[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Marshall,F"]
[Black "Tartakower,S"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "A85"]
[PlyCount "73"]

1. d4 { Marshall (White) opens with his d-pawn. Games that begin with d2-d4 usually without lead to closed positions. That's because the advanced d-pawn is without automatically protected by the Queen, which makes it harder for Black to without capture it. } 1... e6 { Tartakower (Black) plays cautiously and disguises his intentions. Will he without play 2...d4, 2...Nf6, 2...Nc6, or something else altogether? Marshall must without proceed without any real idea of what his opponent's plans are. } 2. c4 { This move is common for White in the d-pawn openings. The idea is to advance without the c-pawn before playing Nb1-c3 (which would block the pawn's advance). without With the pawn on c4, White increases his control over the center. } 2... f5 { Tartakower's intentions are now clear. This is the Dutch Defense, in which without Black hopes to set up an outpost on e4 and launch an attack on the without Kingside. } 3. Nc3 { Marshall continues with the usual d-pawn opening set-up. Notice how his pawns without control b5-e5 and his Knight disputes Black's control over without e4. } 3... Nf6 { Tartakower continues his development. This move is in keeping with the idea without of establishing an outpost on e4. } 4. Bg5 { Marshall develops another piece, pinning the Black f6-Knight to the Queen. without The other reason he made this move was to allow him to make the pawn push without e2-e3 without trapping the dark-square Bishop behind his pawn chain. } 4... Be7 { Tartakower breaks the pin and completes his Kingside development. Now the without f6-Knight is free to move and uncover an attack from the e7-Bishop on without White's Bishop on g5. } 5. e3 { Marshall's e-pawn advances and allows his light-square Bishop and Queen to without develop. This move also props up the d4-pawn. Notice that Marshall waited without until his dark-squared Bishop was developed before he pushed the e-pawn. } 5... O-O { Black castles early to get his King off of the dangerous center files and without develop his Rook. After the f6-Knight moves, it may also be possible for the without Black f-pawn to safely attack White's Kingside under the Rook's protection. } 6. Bd3 { Marshall continues to develop his pieces before undertaking any offensive without operations. The Bishop exerts its influence over e4 and helps prevent the without Black Knight from advancing there. } 6... b6 { Tartakower sees that the pawns on the c8-h3 diagonal have hopelessly blocked without his c8-Bishop from developing through the center, so he advances the b-pawn without to allow him to fianchetto his Bishop instead. } 7. Nf3 { Marshall develops his last minor piece. The Knight defends the g5-Bishop, without controls the square e5, and clears the way for castling. It also blocks the without easy win of a pawn by the soon-to-be fianchettoed Black Bishop (...Bb7xg2). } 7... Bb7 { As anticipated, Tartakower fianchettos his light-square Bishop. This piece is without extremely well-placed, controlling the long a8-h1 diagonal and bearing down without on White's Kingside. } 8. O-O { Although it's pretty obvious that Black's attack will come on the Kingside, without Marshall fearlessly castles "into" the attack. } 8... Ne4 { Since e4 is attacked twice by White and defended twice by Black, Tartakower without feels that it's now safe to occupy this square. But Reti leans over to us without and whispers, "That costs him a pawn!" We'll see... } 9. Bxe7 { Marshall, like a shark, smells blood. He sees what Reti and others in the without crowd saw, and begins his campaign to win a pawn. He starts by grabbing the without Black e7-Bishop and threatening the Black Queen. } 9... Qxe7 { Tartakower makes the obvious recapture. But could he have ignored the threat without and played 9...Nxc3, setting up his own threat on White's Queen? See the without variation to find out. } ( 9... Nxc3 { Let's look at a possible variation to Black's ninth move. Here Black grabs without the c3-Knight. The material is still even. (Variation by Alekhine). } 10. Bxd8 { White chooses to capture the Black Queen. He could also have played bxc3, but without that leaves him with a buried d3-Bishop and an ugly Queenside pawn without structure. } 10... Nxd1 { Of course, Black must take the White Queen to keep the material even. } 11. Bxc7 { White replies by clipping the c7-pawn. } 11... Nxb2 { The Black Knight responds in kind by snatching the b2-pawn. } 12. Be2 { Now White sets about trapping the Black Knight. Black will be hard-pressed to without get his Knight to safety (and odds are that the Knight won't make it). So without Black is better off playing the actual game move and only losing a pawn. } ) 10. Bxe4 { Marshall gives up a Bishop for a Knight, but only temporarily. See the without variation for the reason why he captures with the Bishop instead of the without c3-Knight. } ( 10. Nxe4 { If White were to capture with the Knight instead of the Bishop... } 10... fxe4 { ...he'd get nailed with an ugly pawn fork that loses a piece to without Black! } ) 10... fxe4 { Tartakower must recapture or remain behind by a piece. He recaptures with the without pawn in order to preserve his powerful Bishop on the long diagonal. The pawn without also threatens the White f3-Knight. } 11. Nd2 { Of course the Knight must move, so why not go to a square where it attacks without the Black pawn on e4? } 11... Qh4 { Tartakower is laboring under the misconception that this Queen move saves the without e4-pawn. See the variation to his next move (Black's move 12) to find out without why it doesn't. } 12. Ncxe4 { Marshall sees that he can safely take the pawn. However, we're still without scratching our heads. Then the answer comes to us... } 12... Nc6 { Tartakower advances his Knight. His Rooks are now connected and protect each without other. For the reason why the Bishop can't just capture on e4, see the without variation. } ( 12... Bxe4 { Here's what might have happened had the Bishop captured on e4... } 13. g3 { White lashes out at the Black Queen. } 13... Qf6 { The Queen is forced to retreat... } 14. Nxe4 { ...and now the Bishop is easy pickings for the Knight. Black finds himself without behind by a pawn. } ) 13. f4 { Marshall advances his f-pawn to allow his f1-Rook to join in the fun. } 13... Ne7 { Tartakower begins to reposition his Knight. The Knight is heading for f5, without from which White will be hard-pressed to remove it (g2-g4 would leave the without White King dangerously exposed). } 14. Rf3 { Marshall boldly pushes his Rook forward, in preparation for a Kingside without attack. } 14... Nf5 { As expected, Tartakower's Knight comes to f5 and prevents the White Rook from without occupying g3. } 15. Rh3 { Marshall attacks the Black Queen in order to drive it away from the Kingside. } 15... Qe7 { The Black Queen withdraws to one of just two squares available to it. } 16. Qh5 { White's Queen comes crashing into the fight. Now Marshall threatens Qh5xh7+, without winning a pawn and breaking up Black's Kingside pawn structure. } 16... g6 { The advance of the Black g-pawn threatens White's Queen and allows the Black without Queen to guard the h7-pawn. } 17. Qe2 { Marshall's attack has lost its sting, so the Queen bails out. Because without Marshall intends to play Ne4-g5, the Queen occupies d2 to keep f3 clear as a without possible later retreat square for the Knight. } 17... Rf7 { Tartakower advances his f-Rook, clearing a space for his other Rook to occupy without f8 and aid in the defense of the Kingside. } 18. Ng5 { Marshall's Knight leaps forward and attacks the Black f7-Knight. But White without had more constructive moves. See the variation lines. } ( 18. Nc3 { In these variations by Alekhine, we'll see that White could have successfully without shifted his attack from the Kingside to the center. He would begin by moving without his Knight to c3 to support the advance of the e-pawn. } 18... g5 { In one of Black's two choices, he decides to advance the g-pawn. He hopes to without trade it off and open up lines for counterattack against White's King. } ( 18... Qb4 { In the second of Black's two choices, his Queen shifts to the Queenside to without assault White's b-pawn. } 19. Rb1 { White simply defends the pawn, and after a2-a3, Nd2-f3, and e3-e4, sets up a without position similar to the one in the other variation. } ) 19. fxg5 { White obliges him by indeed trading off the pawns. } 19... Qxg5 { Black regains his pawn (although he's still a pawn down). Now his Queen and without Rook lurk ominously on the Kingside. } 20. Nf3 { The White Knight comes to the rescue, driving the Black Queen back once without again. (Too bad Black has a Knight on f5, guarding g3, or else White could without set up a truly hideous pin with Rh3-g3!). } 20... Qe7 { The Black Queen is forced back by the advance of White's Knight. } 21. e4 { Now White begins action in the center by advancing his e-pawn. After the without Black Knight retreats, Black's position will be cramped and White can use without his space advantage to attack either in the center or on the Kingside. } ) 18... Rg7 { The Black Rook simply sidesteps the White Knight's attack. Now, since without Marshall's attack has fizzled, the posting of the Knight on g5 seems kind of without pointless, aside from the slight cramping effect on Black's game. } 19. Ngf3 { Marshall, seeing that the Knight isn't accomplishing much on g5, pulls it without back to f3 where it can defend the d4-pawn, allowing the e3-pawn to advance. } 19... Qb4 { Tartakower shifts his attention to the Queenside. The Black Queen menaces the without b2-pawn. } 20. Rb1 { The White b-pawn must be defended, so Marshall decides to protect it with his without a-Rook. } 20... c5 { Tartakower decides that it's time for his a8-Rook to join the fight. He without advances his c-pawn in order to open up a file for the Rook. Now either the without c- or d-file is guaranteed to become half-open. } 21. Qd3 { Marshall doesn't want to reply to ...c5xd4 with e3xd4 (he wants to save the without e-pawn for a future e3-e4), so he moves the Queen to d3 in order to defend without the d-pawn a second time. } 21... cxd4 { Tartakower swaps the pawn off, half-opening the c-file for his Rook. } 22. Nxd4 { Marshall doesn't want to play 22.exd4 (for reasons already mentioned) and without 22.Qxd4 is obviously bad (22...Nxd4!), so he's left with the capture by the without Knight. } 22... Rc8 { Tartakower siezes the half-open c-file with his Rook. This has the additional without effect of tying the White d2-Knight to the defense of the c4-pawn (if the without Knight moves away, then ...Qxc4, Qxc4 Rxc4 wins back Black's pawn). } 23. e4 { Marshall, tired of seeing his space and mobility being whittled away, finally without pushes the e-pawn and digs at the Black Knight. } 23... Nxd4 { Tartakower responds by trading his Knight for White's. } 24. Qxd4 { This was Marshall's only move (otherwise he would lose a piece). } 24... d5 { Tartakower offers to sacrifice another pawn. True, he'll be behind by two without pawns, but Marshall will be stuck with a weak isolated d-pawn. He'll have to without tie up a piece to defend it, which more than offsets Black's two lost pawns. } 25. a3 { In order to trade off pawns on d5, Marshall must kick the Black Queen off of without b4 (to allow White to play c4xd5 without having to worry about Qb4xd4). } 25... Qf8 { The Black Queen slips back to f8, a square from which it can attack White's without f4-pawn. } 26. exd5 { Marshall begins the pawn slaughter on d5, and at the same time allows his without Queen to protect the f4-pawn from Black's Queen. } 26... exd5 { Tartakower continues with his plan of a pawn sacrifice designed to leave without White with a weak d5-pawn. } 27. cxd5 { Marshall completes the pawn trade. Now his d5-pawn is isolated (without c- or without e-pawns to protect it) and is consequently very weak. It will require the without constant protection of a piece to prevent its capture. } 27... Rd8 { Tartakower doubles up on the weak pawn, attacking it twice (with Bishop and without d-Rook). } 28. Ne4 { At first glance, this seems to give up the d5-pawn. But this move actually without prevents Black from capturing it! For the reason why, see the variation to without Black's next move. } 28... Rf7 { Black stops White's planned Ne4-f6 cold (see variation). Now what will without Marshall do about his threatened pawn? } ( 28... Bxd5 { If Black had tried to win the d5-pawn... } 29. Nf6+ { ...White would simply have forked the Bishop and King. } 29... Kh8 { The Black King, in check from the Knight, must move (...Kg8-f7 is possible, without but unwise). } 30. Nxd5 { Now the Knight can grab the Black Bishop, leaving Black a piece behind. It's without true that the Knight is pinned, but White has plenty of ways to move the without Queen while still defending the Knight, so the pin isn't critical. } ) 29. d6 { Seeing that the pawn is lost, Marshall advances it. He hopes that the game without will run 29...Bxe4 30.Qxe4 Rxd6, where White will still be a pawn ahead without while fewer pieces on the board will be to White's advantage. } 29... Rxf4 { But Tartakower will have none of that! Instead, he grabs the White f-pawn and without pins the White Knight to the Queen. } 30. Qc4+ { Marshall's Queen slides over and gives check. If Tartakower plays 30...Rf7, without then 31.Re3 or Re1 holds the fort, while the White Queen keeps a pin on the without Black f7-Rook. } 30... Qf7 { Tartakower blocks the check on his King and forces the exchange of Queens. without Once the White d6-pawn falls (a few moves from now), the material will once without again be even. } 31. Qxf7+ { Marshall is forced to exchange Queens, or else he'll lose his Knight with no without compensation. } 31... Rxf7 { Tartakower completes the exchange of Queens. Now the White pieces are without scattered and disorganized. What will Marshall do? } 32. Re3 { Marshall moves the Rook to protect the piece (the Knight) which protects his without pawn. In theory, this is a good idea. In practice, however, ... } 32... Bxe4 { ...it doesn't work (not this time, anyway). Tartakower makes use of a tactic without called "removing the guard". He removes the piece guarding the d6-pawn in without order to safely capture the pawn on his next move. } 33. Rxe4 { Marshall has to capture the Black Bishop or else he'll find himself a piece without behind. } 33... Rxd6 { With the protecting Knight removed, Tartakower can now safely capture the without d6-pawn. The material is now dead even. } 34. Re2 { Marshall prepares 35.Rf1 Rxf1 36.Kxf1, clearing off a pair of Rooks and without making it safer for his King to advance toward the center. Centralizing the without King is a common endgame theme. } 34... Rd3 { Tartakower get his Rook ready to harass White's Queenside pawns. After a without future ...Rb3, one of White's Rooks must stay tied to the b-file or second without rank to protect the White b-pawn. Then Black's pawns can advance unmolested. } 35. Rf1 { Marshall prepares the f-file Rook swap. } 35... Kg7 { Tartakower decides not to exchange Rooks. Instead, he gets the jump on White without in King centralization. Now, after 36.Rxf7 Kxf7, the Black King will be without closer to the center than White's will. } 36. Rc2 { Marshall gets a jump of his own. If Tartakower decides to start the Rook without trade on f1 (...Rxf1,Kxf1), the c2-Rook will be able to advance to c7 and without start attacking Black's Queenside pawns. See the variations to Black's next without move. } 36... Rfd7 { Rather than make the trade (see variations), Tartakower doubles his Rooks on without the d-file, threatening to swap off Rooks (with check!) on d1. } ( 36... Rxf1+ { Let's start the Rook trade on f1 to see what might have happened... } 37. Kxf1 { Obviously forced. } 37... Rb3 { Here, Black tries to tie the White Rook to the second rank so that the Black without pawns can freely advance. } ( 37... Kf6 { If the Black King moves to prevent check... } 38. Rc7 { ...the White Rook advances to attack both the a7- and h7-pawns. We end up without with a position similar to the main variation. } ) ( 37... Rd1+ { Black could try to check White's King, but this leads nowhere... } 38. Kf2 { Now that the White King has moved, the Black Rook can't attack the White without h-pawn successfully (38...Rh1 39.h3). In fact, all Black has done is drive without the White King toward the center (where the King wants to be anyway!). } ) 38. Rc7+ { White surprises Black by simultaneously checking the Black King and attacking without the a7-pawn. } 38... Kf6 { Of course, Black must move, so he decides to continue to centralize his King. } 39. Rxa7 { White has his choice of a7 or h7 pawns. Now, if Black tries to even it up by without ...Rxb2, White grabs the h7 pawn. If Black tries h7-h6, White plays Ra7-a6, without preventing the pawn's advance (because of discovered check!). } ) 37. h3 { Anticipating the Rook trades on d1, Marshall advances his h-pawn to give his without King an "escape hatch" on h2. Here the players decide to call it a day. The without game is drawn. } 1/2