[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca,J"]
[Black "Maroczy,G"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "D02"]
[PlyCount "59"]

1. d4 { Capa opens with a center-controlling pawn push. Because the d-pawn is defended by the Queen, it's harder for Black to exchange it. The position is therefore liable to stay closed. } 1... Nf6 { Maroczy responds with a different kind of center-controlling move. The Knight controls e4 and d5. This move is less committal than 1...d5; Black can continue with ...g6 (in the hypermodern style) or the more traditional ...d5. } 2. Nf3 { The Kingside Knight springs forward and adds its influence over the center squares d4 and e5. } 2... d5 { Maroczy mirrors Capablanca's moves. But he can't do this forever. Sooner or later, he must vary his approach. } 3. Bf4 { Capa plans to advance the e=pawn to e3, but doesn't want to trap the Bishop behind the pawn. So he develops the Bishop first. } 3... c5 { Maroczy puts pressure on the White center. He wants to play ...cxd4 (after some further preparation), exchanging a flank pawn for a more valuable center pawn. } 4. e3 { As expected, Capa props up the d4-pawn by advancing the e-pawn one square. } 4... Qb6 { This is a pretty well-known ploy; now that White's dark-squared Bishop has moved, the b2-pawn is undefended. The Black Queen moves out and threatens the b2-pawn. } 5. Qc1 { The White Queen slides over and covers the b2-pawn. } 5... Nc6 { Maroczy continues his development, putting further pressure on the White center. The d4-pawn is attacked three times and only defended twice. } 6. c3 { The c-pawn covers the d-pawn, which is now sufficiently defended. } 6... Bf5 { The Bishop develops usefully, slicing across the central e4-square and attacking the b1-Knight. } 7. dxc5 { The fact that his most powerful piece, the Queen, is tied to the defense of a lowly pawn isn't lost on the World Champion. He decides to maneuver a Knight to b3 to block the Black Queen's threat to the b2-pawn. But to successfully post the Knight there, he must first eliminate the possibility of ...c4 (which would drive away the Knight). He removes the Black c-pawn from the board. } 7... Qxc5 { Of course, Maroczy must recapture or be behind in material. } 8. Nbd2 { The Knight is headed for b3, as we discussed. } 8... Rc8 { Rooks belong on open files. As there are no Black pawns on the c-file, it's a good spot for the Rook. } 9. Nb3 { And the Knight finally lands on b3, bringing with it a threat to the Black Queen. } 9... Qb6 { The Queen must retreat, giving White the initiative. } 10. Qd2 { Capa puts pressure on Maroczy's d-pawn, which is defended by the f6-Knight. } 10... e6 { Maroczy overprotects his d-pawn and clears a path for the development of his dark-squared Bishop. } 11. Bd3 $15 { An old chess maxim is "when you have a cramped position, free it by exchanging". Here Capa attemps to do just that, offering a trade of light-squared Bishops. Now all of his Kingside pieces are developed. } 11... Be4 { Maroczy's idea is to tempt White into playing Bxe4; after the reply ...Nxe4, the Black Knight will dominate White's position, as well as threaten the White Queen. } 12. Qe2 { There are several reasons for this move: the Queen protects both the Bishop and Knight (...Bxf3 followed by Qxf3 instead of gxf3, doubling the White pawns) and White now has the option of playing a future Bxe4 without worrying about a threat on his Queen after ...Nxe4. } 12... Be7 { Maroczy completes his Kingside development by moving his dark-squared Bishop to the only safe square. } 13. O-O { Capa protects his King by castling away from the center... } 13... O-O { ...and Maroczy does the same. } 14. Bg5 { This is one reason why Black's move ...e7-e6 was a good idea. Had the e-pawn not been pushed, the d5-pawn's only defender (the f6-Knight) would be attacked by Capa's Bishop. } 14... Bxd3 { Maroczy decides to swap off his bad Bishop. He may also be thinking of moving his Knight to e4 (once he's resolved the question of how to defend his e7-Bishop). } 15. Qxd3 { Capa is forced to recapture or be behind materially. } 15... Rfe8 { Maroczy protects his e7-Bishop, making the move ...Ne4 a real possibility (cramping White's game in the process). } 16. Bxf6 { Capa doesn't want to see the Black Knight find a home at e4, so he removes it from the board... } 16... Bxf6 { ...and Maroczy recaptures. } 17. Rfd1 { The Rook goes to the open file. However, there may be a deeper meaning. Capablanca is one of the world's foremost endgame players. He may be considering a massive exchange in the center (18.Nd4 Nxd4 19.Bxd4 Nxd4 20.Qxd4 Qxd4 21.Rxd4), bringing on an early endgame where his skill may provide him with an advantage. } 17... Red8 { Maroczy seems unsure about how to proceed. This seems to be a useful waiting move -- the Black Rook now stands on the same file as the White Queen. } 18. Qe2 { When your opponent moves a Rook to the same file your Queen stands on, it's generally a good idea to move your Queen away. There's no immediate threat in this position, but accidents do happen. Capa sees that Maroczy is considering opening the center and decides to get his Queen out of harm's way. } 18... Ne5 { Maroczy is interested in advancing his central pawn pair, but White has many pieces guarding the center. Maroczy deems this a good time to thin out White's ranks. } 19. Nxe5 { Capa accepts the offer of a Knight... } 19... Bxe5 { ...and Maroczy again evens the material. } 20. Rd2 { Capablanca prepares to create a Rook battery, doubling them on the d-file. } 20... Bf6 { Maroczy pulls back the Bishop, enabling the e-pawn to advance when the time is right. } 21. Rad1 { As expected, Capa doubles the Rooks. } 21... Rc4 { The Black Rook moves to a square from which is can shoot to either side of the board at a moment's notice. By vacating c8, the Rook also makes way for its brother to move to that square, creating a battery on the c-file. } 22. Nc1 { Most players would have chosen 22.Nd4 without hesitation. But that move actually encourages Black to play ...e5. Capa instead eyes the possibility of playing Nd3, turning his position into a defensive fortress. } 22... Rdc8 { Black creates a battery on the c-file. } 23. Nd3 { And Capa's position is now like a stone castle. The b2-pawn is defended by both the Knight and d2-Rook (and indirectly by the Queen). Should Black strike at the a2-pawn, all White needs to do is advance it one square. There is no immediate danger on the Kingside, as all of Black's forces aim at the other side of the board. In short, White has no weaknesses, and Maroczy will be hard-pressed to find a way to make any progress. } 23... a5 { Maroczy's idea is to start a Queenside minority attack to break up the White pawns. } 24. a3 { But the plan is doomed to failure. The a3-pawn prevents the kamikaze Black pawn from advancing close enough to do any harm. } 24... Qc7 { Maroczy's new idea is to shift the action over to the Kingside. The Queen takes aim down the diagonal, eyeing up the h2-pawn. The plan is to play ...Rh4. } 25. g3 { Capa scotches another of Maroczy's plans. The Queen "bites on granite" and h4 is now off-limits to the Black Rook. } 25... b5 { Maroczy still has thoughts of prying open the Queenside. } 26. Kg2 { The White King steps up into the pocket. It's relatively safe here, as Black lacks a light-squared Bishop. } 26... Be7 { In this position, it's harder for Black to blunder than it is for White (a false move by White could destroy his fortress from within). so Maroczy is content to make waiting moves. A possibility here was 26...Qb7, setting up a discovered check after ...d4. } 27. Kg1 { The inactivity on the Kingside gives Capa the freedom to make waiting moves of his own. The two masters could call it a draw here and no one would think the less of them for it. There's really no way for either side to make progress without a gross blunder being committed first. } 27... Bd6 { Maroczy plays another quiet move, avoiding the fireworks that would result after 27...b4. } ( 27... b4 { Prying open the Queenside. } 28. cxb4 { White could also take with the a-pawn. } 28... axb4 { Forced, to keep the material balance even. } 29. axb4 { Otherwise 29...bxa3 30.bxa3 Bxa3 loses a pawn. } 29... Bxb4 { Again evening the material. } 30. Nxb4 { Removing the d2-Rook's attacker. } 30... Rxb4 { Balancing the material once again. } 31. Rd4 { Now the Black Rook must run. White has a passed pawn, but nothing really will come of it. The position is still even. All those firewoks, and essentially nothing came of it. (Variation by Alekhine) } ) 28. Ra1 { Discouraging ...b4, because of 28...b4 29.axb4 axb4 and the a1-Rook sits on a nice open file. } 28... Qc6 { Maroczy continues to probe, but the game is essentially dead. } 29. Rdd1 { Each player is now just waiting to see if his opponent will err. } 29... h6 { Another essentailly pointless move. Maroczy may be thinking of advancing his Kingside pawns. } 30. Qh5 { The idea is to play Ne5, attacking the Black Queen with a double attack (Knight and Queen) on f7. But the obvious reply is ...Qe8, holding everything together nicely. Capa proposes a draw and Maroczy accepts. The players split the point. } 1/2