[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Yates,F"]
[Black "Tartakower,S"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "B48"]
[PlyCount "99"]

1. e4 c5 { Tartakower plays the Sicilian Defense, an attempt to discourage White from setting up the classic d4-e4 pawn center. } 2. Nf3 { Yates fights for control of d4. } 2... e6 { This will allow Black to further challenge White's center by playing ...d5. } 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 { It seems odd that White would allow the trade of a central pawn for a flank pawn, but in return he has a centrally-placed Knight and lots of open lines for further development. } 4... a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Be3 Nf6 8. Nb3 b5 9. Qe2 { Take a look at the development of each side: White is one move away from completing his devlopment by connecting his Rooks, while Black is at least three moves away from doing the same. } 9... Ne5 10. f4 { This is not done only to harass the Knight, but also to give White a space advantage. The e4 and f4 pawns act like a skirmish line, behind which White can maneuver and position himself for an attack. } 10... Nxd3+ 11. cxd3 { Better than Qxd3, because the linked d- through f-pawns can become a powerful attacking force as they march together up the board. } 11... Bb7 { The long diagonal is usually a great post for the Bishop, as it slices across the center to the other side of the board, controlling a lot of territory. Here it puts pressure on the e4-pawn. } 12. O-O { White's development is now complete. } 12... Be7 13. Rac1 { With a latent attack on the Black Queen. } 13... Qd8 { Tartakower does the prudent thing and withdraws the Queen from the line of fire. } 14. h3 { Preventing ...Ng4. } 14... O-O { Tartakower finally castles, but his development is incomplete -- his Rooks aren't in contact with each other. } 15. Qf2 { Better placement for the Queen -- it can now shoot over to either the Kingside or Queenside. } 15... b4 16. Na4 Bc6 17. Nb6 Rb8 18. Nc4 d5 19. Nca5 { Tartakower must have wanted that Knight badly. He used up four moves in chasing it but never got it. Now the two Knights protect each other. This is not idea placement for the Knights (the b3-Knight is stuck defending its twin), but it'll do for now. } 19... Ba8 20. e5 { Yates does a little Knight hunting of his own. } 20... Nd7 { We can see the real reason for the pawn's advance: it cramps Black's game by taking two squares away from him on his own half of the board. } 21. Nc6 { Nice fork! } 21... Bxc6 { Tartakower had no choice; it was either take the Knight or lose the exchange. } 22. Rxc6 { Yates has pulled off a successful bit of strategic thinking. He's traded a Knight for a Bishop that was on the long diagonal, pressuring the White center. His opponent is probably regretting having chased that night around the board; in effect, Black actually created this opportunity for Yates. } 22... a5 { Linking the Queenside pawns. } 23. Rfc1 { Doubling Rooks on an open file greatly increases their power. Yates is undisputed master of the c-file, a highway into the heart of Black's position. } 23... g5 24. Qg3 { And ...gxf4 is prevented by the pin on the g5-pawn. Tartakower is practically giving this game away. Despite the even material, White's game is practically won positionally. What Yates needs to do now is find a way to exploit his positional advantages. } 24... Kh8 25. fxg5 { Yates wins a pawn at the expense of his Kingside pawn structure. But White's ugly structure isn't a big problem, as his opponent has no means of exploiting it. } 25... Rb5 { This move makes no sense, tactically or positionally, other than to set up an exchange of Rooks. Tartakower is out of ideas and is just playing a waiting game, hoping for an error by Yates. } ( 25... Rg8 { This makes a lot more sense than 25...Rb5; at least moving the Rook to the open file applies some pressure to White's position. } 26. h4 { White is still winning regardless. } ) 26. Nd4 Rc5 27. R6xc5 Bxc5 28. Nb3 Be7 { The Rook exchange actually helped White by opening lines, allowing his pieces to control even more space. } 29. h4 a4 30. Nd4 { The Knight is forced to the center, where it restricts the e3-Bishop. Tartakower's goal is to develop counterplay on the Queenside, but he's going to have to find a way to support the advancing a- and b-pawns. } 30... Bc5 31. Ne2 Bxe3+ 32. Qxe3 { Compare this to the position after 28...Be7. It's pretty much the same, though fewer pieces are on the board. The White Queen has taken over the Bishop's spot on e3 and now White's heavy pieces control plenty of space. } 32... Qb8 { Tartakower now takes steps to support the Queenside pawns. } 33. d4 { This helps keep the Black Knight off of c5, as well as giving the White Rook an anchor square to go to in the event the Black Knight moves. } 33... b3 34. axb3 axb3 35. Rc3 { This seems to lose Black another pawn, but Tartakower has something else in mind. } 35... Qb4 36. Nf4 { Yates plan is to renew his Kingside attack. } ( 36. Rxb3 { White can't take the pawn safely without losing his Kingside pawns. } 36... Qe1+ 37. Kh2 Qxh4+ 38. Qh3 Qxg5 39. Rg3 Qd2 40. Qh5 { White still enjoys a healthy advantage, but why give Black the counterplay in the first place? This is why White chose not to capture the b-pawn on move 36. } ) ( 36. Nc1 { After this move, White can safely win the b-pawn, since ...Qe1+ is impossible after 37.Rxb3. } ) 36... Ra8 37. Kh2 { Yates just shifts his King and eliminates Black's threat. } 37... Qb5 38. Nh5 Qf1 39. Qc1 Qf2 ( 39... Qxc1 40. Rxc1 Kg8 41. Rc7 Nf8 42. Nf6+ Kg7 43. h5 Ra2 44. h6+ Kg6 45. Rc8 Kxg5 46. Rxf8 Kg6 47. Rg8+ Kf5 48. Nxh7 Rxb2 ) 40. Rc8+ { Now Black is going to be hurting materially, but he gets some counterplay to harass White. } 40... Nf8 ( 40... Rxc8 41. Qxc8+ Nf8 42. Qxf8# ) 41. Rxa8 ( 41. Rxf8+ $2 Rxf8 ) 41... Qxh4+ 42. Kg1 Qxd4+ 43. Kf1 Qd3+ 44. Kf2 { Now Black is out of productive checks. } 44... Kg8 { Tartakower walks right into a forced mate in six! } ( 44... Qd4+ 45. Qe3 Qh4+ 46. Ng3 { Life still stinks for Black, but at least he could have stayed alive a while longer. } ) 45. Rxf8+ { A nice sacrifice that forces the mate. Most players would have missed this. } 45... Kxf8 46. Qc8+ Ke7 47. Qc7+ Ke8 ( 47... Kf8 48. Qd8# ) 48. Nf6+ Kf8 49. Qd8+ Kg7 50. Qg8# { A fabulous finish to a very interesting game. } 1-0