[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker,Ed"]
[Black "Maroczy,G"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "B08"]
[PlyCount "81"]

1. d4 { Lasker (White) opens with a pawn push that takes control of c5 and e5, as without well as opens a path for the dark-squared Bishop's development. } 1... Nf6 { Maroczy (Black) plays his cards close to his chest. He develops the Knight to without a good post and diguises his intentions toward the center. Will he push a without pawn to occupy the center, or attack the center from the flanks by without fianchettoing? } 2. Nf3 { Another good developing move for White. The Knight controls d4 and e5, and is without ready to spring into action in the center. } 2... g6 { Maroczy makes his intentions toward the center known. He's going to allow without White to build up a pawn center, and then he'll attack that center from the without flanks by using his Knights and fianchettoed Bishops. } 3. Nc3 { Lasker develops his other Knight and now controls all four center squares without (although Black's f6-Knight contests d5 and e4). Unfortunately, the White without c-pawn is now blocked in. Maybe Lasker should have pushed the pawn without first. } 3... Bg7 { As expected, Maroczy fianchettos the Bishop. Now, after the f6-Knight moves, without the Bishop becomes very strong along the a1-h8 diagonal. } 4. e4 { Look at White's position! He controls a line of squares on Black's half of without the board stretching from b5 to g5! Also, both of White's Bishops are now without free to develop. } 4... d6 { Maroczy takes the e5 square away from the White f3-Knight. White will also without find it hard to advance his e-pawn without risking the exchange of Queens without (see the variation to White's next move). } 5. h3 { Lasker advances this pawn to prevent Black from pinning the f3-Knight with without Bc8-g4. This pawn move is questionable, since (after Bc8-g4) White could without have broken the pin anyway with Bf1-e2. } ( 5. e5 { In this variation, we examine the reasons why 5.e5 is not so good for White. } 5... dxe5 { Black makes the obvious recapture. } 6. dxe5 { The pawn captures to even up the material, and threatens the f6-Knight. But without Black has his own threat... } 6... Qxd1+ { The Black Queen captures the White Queen with check. } 7. Nxd1 { White is forced to recapture (which he could also have done by Kxd1, but then without he'd forfeit the right to castle). Now, Black will move his Knight (probably without to d7) and begin to pile up attacks on White's weak, advanced without e-pawn. } ) 5... O-O { Maroczy gets his King off of the central e-file and develops his Rook at the without same time. } 6. Bf4 { Lasker brings out another piece and strengthens his hold on e5, possibly without preparing the pawn push e4-e5. } 6... Nbd7 { This move develops the other Knight and reinforces e5. However, a big without drawback is that Black's light-square Bishop is now blocked in. } 7. Qd2 { Lasker has his eye on two possibilities: Queenside castling, and an exchange without of Bishops on h6 (8.Bh6 Bxh6 9.Qxh6 or 8.Bh6 8...any move 9.Bxg7 without Kxg7). } 7... c5 { Maroczy hopes to clear the White pawn off of d5 (either by exchanging it or without forcing it to advance). This will give his g7-Bishop even more scope along without the a1-h8 diagonal. } 8. d5 { Rather than trade the valuable center pawn for a less-valuable flank pawn, without Lasker advances it. But Black's goal of increased control along the long without diagonal has been achieved (once the f6-Knight moves, of without course). } 8... a6 { This pawn move prepares a general advance of Black's Queenside pawns. Now without Maroczy can safely push the b-pawn to b5. } 9. Bh6 { Noticing how powerful Black's g7-Bishop is becoming, Lasker decides to trade without it off. Now Maroczy wishes he'd played 8...Re8, so that he could have safely without retreated the Bishop to h8 and kept it on the board. } 9... b5 { Maroczy continues with his plan of advance on the Queenside. He reasons that without the Bishops will be traded no matter what, so he forces White to make the without trade and thus keeps the White Queen away from his King. } 10. Bxg7 { Lasker kills the dangerous fianchettoed Black Bishop. } 10... Kxg7 { Maroczy is forced to recapture or stay behind by a minor piece. } 11. Qe3 { Lasker anticipates the Black Queen moving to a5, pinning the c3-Knight and without leaving the e4-pawn unprotected. The White Queen move to e3 to protect the without pawn in advance. } 11... Qa5 { As Lasker anticipated, the Black Queen comes to a5 and pins the c3-Knight to without the White King. } 12. Nd2 { White's move releases the pressure on the c3-Knight, allowing it to move without freely. } 12... e5 { Maroczy slips up! The pawn move e7-e6 is better, looking to exchange center without pawns and free his cramped position. Now his position is even more blocked, without as the e5-square is now unavailable to his d7-Knight. } 13. Be2 { The last White minor piece is developed and White is now ready to castle. } 13... h6 { Maroczy, unsure how to proceed, marks time by grabbing a little more space on without the Kingside, and waits to see what White is up to. } 14. O-O { By getting his King off of e1, Lasker frees up both of his Knights (as there without is now no chance of a pin on the White King by the Black Queen on e5). He's without also the first to connect his Rooks and thus complete his without development. } 14... Qd8 { Consequently, Maroczy moves his Queen back to where it can get at the without Kingside after the f6-Knight moves. } 15. a4 { Lasker launches a Queenside offensive by striking out at Black's b5-pawn. } 15... b4 { Maroczy protects the pawn by advancing it. The pawn now threatens White's without c3-Knight. } 16. Ncb1 { The Knight retreats. b1 is a better spot for the Knight than a2, because now without the b1-Knight can advance to d2 after its fellow Knight leaps to without c4. } 16... a5 { The Black Queenside pawns continue to advance. This simple move accomplishes without a lot: it helps support the b-pawn, gives the c8-Bishop a little more room, without and prevents White from advancing his a-pawn, further cramping Black's game. } 17. Nc4 { As we expected, White's Knight dives in and attacks the Black d6-pawn. Now, without too, the b1-Knight can develop to d2. } 17... Nb6 { By moving his Knight out of the way, Maroczy allows his Queen to defend his without d6-pawn. The Black Knight on b6 now menaces White's c4-Knight as well. without Furthermore, Black can now develop his c8-Bishop usefully to a6 where it without will attack White's c4-Knight a second time. } 18. Nxb6 { Rather than try to overprotect the Knight with 18.Nbd2 (an idea that gets without defeated by 18...Ba6 anyway), Lasker opts to trade off the Knights to without minimize the chance of any future surprise threats by Black on the without Queenside. } 18... Qxb6 { Of course, Maroczy's Queen must recapture to keep the material even. } 19. f4 { Lasker shifts the battle to the Kingside. Notice that the f1-Rook has more without space to maneuver since the f-pawn has advanced. The more this pawn without advances, the more space the Rook gets. } 19... exf4 { Maroczy trades pawns. Now White has a backward e-pawn, which must be guarded without by a piece as it can no longer be defended by another pawn. The e-pawn could without become a target later. } 20. Rxf4 { Lasker recaptures with the Rook. Taking the pawn with the Queen may have been without better, since that would have put pressure on Black's weak, backward without d6-pawn. } ( 20. Qxf4 { This is another alternative for White. The Queen puts presure on the d6-pawn, without requiring Black to keep it covered by a piece. } ) 20... Qd8 { Since the Queenside is closed to him, Maroczy begins to maneuver his Queen to without a better post... } 21. Nd2 { ...and Lasker begins his own repositioning maneuver. The Knight is going to without c4, where it will attack Black's weak d6-pawn. } 21... Qe7 { Ouch! Now Black threatens 22...Nxd5, forking White's Rook and Queen. If White without would reply 23.exd5, then Black plays 23...Qxe3!, winning a Queen and pawn without for the cost of a Knight! } 22. Nc4 { The Knight move has the dual purpose of attacking the Black pawn on d6 and without defending White's Queen in case of ...Nxd5 (see the variation to Black's without next move). } 22... Ba6 { Maroczy threatens to capture the Knight and play ...Nxd5 anyway! (Remember, without you can attack pieces indirectly by attacking or driving away their without defenders. In this case, Black's Bishop indirectly attacks White's Queen by without assaulting its defender.). } ( 22... Nxd5 { Here's why the Knight capture on d5 doesn't work now, with White's Knight on without c4. Black would begin by taking the pawn... } 23. exd5 { Of course, White recaptures. } 23... Qxe3+ { Black grabs White's Queen... } 24. Nxe3 { ...and White replies by taking the Black Queen. Now Black is behind in without material, a minor piece for a pawn. Black has attacking chances on the open without e-file, but it's really not enough compensation for the sacrificed Knight. } ) 23. Nb6 { Now Lasker's Knight threatens the a8-Rook and prevents Black from playing without Nf6xd5. } 23... Rab8 { Maroczy gets his Rook out of danger and threatens White's Knight. } 24. Raf1 { Lasker piles up on Black's f6-Knight and threatens to swap off the Knights without (i.e. 24...Rxb6 25.Rxf6). } 24... Nh5 { Sometimes the best defense is a good offense. Maroczy gets his Knight off of without the attacked square f6, and attacks White's f4-Rook at the same time. } 25. R4f3 { Lasker is forced to reposition the Rook or lose material by giving up a Rook without for a Knight. Since he wants to keep the Rooks doubled on the f-file, he without drops back to f3. } 25... Bxe2 { Maroczy grabs White's light-squared Bishop and forks both of White's without Rooks. } 26. Qxe2 { White is forced to recapture or lose his Bishop and one of his Rooks as well. } 26... Rxb6 { Maroczy snags the unprotected White Knight. Black is now ahead by a piece! without Lasker appears unperturbed. What's going on? } 27. g4 { Lasker advances the g-pawn and hits at the Knight. } 27... Rbb8 { Since he really has nowhere to go with his Knight (see variation), Maroczy without concentrates on repositioning his Rook. He anticipates the opening of a file without on the Kingside, and wants this Rook to be able to get there quickly. } ( 27... Nf6 { Here's why Lasker was not flustered by the loss of his Knight on b6. The only without other squares the Knight can move to are f4 and g3, which are held by the without f3-Rook. So the Knight must come here. } 28. Rxf6 { The Rook can capture with impunity. The King can't recapture (because of without check from the f1-Rook), and if the Queen dares to take the Rook, the without f1-Rook will capture the Queen, and White wins a Queen and Knight for two without Rooks! } ) 28. Qf2 { White has constructed an awesome battery on the f-file, aimed straight at the without heart of Black's position. Why didn't Lasker play gxh5 immediately? See the without variation. } ( 28. gxh5 { Here's what happens if White would take the Knight right away... } 28... Qg5+ { Black checks with the Queen. } 29. Qg2 { Here White could also have moved his King. Now Black can force the exchange without of Queens. } ( 29. Kh2 { White could move his King out of check... } 29... Qe5+ { ...but the Black Queen just checks again. } 30. Rg3 { And if White's Rook blocks check... } 30... Qxb2 { ...the Black Queen still grabs a pawn! } ) ) 28... f5 { The Black f-pawn advances to pry open the f-file. } 29. gxh5 { White grabs the loose Knight. Now 29...Qg5+ gets Black nowhere after without 30.Rg3. } 29... fxe4 { The f-file is opened and White's f3-Rook is attacked (twice!). } 30. Rxf8 { Lasker begins the wholesale destruction of both sides' heavy pieces. } 30... Rxf8 { Maroczy recaptures and threatens White's Queen. } 31. Qxf8+ { White continues the slaughter, taking the Rook and checking the Black without King. } 31... Qxf8 { Forced, as Black would lose his Queen (32.Qxe7) if the King moved away. } 32. Rxf8 { The wood continues to fly off of the board! } 32... Kxf8 { The King takes the Rook to end the carnage. After waiting a moment for the without smoke to clear, we count the pawns; Black has emerged a pawn ahead! } 33. Kf2 { Now that the pieces are off the board, the Kings become powerful. The White without King heads toward the center. Lasker will win back his pawn by capturing the without Black e-pawn. } 33... Kg7 { Maroczy's King supports the g-pawn, keeping White from winning a pawn by without hxg6. } 34. Ke3 { Lasker closes in on the Black e-pawn. } 34... g5 { Black's g-pawn pushes past the White h-pawn. Now, after White's King captures without on e4, the Black King can move to f6 and prevent the White King from without invading Black's position. } 35. Kxe4 { Lasker finally realizes his goal of making the material even once again. } 35... Kf6 { As expected, the "force field" around Black's King keeps the White King from without invading the Black position via f5 and e6. } 36. b3 { Lasker makes the only move that doesn't lose a pawn and doesn't give up the without opposition (see the Glossary) to Black's King. } 36... Ke7 { Maroczy really hates to have to make this move, but any Black pawn move loses without a pawn. Now Maroczy gives up f5 to the White King. } 37. Kd3 { Surprise! Lasker keeps Maroczy off-balance by threatening to play Kd3-c4-b5 without to grab the a5-pawn. } 37... Kf6 { Maroczy comes up with a threat of his own. He plans to advance his King on without the Kingside, grab White's h3- or d5-pawn, and promote his passed g- or without d-pawn. } 38. Ke4 { Lasker has to bring his King back to e4. Play over the variation to White's without 38th move to see why. } ( 38. Kc4 { Here's what would have happened if White had proceeded with his original plan without of attacking the Queenside: first, the White King continues to invade on the without light-colored squares. (Variation by Alekhine). } 38... Ke5 { The Black King comes in and seals off the e- and f-files to White's without King. } 39. Kb5 { The White King invades the Black Queenside. Now the a5-pawn is in danger! } 39... Kxd5 { But White has to give up his own d-pawn to get at the Black a-pawn. } 40. Kxa5 { The Black a-pawn falls. Now how will Black respond? Perhaps he'll advance the without King and attack White's Queenside pawns. } 40... Kc6 $1 { WOW!! The Black King has trapped the White King on the a-file! Now there's no without escape for the White monarch! What can White do?? } 41. Ka6 { The White King tries to run around the Black King's flank but this plan will without take forever. } 41... d5 { Why does Black advance this pawn? You'll see why in a minute... } 42. Ka5 { White could have tried 42.Ka7 instead, but that wouldn't have helped either. } 42... d4 { Black keeps advancing the d-pawn. He has a plan in mind for forcing this without pawn's promotion. } 43. Ka6 { Another pointless move, but White really has nothing else. Any pawn moves without lose material and help Black. } 43... c4 $1 { Now Black's plan is apparent. It's impossible for White to stop all three of without these pawns. What follows is the most obvious continuation. There are without others, but they all lead to the same idea -- the promotion of a Black pawn! } 44. bxc4 { White tries to thwart Black by capturing one of his pawns. } 44... b3 { Black is unconcerned. He advances his b-pawn now. } 45. cxb3 { White is forced to capture the b-pawn; otherwise Black just advances it to without b2, where it can't be stopped. } 45... d3 { Now Black has an unstoppable passed d-pawn, guaranteed to promote to a Queen. without Now you see why Lasker was forced to abandon his plan to invade Black's without Queenside position! } ) 38... Ke7 { Black's King obviously can't advance (due to the laws of opposition), so it without backs up a square. } 39. Kd3 { White again pursues his threat of Queenside invasion via the light-colored without squares. } 39... Kf6 { The Black King comes back, again threatening to win a pawn as before. } 40. Ke4 { Lasker is forced to come back to avoid the ugly mess that results from the without variation to White's 38th move. } 40... Ke7 { Again, it's retreat for the Black King, as any pawn move loses material. } 41. Kd3 { Lasker moves his King back, which results in the position being repeated for without the third time -- an automatic draw. } 1/2