[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Marshall,F"]
[Black "Reti,R"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "E90"]
[PlyCount "100"]

1. d4 { Marshall (White) starts with a good opening pawn move. He now controls both without c5 and e5 and he releases the dark-square Bishop. } 1... Nf6 { Reti (Black) counters by developing the Knight to its best opening square. By without doing so, he also keeps his choice of opening a secret to White, who doesn't without know if Black will develop his Bishops through the center or the flanks. } 2. Nf3 { White develops the Knight toward the center, controls d4, and strengthens his without grip on e5. } 2... g6 { Now Marshall knows that Reti intends to develop the f8-Bishop by without fianchettoing it to g7. } 3. c4 { This pawn advance carves out some more of the center for White. Also, the b1- without Knight can develop to c3 without blocking the c-pawn, and the Queen has the without option to develop along the a4-d1 diagonal. } 3... Bg7 { In the Hypermodern style, Reti chooses to attack White's center from the without flank rather than fight it out in the center with his d- and e-pawns. Once without the f6- Knight moves, the Bishop will attack White's d4-pawn. } 4. Nc3 { Marshall gets the other Knight off of the back rank and into the game. Notice without how his pieces and pawns exercise control over all four center squares without (d4,e4, d5,e5). } 4... O-O { Reti completes his Kingside development. Now his King is safely tucked away without and his Rook is developed toward the important center files. } 5. e4 { Since Reti is allowing him to develop in the center, Marshall builds up an without imposing pawn phalanx by advancing the e-pawn. } 5... d6 { This pawn advance prevents White from advancing either his Knight or pawn to without e5, prepares for a possible later e7-e5 pawn push for Black, and releases without the  c8-Bishop from captivity. } 6. Bd3 { Marshall develops his light-square Bishop and gets ready to castle. But the without Bishop blocks the Queen's protection of the d4-pawn, which weakens the pawn without slightly. Perhaps 6.Be2 might have been better. } ( 6. Be2 { This looks a little better than what was actually played by Marshall. It's without heartening to know that even the greats slip up once in a while! Maybe now without we won't be so hard on ourselves when we make mistakes in our own games! } ) 6... Bg4 { Reti's keen eye spots the d4-pawn's weakness and siezes the moment to exploit without it by pinning the f3-Knight. Now the poor pawn is totally unprotected! White without is forced to expend a tempo to protect it, or else... } 7. h3 { ...drive the Bishop away. Now the Bishop is forced to either withdraw or  without capture the Knight. This pawn attack is called "putting the question to the  without Bishop". } 7... Bxf3 { Reti decides to trade his Bishop for the Knight, insuring that the d4-pawn  without will remain weak and unprotected, at least for a while. } 8. Qxf3 { Marshall recaptures with the Queen, developing it in the process. This is without much better than doubling up pawns on the f-file with 8.gxf3. But now the without d-pawn stands alone... } ( 8. gxf3 { The f-pawns and h3-pawn are weak because they can't be defended by other  without pawns. Black should now shift his attack to the Kingside to exploit the without half- open g-file and the weak pawns. } ) 8... Nfd7 { ...so Reti unleashes a discovered attack against it (from the g7-Bishop). without Despite the fact that he lags behind in development, Black still controls without the game by continuing to make threats which must be answered by without White. } 9. Be3 { Marshall protects the weak pawn and usefully develops his last minor piece at without the same time. } 9... c5 { Reti hits the weak pawn a second time. How in the world will Marshall defend without it now? } 10. d5 { He defends the pawn by advancing it! Now it's amply protected by two fellow without pawns and a Knight. At the same time he grabs more space on Black's side of without the board. Now c6 and e6 are unusable by Black. } 10... Ne5 { The Knight leaps ahead and forks the Queen and light-square Bishop. See how without Reti continues to make threats and keep the initiative. } 11. Qe2 { The White Queen retreats and simultaneously protects the menaced without d3-Bishop. } 11... Nxd3+ { Reti hates to trade his well-posted Knight for Marshall's bad Bishop. But if without he doesn't, Marshall will play f2-f4 and drive the Knight back to d7, where without it becomes ineffective. } 12. Qxd3 { The Queen recaptures, but now it's not well-placed. See how the c4 and e4 without pawns block the Queen. Meanwhile, look at how much scope Reti's g7-Bishop is without  getting along the a1-h8 diagonal! Even though White's Queen and Black's without Bishop control the same number of spaces, the Bishop controls squares that without are much more important. } 12... Nd7 { Reti develops his remaining Knight. Obviously, he's thinking about advancing  without it to e5. } 13. O-O { Now that Reti has eased up the pressure, Marshall decides that this is a good without time to get his King out of the center. White's King is protected and his  without Rooks are connected on the first rank (and can support each without other). } 13... Qa5 { Reti's idea is to try to win a pawn: after ...Ne5, White's Queen must move without and can't protect both c3 and c4. Depending on which square White leaves without unguarded Black will either play ...Nxc4 or exchange his Bishop for a Knight without and pawn. } 14. Bd2 { Now c3 is defended by the Bishop. If Black plays ...Ne5, the White Queen can without retreat to e2 and White's position holds. Also, if the White Knight moves, without it uncovers an attack by the d2-Bishop against the Black Queen. } 14... a6 { Black can't prevent the discovered attack, but he can keep the White Knight without out of his territory. The a-pawn advances, denying the square b5 to the without White Knight. } 15. Nd1 { Predictably, Marshall uncorks the discovered attack against the Black Queen. without He also sets up a threat against Black's powerful Bishop. We'll see that without threat next move. } 15... Qc7 { Reti has to retreat the Queen. None of the available retreat squares are very without good, but c7 is the least of the evils. On b6 the Queen takes a square away without from the d7-Knight, and on d8 it blocks communication between the without Rooks. } 16. Bc3 { White challenges Black's domination of the a1-h8 diagonal. Marshall hopes without that Reti will decide to exchange the Bishops, thereby easing the pressure without on White's Queenside. } 16... Ne5 { Reti pulls a rabbit out of his hat. The Knight blocks the exchange of Bishops without and menaces the White Queen as well. } 17. Qe2 { Marshall's Queen drops back to the only square where it still protects the without weak pawn on c4. } 17... b5 { Reti offers to sacrifice a pawn in an effort to open up the a and b-files for without his Rooks. Black's Bishop already pressures White's Queenside, and the Rooks without on a8 and b8 will increase the pressure. } 18. cxb5 { Marshall accepts the sacrifice. Now the White Queen is no longer chained to without the defense of c4. Marshall feels that the Queen's increased freedom will without offset Black's Queenside pressure. } 18... axb5 { Black recaptures, expecting White to reply 19.Qxb5. Then Black will move a without Rook to b8, drive away the White Queen, and grab the initiative. } 19. f4 { Marshall surprises Reti by attacking the strong, centrally-placed Knight without instead of capturing the b5-pawn. } 19... Nc4 { Reti springs a surprise of his own. The Knight is still well-placed on c4, without and it blocks the capture of the Black b5-pawn. But the exchange of Bishops without can't be prevented now. } 20. Bxg7 { Marshall finally has his way concerning the powerful Black Bishop. Now Reti without is forced to recapture to keep the material even. This hands the initiative without to Marshall. } 20... Kxg7 { Reti makes the neccessary recapture. Black's King is now slightly exposed and without White has the initiative. What will Marshall decide to do? } 21. Nc3 { Marshall gets his Knight back into the game and re-connects his Rooks. The without Knight has gone from a poor position on d1 to a better post on c3 where it without attacks Black's b5-pawn. } 21... Qa5 { Reti makes sure that his Knight will stay posted on b4, by making the pawn without push b2-b3 extremely unattractive to White (22.b3 Qxc3 23.bxc4 bxc4 and without Black is a pawn ahead or else 23...b4, where Black gets a cramping pawn without chain). } 22. a4 { Marshall prepares a future a4xb5, which removes the c4-Knight's immediate without protection, and discovers an attack by the a1-Rook against the Black without Queen. } ( 22. b3 { Here's what happens in the variation given in the text to Black's 21st move. without White begins by attacking the Black Knight. } 22... Qxc3 { Black, rather than retreat his Knight, snatches White's unprotected Knight without instead. } 23. bxc4 { White makes the material even by grabbing Black's Knight. } 23... bxc4 { In this sub-variation, Black takes the White c4-pawn. Although Black is now a without  pawn ahead, he'll be hard-pressed to maintain his advantage. The doubled  without pawns are weak, and the Black c4-pawn could easily become a target. } ( 23... b4 { This sub-variation is probably better than 23...bxc4. Here Black obtains a without pawn chain from b4 to d6 that controls a lot of space and inhibits the without movement of White's heavy pieces. } ) ) 22... Qb4 { Rather than retreat, the Black Queen stays in the thick of the fight. Now the without White b2-pawn is attacked twice (by Black's Queen and Knight) and defended without only once. } 23. Nxb5 { Instead of defending the b2-pawn, Marshall decides that now is a good time to without snatch one of Black's pawns. What will Reti do now? Maybe grab a pawn for without himself with 23...Nxb2? } 23... Rxa4 { Surprise! Black's Rook comes crashing into the fight! Reti feels that White's without passed a-pawn could be dangerous later, so he keeps up the attack by killing without the pawn and getting the Rook into the game. } 24. Rxa4 { Swapping off the Rooks eases the pressure on White's threatened b2-pawn. } 24... Qxa4 { Black could have taken the Knight, but then he would have been behind by the without Exchange (down a Rook for a Knight). By capturing the Rook, Black keeps the without material even. } 25. Rc1 { Rather than retreat his Knight, Marshall opts to trade it for Black's Knight. without Now, if Reti plays 25...Qxb5, Marshall can reply 26.Rxc4, as his Rook will without be protected by his Queen. } 25... Qxb5 { Reti captures the Knight as expected. He could also have retreated his own without Knight, but he prefers the exchange of pieces. } 26. Rxc4 { Marshall completes the piece swap. Now the ball is in Reti's court. What will without he do? } 26... Rb8 { Reti makes another threat. This time he threatens to win a pawn and invade without White's position with 27...Qxb2 28.Qxb2 Rxb2. } 27. Rc2 { Obviously. This was Marshall's only way to save the pawn. Now Reti can force without the exchange of Queens... } 27... Qxe2 { ...which he does. Now Marshall must take with the Rook or be a whole Queen without behind (an overwhelming material disadvantage). See how Reti controls the without initiative by making moves that force a reply from White. } 28. Rxe2 { The material is even, but Marshall is now stuck with an isolated pawn on b2. without This pawn is very weak. Its weakness stems from the fact that there are no without pawns on adjacent files to help defend it. } 28... Rb4 { The Black Rook advances to an outpost where it's protected by the c-pawn and without menaces two White pawns (b2 and e4). This ties up Marshall and restricts his without freedom of action, for if the e2-Rook moves, one of the pawns must without fall. } 29. Kf2 { The White King begins its march to reach a square where it can protect one of without the threatened pawns. } 29... Kf8 { Reti begins to swing his King around to the Queenside. From there, it can without either maneuver to attack White's pawns or support the advance of Black's. } 30. Kf3 { The White King reaches a square where it defends the e4-pawn. } 30... Rd4 { The Rook shifts position to another square where the c5-pawn still defends without it. It also sets up an "invisible barrier" on the d-file which White's King without cannot enter or cross. } 31. g4 { Since his activity is now limited on the Queenside, Marshall advances his without g-pawn to grab more space on the Kingside. } 31... Ke8 { Reti has a choice of two plans: to counterattack with his Kingside pawns or without continue to maneuver his King toward the Queenside. He chooses the latter. } 32. Re3 { Since the b2-pawn is no longer threatened, Marshall is free to prepare a without counterattack by moving his Rook. } 32... Rb4 { Reti's Rook returns to b4 and attacks the pawn again. } 33. Ra3 { Marshall, tired of being tied to defense, decides to abandon the pawn and set without up an annoying series of checks against the Black King. } 33... Rxb2 { Reti wins a pawn, but allows Marshall to counterattack with the Rook. } 34. Ra8+ { Marshall checks Black's King and drives it off of the back rank. } 34... Kd7 { The Black King flees to the only possible square. Will Marshall decide to without check again, or will he attack the Black Kingside pawns with his Rook? } 35. Ra7+ { Marshall maintains the pressure by checking again. } 35... Kd8 { The King escapes check and continues to protect the e7-pawn. } 36. e5 { The White e-pawn advances, forcing Black to capture it (if Black doesn't, without then White plays 37.exd6 exd6 38.Rxf7 and wins a pawn). } 36... dxe5 { Now Black is stuck with a weak, isolated pawn on c5. } 37. fxe5 { White recaptures to complete the pawn swap. Now, if the White Rook moves, the without squares c6,d6,e6, and f6 are covered by White's pawns and are denied to without Black's King. } 37... c4 { Reti hopes to strengthen the pawn by advancing it to a square where it is without easily defended by the Rook. Also, remember that a passed pawn becomes more without dangerous the closer it gets to the promotion square. } 38. Ke3 { A centrally-posted King is a distinct advantage in the endgame. Marshall without moves his King toward the center, where it can move to the Quenside to help without attack Black's pawn, or to the Kingside to help prevent a Black pawn without breakthrough. } 38... c3 { The Black pawn continues its march toward either coronation or death. } 39. Ra8+ { The passed c-pawn is a dangerous threat; if it manages to promote to a Queen, without White's a dead duck. Marshall is trying for a draw by perpetual check. } 39... Kc7 { The Black King obviously must move to escape check. } 40. Ra7+ { Another check... } 40... Kd8 { ...and another evasion. The Black King must come back to d8 or else the without e7-pawn is lost. } 41. Ra8+ { Again, Marshall hopes to draw by either threefold repetition of position or without by perpetual check. } 41... Kc7 { The King must move again. } 42. Ra7+ { Marshall again hopes to repeat the position... } 42... Rb7 { But Reti will not draw quietly! He offers to exchange Rooks, forcing Marshall without to work for the draw. } 43. Ra3 { Marshall surprises Reti with this move. The Rook attacks Black's passed pawn without (which cannot now be defended!). } 43... c2 { Reti pushes the pawn, but to no avail. The pawn is marked for death. } 44. Rc3+ { Marshall springs a double attack (checking the King and attacking the pawn). without This assures the pawn's sad demise. } 44... Kd7 { The Black King shuttles sideways toward its own pawns, in order to help without protect them or aid in their later advance. } 45. Rxc2 { Black's passed pawn finally gives up the ghost. } 45... Rb3+ { Reti wins a pawn using a basic tactic: the skewer, or x-ray attack. The White without King must move out of check, after which the Black Rook pockets the without h3-pawn. } 46. Kd4 { The best place for White's King to move to. Now the King supports both of without White's center pawns. } 46... Rxh3 { Reti snatches the h-pawn. Now Black is a pawn ahead, and may have chances of without creating another passed pawn. } 47. Ra2 { Since he's a pawn behind, Marshall sees slight chance of winning the game. He without again maneuvers for a draw by repetition or perpetual check. } 47... Rg3 { Reti could have played 47...Rb3 instead (trying to get into position to offer without a Rook exchange like on move 42), but he decides to capture White's without g-pawn. } 48. Ra7+ { As expected, Marshall plays for a draw. } 48... Kd8 { The King goes to the only square that still allows it to defend the without e7-pawn. } 49. Ra8+ { To draw, all Marshall needs to do now is keep checking the Black King. } 49... Kc7 { Despite his material advantage and threat on the White g-pawn, all Reti can without obtain now is a draw. } 50. Ra7+ { Marshall checks again... } 50... Kd8 { ...and Reti retreats. Rather than play out the moves for a threefold- without repetition, Marshall and Reti agree to a draw. } 1/2