[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Yates,F"]
[Black "Maroczy,G"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "C13"]
[PlyCount "138"]

1. e4 e6 { The French Defense. Black's idea is to support the advance of the d-pawn (...d7-d5). He hopes that White will play e4-e5; Black will then try to wreck White's pawn center with ...c7-c5. } 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 { White instead chooses to support the e-pawn rather than advance it. } 3... Nf6 4. Bg5 { Yates plans to play e4-e5, striking at the pinned Knight a second time. } 4... Be7 { Breaking the pin. } 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4 f6 7. exf6 ( 7. Bd3 fxg5 8. Qh5+ { Alekhine recommended this variation, in which White gets a nice Kingside attack. } ) 7... Nxf6 8. Bd3 c5 9. dxc5 { White now has no central pawns. But Black has three pawn islands to White's two. It's an interesting imbalance. } 9... Nc6 10. Nh3 Qa5 11. Bd2 Qxc5 12. Nf4 O-O 13. Qe2 { White strikes at the backward e6-pawn. } 13... Nd4 14. Qf1 ( 14. Qe3 { Better than the actual move, as White maintains the pressure on the center. On f1, the Queen is out of the action. } ) 14... Bd6 15. O-O-O Ng4 16. Nh3 Nxf2 17. Nxf2 Rxf2 $1 { Maroczy plays a startling move. At first glance, the Rook is hanging... } 18. Qe1 { ...but Yates sees that he can't safely capture the Rook. } ( 18. Qxf2 { Loses immediately. } 18... Nb3+ 19. axb3 Qxf2 ) 18... Bd7 ( 18... Rxg2 19. Be3 Be5 { This allows White a little too much counterplay. White could play either Rg1 (to challenge its Black counterpart) or Rf1 (seizing the open file). } ) 19. Kb1 { Eliminating the threat of the Knight check, but Yates could have played something better (see the variation). } ( 19. Be3 Bf4 20. Bxf4 Rxf4 21. Qe5 { This gives White better chances than he found in the actual game. } ) 19... Rf6 { Maroczy decides to regroup, but playing ...Rf7 immediately was certainly better. } 20. Bg5 { Yates grabs the initiative. } 20... Rf7 21. h5 { Yates launches a common Kingside attack. The h-pawn races ahead to break up the pawn wall around the Black King. } 21... Nc6 22. h6 { Yates slips up and his attack will now fizzle out. } ( 22. Bg6 Rff8 { This would be Black's best bet. } ( 22... hxg6 23. hxg6 Rf6 24. Qh4 { And suddenly Black is a world of trouble! } ) 23. Be3 Qa5 24. Bd3 ) 22... g6 { The White attack has been stopped. } 23. Be3 Qa5 24. Qh4 Qd8 25. Bg5 Be7 26. Bxe7 Qxe7 27. Qg3 ( 27. Qxe7 { Avoid trading pieces when behind in pawns. Every capture brings the game closer to the endgame, where the side with the most pwans usually has a strong advantage. } 27... Nxe7 { Playing ...Rxe7 abandons the file. } ) 27... Qf6 { At first glance this might seem silly (because of Rf1), but Maroczy wants to invite trades so that he can convert his pawn advantage into a win. } 28. Rdf1 Qe5 29. Qg4 Rxf1+ 30. Rxf1 Rf8 31. Rd1 ( 31. Rxf8+ Kxf8 { Still favorable for Black, as White's pieces are uncoordinated. } ) 31... Qf4 { Maroczy invites another trade, but also clears e5 for the Knight. } 32. Qh3 Ne5 33. Bb5 Bc8 ( 33... Bxb5 34. Qxe6+ Nf7 ( 34... Qf7 35. Qxe5 ) 35. Nxb5 { And White is back in the driver's seat! } ) 34. a3 a6 35. Be2 ( 35. Rf1 Qd4 36. Rxf8+ Kxf8 ) 35... Bd7 36. Rf1 Qg5 37. Rxf8+ Kxf8 38. Qh2 { Yates anticipates ...Nf7 (attacking the h6-pawn twice). He sees the pawn is lost, so his idea is to work his Queen over to the other side of the board where it could do some damage against the Black pawns there. } 38... Ke7 39. Qg1 Qxh6 40. Qb6 Bc6 41. Qc7+ Nd7 42. Bxa6 Qh1+ ( 42... bxa6 43. Qxc6 Qh1+ 44. Ka2 Qxg2 45. Qxa6 Qxc2 ) 43. Ka2 Qxg2 44. Bxb7 Bxb7 45. Qxb7 { Now the strategy for both players is to advance their pawns in an attempt to promote. } 45... Qg4 { Preventing Qb4+. } 46. a4 Qc4+ 47. Kb1 h5 { Maroczy sees that the White Queen is shut off from the Kingside, so he begins to march the h-pawn forward. } 48. Qa8 Nc5 49. Qa7+ ( 49. a5 { White should have seen to his own pawn's advance instead of pointlessly checking the Black King. } 49... h4 50. Qh8 ) 49... Kf6 50. Qb8 { The White Queen now has two paths to the Kingside. } 50... Kf5 ( 50... Nxa4 51. Qf8+ Ke5 52. Qg7+ Kf4 53. Nxa4 Qxa4 54. Qxg6 ) 51. Qf8+ Kg4 52. Qf6 g5 53. Nd1 { 53.a5 or at least 53.b3 should have been played to get the a-pawn out of danger. } ( 53. b3 Qf4 54. Qxf4+ gxf4 ) 53... Qf4 ( 53... Qxa4 { Not as good as the actual game. } 54. Ne3+ Kg3 55. Nf1+ Kg2 56. Ne3+ Kg3 57. Nf1+ Kg4 58. Ne3+ Kg3 { Drawing. } ) 54. Qc3 Nxa4 { Yates is down two pawns and his remaining pawns are still on their home squares. He could realistically resign at any time. } 55. Qc6 Kf5 56. Qe8 h4 57. b3 Qd2 58. Qf8+ Ke5 59. Qg7+ Kf4 60. Qf6+ Kg3 61. Qe5+ Kf3 { Yates tries valiantly to hang on to the initiative and get a draw, but sooner or later he's going to run out of checks. } 62. Qf6+ Kg2 ( 62... Ke2 63. Qf2+ Kxd1 64. Qf1+ Qe1 65. Qd3+ Qd2 66. Qf3+ Qe2 67. Qh1+ { With an eventual draw. } ) 63. bxa4 Qxd1+ 64. Kb2 Qg4 65. a5 h3 66. Qc3 ( 66. a6 h2 67. a7 h1=Q 68. a8=Q Qb4+ 69. Ka2 Qhb1# { Variation by Alekhine. } ) 66... Qe2 67. a6 Qb5+ 68. Kc1 Qxa6 { Taking away White's last hope. } 69. Qd2+ Kf3 ( 69... Kf3 70. Qxg5 Qa1+ 71. Kd2 Qd4+ { No matter which way the King goes, the Black Queen will check on the next move. Then Black's plan will be to use the King and Queen to trap the White King on the first rank. } ) 0-1