[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Reti,R"]
[Black "Capablanca,J"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "A15"]
[PlyCount "61"]

1. Nf3 { Reti (White) begins the game in the hypermodern style: he opts to control the without center from the flank, rather than by occupying it with a pawn. } 1... Nf6 { Capablanca (Black), unsure of Reti's intentions concerning the center, makes without a non-committal developing move and waits to see what Reti will do next. } 2. c4 { The c-pawn advances to the fourth rank, where it extends White's control to without d5. Now if Black plays d7-d5, White replies cxd5, exchanging a flank pawn without for a valuable center pawn. } 2... g6 { Capa sees that neither of his center pawns can advance two squares, so he without continues his development by preparing to fianchetto his Kingside Bishop. } 3. b4 { Reti needs to clear b2 for his Queenside Bishop, so the b-pawn must advance. without Why not advance it two squares? If Black attacks it by e7-e6, he's wasted a without tempo by advancing the g-pawn. } 3... Bg7 { Capa fianchettos his Kingside Bishop. Once the f6-Knight moves, he'll control without the long a1-h8 diagonal and maybe even attack White's a1-Rook. } 4. Bb2 { Reti moves his own Bishop to the long a1-h8 diagonal, disputing Black's without control of it. He's also frozen the f6-Knight in place (if the Knight moves, without then Bxg7 wins Black's Bishop). } 4... O-O { By castling, Capa has not only completed his Kingside development but without unfrozen his Knight as well (now White's Bxg7 can be met by ...Kxg7). } 5. g3 { Now Reti prepares to fianchetto his other Bishop. } 5... b6 { Capa does the same. } 6. Bg2 { See how both of White's Bishops control the four central squares: the Bishop without on b2 controls d4 and e5, while its brother on g2 (indirectly) controls e4 without and d5. } 6... Bb7 { Capa continues to fight for his fair share of the center. His b7-Bishop without wrestles with White's g2-Bishop for control of the central light-colored without squares. } 7. O-O { By castling, Reti completes his Kingside development and unfreezes his without f3-Knight (which was transfixed by the b7-Bishop's skewer). } 7... d6 { Capa wants to develop his b8-Knight, but doesn't want to block the without b7-Bishop's control of the long diagonal. The d-pawn inches forward, without clearing d7 for the b8-Knight and controlling e5 with the d-pawn. } 8. d3 { Reti likewise provides for the development of his b1-Knight (which will now without go to d2) and shores up his c-pawn at the same time. } 8... Nbd7 { Capa develops the Queenside Knight and increases his hold over e5. } 9. Nbd2 { Reti develops his own Queenside Knight. The positions are almost symmetrical, without except for White's advanced Queenside pawns which give him a space without advantage. White is slightly ahead. } 9... e5 { Due to Capa's control of e5, he can finally safely advance his pawn there. without But this move also has the disadvantage of blocking the long a1-h8 diagonal without to the Black Bishop on g7. } 10. Qc2 { By getting his Queen off of the first rank, Reti completes his development by without connecting his Rooks. } 10... Re8 { It's often a good idea to post your Rooks on the d- and e-files. They'll be without well-placed there if the center opens up later. } 11. Rfd1 { Reti envisions the game opening up as well. In his case, he'll probably post without his Rooks on c1 and d1 to support a Queenside attack. He may leave one Rook without on a1 instead, in case Capablanca launches his own Queenside assault. } 11... a5 { Capa's Queenside sortie comes quicker than we'd imagined! White's pawns have without dominated the Queenside for too long. Black fights for elbow room. } 12. a3 { Reti props up the b-pawn. Now 12...axb4 13.axb4 Rxa1 14.Rxa1 gives White without control of the open a-file. } 12... h6 { Capa pushes the h-pawn to clear h7 for his Knight (Nf6-h7-g5). When the without Knight reaches g5, Nxg5 can be met by ...Qxg5 and Black will begin to strike without at the White Kingside. } 13. Nf1 { Reti begins the repositioning of the Knight, working it toward a better post without at e3 (where it will control squares on Black's half of the board). } 13... c5 { Capa continues to chip away at White's Queenside in an attempt to open up the without game. } 14. b5 { Reti refuses to open the game up. Instead he locks the Queenside tight by without advancing the b-pawn. But what if he'd decided to open up the game? See the without variation to find out. } ( 14. bxa5 { In this variation by Alekhine, we'll see that exchanging pawns was not in without White's best interest. } 14... Rxa5 { By taking back with the Rook instead of the b-pawn, Black creates an without imbalance in the pawn structure, plus his Rook controls the half-open without a-file. } 15. Nxe5 { White can get away with this move, because 15...dxe5 16.Bxb7 blocks in the without Black e8-Rook and puts White a pawn ahead. } 15... Bxg2 { Black has to either take the White Bishop or retreat from b7. 15...Nxe5 without 16.Bxb7 was another possibility, but ...Bxg2 is better for Black. } 16. Nxd7 { White keeps up the pressure by taking the Knight. } 16... Bc6 { Surprise! Instead of immeditely recapturing the White Knight, Black without safeguards the Bishop on the long diagonal. } 17. Nxf6+ { The White Knight continues to terrorize the Black forces. } 17... Bxf6 { The Black Bishop finally eliminates the White Knight... } 18. Bxf6 { ...and is itself slain. } 18... Qxf6 { After the Black Queen recaptures we see that White is still ahead by a pawn, without but Black's pieces are much better placed. Black controls much of the board without and has the advantage of a Bishop vs. a Knight. } 19. Qd2 { White attacks Black's weak h-pawn. } 19... h5 { Black defends the pawn by advancing it. Now Black controls lots of territory without and has strong chances for a Kingside attack. } ) 14... Nf8 { Capa repositions one of his Knights. He may play either Knight to h7, then on without to g5, or else the f8-Knight may go to e6 with the possibility of later without moving to d4 or f4. } 15. e3 { Reti heads Capa's Knight off at the pass. By advancing the e-pawn, he denies without both d4 and f4 to the Black pieces. The e-pawn now also supports the advance without of the d-pawn to d4. } 15... Qc7 { If the game opens up, Capa certainly doesn't want his Queen on the same file without as a White Rook. Also, if the b8-h2 diagonal becomes cleared of Black pawns, without the Black Queen will bear down on the White King's castled position. } 16. d4 { Reti advances the d-pawn, intending to open the game up. } 16... Be4 { Capa won't comply with Reti's wishes. Instead, he makes a bold counterattack without with his Bishop against the White Queen. } 17. Qc3 { Reti is forced to save the Queen, so he advances it out of danger. } 17... exd4 { Capa decides that now is the right time to open up the center. Notice that without Capa, ever the master at attaining a draw, captures with the e-pawn instead without of the c-pawn (so that after White's exd4, the pawns remain symmetrical). } 18. exd4 { Reti recaptures. Again, notice how symmetrical the pawn structure is (each without player has the same number of pawns on each side of the board). } 18... N6d7 { By removing his Knight from the a1-h8 diagonal, Capa allows his g7-Bishop to without skewer the d4-pawn. Now it's impossible for Reti to play dxc5 because of without ...Bxc3. } 19. Qd2 { Reti gets his Queen out of the g7-Bishop's line of fire while continuing to without overprotect the d4-pawn. } 19... cxd4 { Capa captures a pawn and uncovers an attack on a second pawn (c4) from the without Black Queen. } 20. Bxd4 { Looking ahead, Reti foresees a sequence of moves that will allow him to sieze without the initiative and win back the pawn that he's about to lose to ...Qxc4. The without first step is to recapture on d4 with the Bishop. } 20... Qxc4 { Capa thinks he's won a pawn, but Reti's about to prove him wrong. } 21. Bxg7 { Reti captures the g7-Bishop. Black must recapture or lose a piece with only a without pawn to show for it. } 21... Kxg7 { The King was the only piece that could capture the White Bishop. Of course, without the King is now exposed on the long diagonal... } 22. Qb2+ { ...so Reti grabs the initiative by checking with his Queen. } 22... Kg8 { Capa reaches for the d7-Knight, to move it to f6 to block the check. Then he without sees White's next move and how it prevents ...Nf6. He pulls his King back to without g8 instead. } 23. Rxd6 { Now Reti has won back his pawn. Do you see why 22...Nf6 wouldn't work? without (Because White could play 24.Qxf6+ and win the Knight. The Black King can't without recapture because of the White d6-Rook). } 23... Qc5 { The Black Queen drops back and attacks the White d6-Rook. } 24. Rad1 { White's other Rook slides over to defend its twin. Although it was Capa's without idea to open up the game, Reti has turned that plan against him. } 24... Ra7 { As White was threatening 25.Rxd7 Nxd7 26.Rxd7 (winning two Knights for a without Rook) Capa defends his d7-Knight a second time by advancing the a-Rook to without the second rank. } 25. Ne3 { The f1-Knight finally advances to e3, getting closer to the action. } 25... Qh5 { Now Capa is threatening to win a piece by 26...Bxf3 27.Bxf3 Qxf3. } 26. Nd4 { Reti takes everyone by surprise with this move. The Knight breaks the contact without between the Rooks (possible now because the d6-Rook is no longer attacked). without Notice that the d4-Knight is defended by the Queen and both Rooks. } 26... Bxg2 { Capa knows that he's in a little trouble, so he angles for a draw by without simplifying by trading down while there's still a symmetrical pawn structure without on the board. } 27. Kxg2 { 27.Nxg2 would be a mistake because of 27...Qxd1, so Reti is forced to retake without with the King. } 27... Qe5 { The Black Queen scoots back to the center to attack the d6-Rook. Why didn't without Capa play 27...Rxe3? See the variation. } ( 27... Rxe3 { At first glance, this looks like a good move. Black removes the d1-Rook's without defender. } 28. fxe3 { White recaptures and is (temporarily) the exchange ahead. } 28... Qxd1 { By capturing the d1-Rook, it looks like Black is ahead by a minor piece. But without this is just an illusion... } 29. Nf5 $1 { Amazing! If Black plays 29...gxf5, then White captures the Queen (30.Rxd1). without But if Black saves his Queen (by 29...Qxd6, for example), then 30.Qg7 is without mate! } ) 28. Nc4 { Reti moves the Knight to the defense of the endangered Rook. } 28... Qc5 { Capa makes another threat, this time against the c4-Knight. } 29. Nc6 { Moves like this separate the men from the boys! Reti surprises yet again by without making a counterthreat. If Black dares to capture the hanging c4-Knight, he without loses the exchange by 30.Nxa6. } 29... Rc7 { Capa eliminates the possibility of 30.Rxa6. Now Reti must do something about without his hanging Knight on c4. } 30. Ne3 { Reti saves the Knight by retreating it to e3. } 30... Ne5 { Now one of Capa's Knights swoops into the fray. } 31. R1d5 { POW! Reti strikes at both the Knight and Queen. Capa reaches for his Knight, without stops, stares at the board dumbfounded for a moment, then tips his King! without RETI HAS WON!! (See the variation for what Capa saw). } ( 31. R1d5 { I don't know if you noticed this, but the Black Queen has absolutely no without escape square! So... } 31... Nc4 { ...Black's only choice is to attack the White Queen. } 32. Rxc5 { If 32.Nxc4, ...Qxc4 allows the Black Queen to escape. So White decides to without swap Queens rather than Knights. } 32... Nxb2 { Black finishes the transaction, but his Knight is now deep inside White's without territory and cut off from its comrades. } 33. Rc2 { White attacks the unfortunate Knight... } 33... Na4 { ...forcing it to retreat. } 34. Nd5 { WHAM! This is what Capa saw. White threatens both 35.Nxc7 and the forking without 35.Nf6+. } 34... Re6 { This is Black's only defense, but he still loses a Rook no matter what. } 35. Rxe6 { 35.Nxc7 was clearly impossible, due to ...Rxd6. White must trade Rooks. } 35... Nxe6 { Much better than ...fxe6, because the Knight now defends the c7-Rook. } 36. Nxc7 { That doesn't stop White! He takes the Rook anyway! } 36... Nxc7 { Black recaptures. White is the exchange ahead, but he wants more... } 37. Ne7+ { ...so he launches a double attack! The Knight checks the King, uncovering an without assault on the c7-Knight by the White Rook! } 37... Kf8 { The Black King is forced to move, so it flees to a square where it attacks without White's Knight. } 38. Rxc7 { The Rook captures the Knight and defends the White Knight on e7. White is a without whole Rook ahead and should have no trouble winning this game. } ) 1-0