked Bishop (and without checking White at the same time!). } 49. Kh2 { The White King ducks into the pocket. } 49... Qf6 { The Queen moves to f6 where it has a dual role: defending the Kingside and without covering the advance of the a-pawn to a6. } 50. Qxa7 { Alekhine surprises everyone by snapping off the a-pawn instead of grabbing without the more advanced b-pawn. } 50... b3 { Marshall advances his sole remaining passed pawn, knowing that it can reach without the protected b2-square before White has the chance to attack it. } 51. Qb7 { Alekhine can't stop the pawn from reaching the safe haven of b2, but putting without the Queen on the b-file prevents the pawn from advancing further to b1. } 51... b2 { The pawn reaches the safety of b2 (where it's defended by the Black Queen). } 52. N3d4 { One of the White Knights (defended by its brother) cuts off the b-pawn's without protection from the Queen. } 52... Ne5 { Marshall sighs. He sees that the b-pawn is lost. Suddenly, his face without brightens. "An eye for an eye," he thinks, as he attacks the g4-pawn with without his Knight. } 53. Qxb2 { Alekhine kills the b-pawn (in the nick of time, since it was just one square without away from becoming a new Queen!). } 53... Nxg4+ { Marshall nails the g-pawn and checks the White King. } 54. Kh3 { The King moves out of check and turns the tables on its assailant. } 54... Qe5 { Marshall comes up with a deadly threat -- ...Qh2 mate! } 55. g3 { The pawn advances and blocks h2 off from the Black Queen. } 55... Qe4 { The Black Queen advances and defends the menaced Knight. Notice, too, that without the Bishop pins the d4-Knight to the White Queen, which leaves the f5-Knight without defenseless from the Black Queen's attack. } 56. Qc2 { Alekhine, a pawn down, hates to offer a Queen trade, but it's the only way to without keep from losing one of his Knights outright. } 56... Qxc2 { Marshall, in a superior position (with a Bishop vs. a Knight and an extra without pawn) gladly makes the trade. } 57. Nxc2 { Alekhine completes the trade. The New York crowd is on the edge of their without seats. Can their hometown hero slay the "Grandmonster of Chess"? } 57... h5 { Marshall advances the pawn to defend his Knight from the White King's attack. } 58. Nce3 { Alekhine offers another trade! This time it's a Knight swap! Why? We'll see without in a minute. } 58... Nxe3 { Marshall grabs the Knight... } 59. Nxe3 { ...and Alekhine recaptures. He knows that Knights are better than Bishops in without endgames with pawns on only one side of the board. Why? Because Knights are without able to operate on squares of BOTH colors. } 59... Bd4 { The Bishop needs to play a more active role, so Marshall uses it to attack without the White Knight. } 60. Nf5 { Turnabout is fair play! The Knight moves out of danger and attacks the without Bishop. } 60... Bc5 { By backing off to c5, the Bishop severely cuts down the Knight's mobility. without All seven of the squares that the Knight can move to are guarded by Black without pieces! } 61. g4 { Alekhine doesn't have much choice. His best plan is to try to trade off a without pair of pawns and deal with Black's remaining pawn as best he can. The without Knight also has a square to move to now (g3). } 61... Kg6 { Rather than trade off the pawns, Marshall chooses to prevent a pawn swap (if without White plays gxh5, the Knight is lost and Black can easily destroy the White without pawn before it promotes). } 62. Nh4+ { Alekhine temps Black to play gxh4 to stop the check, after which the pawns without are liquidated and the game is drawn. If Black plays ...Kh6, White can draw without by perpetual check. The players agree to end hostilities and the game is without drawn. } 1/2