[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Janowski,D"]
[Black "Marshall,F"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "A46"]
[PlyCount "150"]

1. d4 { Janowski open with his d-pawn, which generall leads to slower positional games; the central pawns aren't easily traded off, since the White Queen defends the d-pawn. } 1... Nf6 { Marshall's opening is a bit more circumspect. Instead of ...d5, which stops the White d-pawn cold but also commites Black to a strategy of occupying the center, he plays ...Nf6, which controls the center while keeping other options open. } 2. Nf3 { White piles up force on e5, making it difficult for Black to occupy key central squares. } 2... d6 { Marshall puts some influence of his own on e5, while also making it possible to develop the c8-Bishop. } 3. h3 { Janowski keeps the Black Bishop off of g4. But this is essentially a wasted move, as Black threatens nothing if his Bishop goes there. } 3... g6 { Marshall tips his hand. He'll fianchetto his Bishop to g7. } 4. Bf4 { Janowski keeps putting the pressure on e5, making sure that Black can't plant a pawn there. } 4... Bg7 { Marshall plays the anticipated fianchetto, influencing e5 indirectly. } 5. Nbd2 { By coming here the Knight doesn't interfere with the advance of the c-pawn. Janowski may have to prop up his d-pawn by playing c2-c3. } 5... c5 { Marshall challenges White in the center. } 6. e3 { Janowski could also have played c2-c3 first. As we'll see, it ultimately doesn't matter. } 6... cxd4 { Marshall trades (and half-opens the c-file). } 7. exd4 { Do you see the tactical reason why Nxd4 is impossible? } ( 7. Nxd4 { If White recaptures this way... } 7... e5 { ...he gets forked by the Black e-pawn. } ) 7... Nc6 { Marshall keeps up the pressure on the White center. } 8. c3 { As anticipated, the d-pawn needs to be propped up. Now you see why it didn't matter whether the c- or e-pawn advanced first -- either way, the same position arises. } 8... O-O { This is a case where castling isn't performed to protect the King. Marshall wants to get his Rook toward the center. } 9. Be2 { White is merely continuing his development. } 9... Re8 { The reason for Black's decision to castle. The Rook now supports an e-pawn advance. } 10. Nc4 { Janowski begins to reorganize his pieces. The Knight is headed to e3, where is influences d5, f5, and g4. } 10... Be6 { The time is not yet right for the e-pawns advance, so Marshall gets his Bishop out to a square where it slashes across the center. The problem with this move is that it violates a basic chess principle: don't block an undeveloped center pawn with a piece. } 11. O-O { Janowski gets a step closer to completeing his development. } 11... Nd5 { Attacking the f4-Bishop... } 12. Bd2 { ...which retreats. } 12... Rc8 { This move was a major idea behind Marshall's trade of his c-pawn for White's d-pawn. Besides the fact that it's generally a good idea to trade one of your flank pawns for an opponent's central pawn, it also half-opened the c-file for Black's Rook. } 13. Ng5 { Janowski drives back the poorly-placed Black Bishop. } 13... Bd7 { The Bishop backs off. } 14. Qb3 { Janowski completes his development with a threat against the b-pawn. } 14... h6 { Marshall counters the threat on his pawn with a threat on a minor piece. The position is starting to heat up and get complicated. } 15. Bf3 { Yet another threat! The Bishop menaces the hanging Knight. With all this tension, something has to let loose! } 15... hxg5 { Marshall grabs the Knight... } 16. Bxd5 { ...and Janowski returns in kind. } 16... e6 { Another threat -- this time against the Bishop. } 17. Bf3 { The Bishop backs off. } 17... Qc7 { The Queen defends the menaced pawn. Marshall's Kingside pawns are bit of a wreck, but he does hold a 2-1 pawn majority in the center. Meanwhile, he's lost a centrally-placed Knight for one that wasn't as well placed on the flank. On the other hand, his pieces are a bit better-placed (a battery on the c-file and two pieces bearing down on d4). } 18. Ne3 { The White Knight finally gets to e3. This quiet continuation is better than the fireworks that erupt after Bxg5 (see the variation). } ( 18. Bxg5 Nxd4 19. cxd4 Qxc4 20. Qxb7 Rc7 21. b3 Rxb7 22. bxc4 { And Black definitely gets the better of it. He can pressure the White pawns with ...Rc7 and he has fewer pawn islands. } ) 18... Na5 { Marshall controls more Queenside space, so this is where he'll attack. He starts by driving off the White Queen. } 19. Qd1 { The Queen hits the bricks and goes the whole way back. Janowski might have played Qc2, but he preferred to have his Queen and Bishop on the same diagonal. } 19... b5 { Grabbing more space and preventing a2-a4. } 20. Re1 { The repositioning continues. The plan is for the Knight to go to g3, opening the e-file for the e1-Rook. } 20... f5 { Marshall intends to play ...Bf6, covering the hanging pawn on g5 while still controlling the long diagonal with the Bishop. } 21. Nf1 { Next stop: g3. } 21... Bf6 { The Bishop does double-duty: guarding the pawn while controlling the a1-h8 diagonal. } 22. Ng3 { Normally the Knight would be well-placed here (it could jump quickly to the center or participate in a Kingside attack). But Black's Kingside pawns are advancing and the Knight probably won't be able to stay here for long. } 22... Nc4 { The Knight leaps into the hole on c4 and forks the pawn and Bishop. } 23. Bc1 { The only move that saves all of the threatened material. } 23... d5 { Black is grabbing up space at a prodigious rate. } 24. Nf1 { Janowski's original plan (back at move 21) was probably to sacrifice the Knight for a pwn and blow open Black's Kingside. But Black's constant repositioning of his pieces have made that impossible, so Janowski gives up on the idea. However, 24.Ne2 was probably better. } 24... Kg7 { Clearing the back rank. The idea is for a Rook to shoot to h8 and start a flank attack. Marshall is using both sides of the board to attack! } 25. Be2 { Janowski want to trade his Bishop for the Knight that is cramping his Queenside... } 25... Nd6 { ...but Marshall will have none of it. } 26. Bd3 { Again clearing the e-file for the Rook on e1. } 26... Rh8 { The anticipated attack has begun! } 27. Re3 { Janowski lifts the Rook to get it in front of his pawn chain. } 27... Rh4 { The Rook charges ahead, putting flank pressure on White's center. } 28. Rg3 { Janowski attempts to win a pawn... } 28... Nf7 { ...but Marshall nips that in the bud. Now ...f4 is possible, harassing White's Rook. } 29. Nh2 { The idea is Nf3, driving off the annoying Black Rook. } 29... e5 { The pawn phalanx pushes forward, threatening to crush all in its path. } 30. dxe5 { Janowski has to take; otherwise ...e4 cramps him and will ultimately cost him the Exchange (...e4, followed by ...f4 and after White plays Rg4, Black responds ...Bxg4). } 30... Bxe5 { Marshall completes the pawn swap and now another Black piece enters the attack. } 31. Nf1 { Preparing to meet ...Bxg3 with ...Nxg3. } 31... f4 { Marshall shocks everyone with this move! Why not just win the Exchange immediately? See the variation. } ( 31... Bxg3 32. fxg3 { Now we see the real reason for Nf1 -- to defend the pawn which drives off the Black Rook. } 32... Rhh8 { And White now has the possibility of harassing counterplay with his Bishop. } ) 32. Rf3 { The Rook has to move or be lost. } 32... g4 { The pawnstorm is sweeping forward menacingly. } 33. Rxf4 { Much better than hxg4. } ( 33. hxg4 { This opens the h-file for an attack by Black. } ) 33... Bxf4 { Now a tactical firestorm erupts. First to go is the Rook... } 34. Bxf4 { ...followed by a Bishop... } 34... Qxf4 { ...then another Bishop bites the dust... } 35. g3 { ...and a crushing pawn fork! } 35... Qh6 { The Queen retreats to a square from which it can recapture. } 36. gxh4 { The Rook falls... } 36... Qxh4 { And the Queen beheads the offending pawn. But Black's attack continues. He's cleared away much of the wood around the White King. Now the Knight threatens to enter the brawl. } 37. Be4 { Janowski offers a Bishop to get some counterplay. } 37... Rc4 { Marshall rejects White's offer and instead brings his Rook into the fray. } ( 37... dxe4 38. Qxd7 { Pinning the Knight and preventing it from joining the attack, while attacking the Rook. } ) 38. Bxd5 { Janowski snaps off the offered pawn... } 38... Rf4 { ...and the Rook uses the cleared rank to slip to the Kingside. Now the f-pawn is menaced. } 39. Qd2 { The Queen steps up to cover the pawn. } 39... gxh3 { More wood flies off the table. Black still has an attack but it's running out of steam, and his own King is horribly exposed. } 40. Re1 { Janowski gets his Rook closer to the action. } 40... Qg5+ { Marshall keeps the initiative by checking White. } 41. Ng3 { Janowski blocks the check with his Knight. } 41... Ne5 { Things get a bit complicated here. Marshall has several possibilities here. The first, more risky plan, is 42...Re4 43.Re3 Nf3+ 44.Rxf3 h2+ 45.Kh1 Qxd2. The second, more cautious plan, is 42...Nc4 43.Qd3 Nxb2, winning a pawn. Then there's the unclear ...Ng4, getting the Knight into the attack. } 42. Re3 { Janowski blocks the opposed Queens on the diagonal, preventing any ugly surprises that might occur after the Black Rook moves. But the immediate 42.Qe3 may have been better. } ( 42. Qe3 Ng4 43. Qe7+ Kh6 44. Qxg5+ Kxg5 45. Re7 { Black's attack has become less potent in the absence of the Queen. } ) 42... Qf6 { And now, unfortunately for him, Marshall makes a mistake that lets White back into the game. His best bet was to continue the attack with h2+, a more forcing move than what he actually played. The attack on f2 is premature and should go nowhere. } ( 42... h2+ 43. Kf1 Bh3+ 44. Ke2 Nc4 45. Bxc4 bxc4 ) 43. Qe1 { White's Queen does triple-duty: it still defends f2, while simultaneously keeping an eye on the promotion square h1 and backing up the Rook on the e-file.. } ( 43. Ne4 { This move, attacking the Queen and guarding the f2-pawn, is better. } ) 43... h2+ { Another step toward promotion. Also, by checking White, it's an initiative-grabbing move. } 44. Kh1 { Blocking the pawn's promotion, but also cornering the King. White would have done better to play 44.Kg2. } ( 44. Kxh2 Ng4+ { Black wins the exchange. } ) 44... Ng4 { Marshall keeps a nice grip on things despite his earlier misstep. The Knight adds to the attack on f2, while covering the h2-pawn. } 45. Re7+ { Janowski hits Marshall with a nice tactic -- he forks the King and Bishop. } 45... Kh6 { The Bishop is lost, so Marshall moves his King into the fray. Moving the King back, away from the center, will hurt Black in the endgame (provided that the game lasts long enough!). } ( 45... Kf8 46. Rxd7 Nxf2+ 47. Kg2 Qg5 48. Qe7+ Qxe7 49. Rxe7 Kxe7 50. Kxh2 Nd1 { Black, ahead by a pawn and the exchange, should win. } ) 46. Rxd7 { Janowski grabs up the Bishop and is a minor piece ahead. But Black still has an attack in progress. } 46... Nxf2+ { Marshall captures a pawn that was obstructing the attack. } 47. Kg2 { The only move that makes sense, as Qxf2 just loses loads of material. } 47... Qh4 { Black is threatening mate-in-one. Can you spot it? } 48. Qxf2 { One of two moves that removes the mate threat. The other was Be6, covering h3 (where Black's Queen was threatening to move to deliver mate). } ( 48. Be6 { White could have played this instead of giving up the Queen. } 48... Ne4 49. Bg8 Qxg3+ 50. Qxg3 h1=Q+ 51. Kxh1 Nxg3+ 52. Kg2 ) 48... Rxf2+ { Marshall wastes no time in snapping up White's Queen. } 49. Kxf2 { Janowski recaptures. The position here is very unusual. White has three pieces for a Queen, but his passed pawn is a monster. } 49... Qg4 { A maneuvering move. Marshall wants to get his Queen to the last rank where it can harass the White King. } 50. Rf7 { Janowski sees the move ...Qd1 coming and doesn't want his Bishop to become pinned to the Rook, so he plays this preventive move. } 50... Qd1 { The Queen now has the option of going to the Kingside to harass the White King or going to the Queenside to attack the pawns there. } 51. Bg2 { The Bishop has to move but must stay on the a8-h1 diagonal to prevent the Black pawn's promotion. } 51... Qg1+ { Harasses the White KIng and drives it away from the corner. } 52. Kf3 { The King must retreat to get out of check. } 52... Qd1+ { Marshall checks again. He sees that his attack has withered away, so maybe he's hoping for a draw. } ( 52... Qb1 53. b4 ) 53. Kf2 { Janowski again avoids check. } 53... Qg1+ { Marshall checks again. } 54. Kf3 { Janowski again retreats. } 54... Qd1+ { Marshall checks again. } 55. Kf2 { And again Janowski retreats. } 55... Qc2+ { It turns out that Marshall wasn't trying for a draw after all, but was merely playing for time while he thought of a new plan. He now sees that he can win a pawn by forking the King and b-pawn. } 56. Kf3 { Of course, the King must get out of check... } 56... Qxb2 { ...allowing Marshall to snap off the pawn. } 57. Rf4 { Janowski's pieces are tied down. The King guards the buried Bishop, while both the Bishop and Knight watch over the promotion square. So Janowski gets his Rook closer to the action. 57.Ne4 would have saved the c-pawn and prevented the check. } ( 57. Ne4 Qa1 { The a2-pawn must die next. } ) 57... Qxc3+ { Marshall hangs onto the initiative by snaring another pawn with check. } 58. Kg4 { At this point, it's pretty futile for White no matter what he does. A single pawn has tied up most of his forces, allowing a lone Queen to make threat after threat. } 58... Qd2 { Yet another fork by the Black Queen. } 59. Be4 { The Bishop saves itself, leaving the pawn to fend for itself. } 59... Qd7+ { Marshall surprises everyone by not capturing the a-pawn. Instead he continues to harass the White King. } 60. Kf3 { Janowski is becoming visibly frustrated. He has a material superiority but has had no chance to use it due to Marshall's skillful play. } 60... Kg5 { Marshall's plan is really quite simple. He intends to suddenly turn the tables on White. The threat is ...Qh3, after which Black will promote the pawn. After Nxh1 Qxh1, Black will again have a material superiority. } 61. Rf8 { Janowski gets his Rook out of a cramped spot. The Rook's mobility is increased along the last rank. } 61... Qd1+ { Marshal holds the initiative by checking the exposed King. } 62. Kg2 { Of course, the King must get out of check. } 62... Qg1+ { Another check... } 63. Kh3 { ...and another escape. Notice that the King stays close to the h2-pawn, on the verge of promotion. } 63... a5 { The Black pawn duo advances on the Queenside. } 64. Bd5 { Janowski makes a mistake with this aimless Bishop move. Had he played a different
(Rook) move, he could have won a pawn (see the variation). } ( 64. Rg8 { The immediate threat is Rxg6+ (the Rook is protected by the Bishop). } 64... Kf4 65. Rxg6 Ke3 66. Rg5 { Even if the b-pawn advances, White still wins the a-pawn. } ) 64... Qd4 { And now Marshall takes over the initiative! } 65. Be4 { The menaced Bishop moves to a square movered by the Knight. } 65... Qd7+ { The check means that Marshall keeps the initiative. } 66. Kg2 { Janowski performs a questionable retreat. His idea is to hide the King in a cluster of material (the White Knight and Black pawn), making it harder for Black to get at him, while still keeping an eye in the h2-pawn. But he should have just captured the pawn immediately. } ( 66. Kxh2 Qd2+ 67. Kh3 Qxa2 { Black would probably still have won here, but it would have been a more difficult game for him than what was actualy played. } ) 66... h1=Q+ { Marshall now sees a nice tactic that will win him a piece. First he promotes his pawn with check. } 67. Nxh1 { This forces Janowski to recapture. By recapturing with the Knight, he leaves his Bishop unprotected and makes Marshall's next move possible. } ( 67. Kxh1 Qh3+ 68. Kg1 Qxg3+ 69. Kf1 ) 67... Qe7 { Marshall springs a double attack. White must loses a piece. } 68. Rf3 { Janowski saves the more valuable piece. } 68... Qxe4 { Now Marshall has a distinct advantage. Janowski could easily resign here. } 69. Nf2 { Janowski valiantly keeps trying. He tries to seize the initiative by attacking Black's Queen. } ( 69. a3 { Had White decided to try to solve his Queenside problems, he'd have failed. } 69... b4 70. Nf2 Qd5 71. axb4 axb4 ) 69... Qd5 { Any chance of a White initiative is nipped in the bud, as Marshall retreats the Queen with a threat. } 70. a3 { The pawn advances to a square where the Rook defends it. } 70... b4 { Here's where Marshall cashes in on his 2-1 Queenside majority. } 71. axb4 { Janowskin has no choice but to trade pawns. } 71... axb4 { Marshall completes the swap. } 72. Nh3+ { Janowski makes another attempt at grabbing the initiative. } 72... Kg4 { The King can easily move in, as the Rook is pinned by the Black Queen. The King's approach creates the threat of ...Qxf3 with mate to follow. } 73. Nf2+ { Janowski's check prevents ...Qxf3. } 73... Kh4 { Marshall makes the only move that avoids check but still keeps the Black King in the vicinity. } 74. Nd3 { The Knight moves away and clears f2 for the King (after Kf2 the pin on the Rook will be relieved). } 74... b3 { The White Knight blocks its own Rook's coverage of b3, allowing Marshall to advance the pawn. } 75. Kf2 { Janowski plays the planned King move... } 75... b2 { ...and sees too late that the pawn's advance has cost him the game (see the variation). He resigns (in a unique manner, as we shall see). } ( 75... b2 76. Nxb2 Qd2+ 77. Kg1 Qxb2 { Every square in the pawn's path is covered by a Black piece. Black can just advance the pawn, then mate the blockading King on the back rank. } ) 0-1