[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Marshall,F"]
[Black "Lasker,Ed"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "D00"]
[PlyCount "92"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 { Well, we know where the dark-squared Bishop is going! } 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 { This makes good sense. Marshall wants to play e2-e3 but doesn't want to trap the Bishop behind the pawn chain, so the Bishop comes out first. } 4... Bg7 5. e3 Bf5 6. h3 { Taking g4 away from Black's minor pieces. } 6... O-O 7. Bd3 Ne4 8. Bxe4 Bxe4 9. O-O ( 9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. Nd2 { Marshall might have tried this instead. } ) 9... Nd7 $2 { This just loses a pawn. } ( 9... Bf5 { Retreating the Bishop was certainly better. } ) 10. Nd2 { Black won't be able to cover everything. } 10... Bf5 11. Nxd5 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. e4 Be6 14. Bxe5 Bxe5 15. Nf3 Bg7 16. c3 { After the tactical smoke clears, we see Marshall a pawn up with a space advantage, but Lasker has the Bishop pair with an open center. White has the advantage. } 16... Qd6 17. c4 { Marshall misses the chance to nullify the Bishop pair (see the variation). } ( 17. Ng5 Bxd5 18. Qxd5 Qxd5 19. exd5 { Black no longer has the Bishop pair and White has a 4-3 Queenside pawn majority. Things are looking pretty good for White. } ) 17... Rad8 18. Qe2 c6 19. e5 { Marshall meets his opponent's threat with a stronger threat. } ( 19. Ne3 { This was better, as it avoids the central exchange of pieces. } ) 19... Bxe5 20. Qxe5 cxd5 21. Qxd6 Rxd6 22. c5 { Marshall has not only given back the pawn, but he's also given away much of his advantage. Black now has a passed pawn and White no longer controls much of the board. } 22... Ra6 23. a4 { Otherwise the d-pawn's advance reveals a double attack on the a-pawn (from the Bishop and Rook). } 23... Bd7 { Now there's a double attack on the a-pawn anyway. } 24. Rfd1 { Marshall decides to give up the a-pawn (he sees he's going to get it back with no problems). } 24... Rxa4 25. Rxa4 Bxa4 26. Ra1 ( 26. Rxd5 { White could also have grabbed the passed pawn. } 26... Bc6 27. Rd3 Bxf3 28. Rxf3 { The players could easily agree to a draw here. } ) 26... Bc6 27. Rxa7 Re8 28. b4 Re6 29. b5 Bxb5 30. Rxb7 { Marshall has now created a passed pawn of his own and attacks the Bishop as well. } 30... Ba4 31. Rb8+ Kg7 32. Rc8 { This makes no sense. The worst place for a Rook is in front of an advancing pawn. } ( 32. Rd8 Bb3 33. Nd4 Re1+ 34. Kh2 Bc4 35. c6 Re7 36. Rd7 Re8 37. c7 Rc8 38. Ne6+ { The pinned pawn can't capture! } 38... Kf6 39. Rd8 Ba6 40. Nc5 Bb7 41. Nxb7 Rxc7 ) 32... Bd1 33. Ng5 Re1+ 34. Kh2 h6 35. c6 Ba4 ( 35... hxg5 36. c7 Bg4 37. hxg4 Rc1 { Now we see why putting a Rook in front of an advancing pawn is a bad idea. The White Rook can't move without causing the loss of the c-pawn. } ) 36. Nf3 Rc1 37. Ra8 ( 37. Ne5 Kf6 38. f4 d4 { White can twist and turn, coming up with clever temporary solutions all day long, but he can't change the fact that his own Rook prevents the c-pawn from promoting. } ) 37... Bxc6 38. Rc8 { The Bishop is now pinned. } 38... Rc4 39. Ne5 Bb7 40. Rxc4 dxc4 41. Nxc4 { And now the players have hit an even position. Knights are a bit better than Bishops with pawns on one side of the board, but with a symmetrical pawn structure it's not enough of an advantage to gain a victory. } 41... Kf6 42. f4 Be4 43. Ne5 h5 44. g4 hxg4 45. hxg4 Ba8 46. Kg3 g5 { The players realize that there's no way for either side to force a win, so they call it a draw. } 1/2