[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Yates,F"]
[Black "Alekhine,A"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "C76"]
[PlyCount "70"]

1. e4 { Control of the center is an important chess principle. Yates (White) carves  without out a healthy chunk of the center and allows his Queen and light-square without Bishop to get into the fight. } 1... e5 { Alekhine (Black) follows suit. You should always strive to make useful without developing moves (like these, for example) in the without opening. } 2. Nf3 { The Knight is developed to a good center-controlling post. It also attacks without Black's e5-pawn. How will Alekhine choose to defend it? } 2... Nc6 { Black develops his Knight and protects the pawn at the same time. } 3. Bb5 { Yates responds by attacking the pawn's defender. Now, if the Bishop captures without the c6-Knight, Black must capture the Bishop just to stay even. After that,  without the e5-pawn could fall to the f3-Knight. } 3... a6 { The pawn advances to attack the Bishop and kick it out. But doesn't this move without waste time?... } 4. Ba4 { ...No, because Yates must use a tempo to move the Bishop a second time! without (Yates could also have captured the Knight, but he prefers to hang on to the without Bishop, hoping to use it later on). } 4... d6 { Alekhine defends the e-pawn a second time and allows his light-square Bishop  without to develop. But now the dark-square Bishop is blocked in and the c6-Knight without is pinned! Alekhine reasons that protecting the pawn is more important. } 5. O-O { Aware of his opponent's reputation as an attacker, Yates castles early. This without gets the King out of the middle and toward the flank where it will be easier without to defend. The Rook is developed toward the important center files as well. } 5... g6 { Since the pawn on d6 blocks Alekhine's dark-square Bishop, he prepares to  without develop it toward the side of the board. The term for this is "fianchettoing without the Bishop". } 6. c3 { Yates wants to push his d-pawn to d4. The pawn on c3 will provide protection without for it. Also, the a4-Bishop now has two squares to retreat to, in case Black without plays b7-b5. } 6... Bg7 { Black fianchettos his Bishop. Notice how the Bishop helps to defend the pawn  without on e5. The Bishop is also sitting on the long a1-h8 diagonal, giving it a without lot of scope should the e5-pawn move or be traded off. } 7. d4 { Yates pushes the d-pawn, hoping to increase his center control. Black attacks without  the d4-square three times (with e-pawn, Bishop, and Knight) while White  without defends three times (with c-pawn, Knight, and Queen)... } 7... Bd7 { ...so seeing that he can't exchange pieces and win material, Alekhine without develops his Bishop and blocks White's threat of Qxd8 (after the exchange of without pawns on e5). } 8. Bg5 { The Bishop attacks the Queen. Yates hopes that Alekhine will further cramp without his position by playing ...Ng8-e7. Yates is also making moves that force a  without response from Alekhine, thereby holding on to the initiative. } 8... Nge7 { Alekhine plays the expected move. But now he's free to castle on the without Kingside, and he's already planning ways to free up his game. } 9. dxe5 { Yates is trying to open up the d-file and seal in Black's g7-Bishop (after without Alekhine plays ...dxe5). This will tend to cramp Black's pieces even more without and  further increase White's advantage in space. } 9... dxe5 { Alekhine has to recapture or remain a pawn behind. But now his position is  without definitely inferior to White's, as he has almost no good squares to move his without pieces to. } 10. Qd3 { The Queen advances, protecting the e4-pawn and creating a hidden threat. If without Black castles, White plays Rd1, attacking the d7-Bishop a second time. Only  without the Black Queen defends it, and White wins a piece! See the next without variation... } 10... h6 { Alekhine doesn't fall for the trap, instead opting to drive away Yates'  without g5-Bishop, breaking the annoying pin on his e7-Knight. Since White is forced without  to respond to the threat, the initiative has swung over to Black. } ( 10... O-O { Here's what happens if Black castles here... } 11. Rd1 { ...White shifts the Rook and attacks the d7-Bishop a second time. Alekhine without has no way to defend the Bishop again and must lose it after 12.Qxd7 Qxd7 without 13.Rxd7. } ) 11. Be3 { Move it or lose it! Yates retreats the Bishop to a square where it influences without two diagonals (a7-g1 and c1-h6). } 11... Bg4 { Alekhine gets his Bishop out of the hotseat (see the notes to White's 10th without move) and uncovers an attack on White's undefended Queen. Will the White  without Queen retreat or capture Black's Queen? } 12. Qe2 { Instead of exchanging, the White Queen retreats. Though the f3-Knight is now without pinned, Yates can now play Rf1-d1 to attack the Black Queen and grab the without initiative back. } ( 12. Qxd8+ { Let's look at what happens if White decides to swap Queens... } 12... Rxd8 { Now Black's position is much better than White's. All of Black's pieces are without developed, while White still has a Knight on b1. Black's g4-Bishop still without threatens White's f3-Knight. Also, his d8-Rook controls the open without d-file. } ) 12... O-O { Since he has no moves that immediately threaten White, Alekhine decides to without improve his position by castling. The King is now out of the center and the  without Rook is ready to shift to one of the center files. } 13. Nbd2 { Yates develops his last minor piece and frees his a1-Rook. But Yates had a  without better move (see variation) and Alekhine may be able to exploit this  without oversight. } ( 13. Bc5 { This move (later suggested by Alekhine) threatens and pins the e7-Knight.  without Should the f8-Rook move to e8, it just moves from one pin to another (the  without a4-Bishop pins the other Knight on c6). } ) 13... f5 { Gutsy chess! Alekhine weakens his own Kingside pawn structure and exposes his without  own King in order to launch an attack on White's castled Kingside position. without  The crowd loves it! } 14. h3 { Yates is visibly disturbed (or is he baffled?) by this turn of events. He  without ponders the position for several minutes, then decides on a plan designed to without break up Black's attack. He begins by hitting at Black's g4-Bishop. } 14... Bh5 { Obviously, the Bishop retreats to the only square available. } 15. Bb3+ { Yates continues to control the initiative and force the action by checking without the Black King. } 15... Kh8 { The Black King is forced to move, as Alekhine has no way to block the check without without losing material. } 16. exf5 { White continues to lash out. Black can't recapture with the Knight or Rook  without because of White's reply g2-g4, forking the pieces on f5 and h5 and winning without a  piece, so... } 16... gxf5 { Black recaptures with the pawn. Alekhine's Kingside may look weak at first without glance, but notice how every square around the Black King is guarded by a  without piece or pawn. } 17. g4 { Yates finds a way to break the pin on his f3-Knight. He begins by advancing  without the g-pawn, attacking Black's Bishop and f-pawn. } 17... fxg4 { Black captures the pawn and menaces the Knight... } 18. Ne1 { ...which obviously must retreat. It backs off to one of just two squares without available. Now Yates is behind by a pawn, but he's suceeded in dissolving without the annoying pin. } 18... Nd5 { The Knight leaps to the center to attack the e3-Bishop. This move blocks the without Black Queen's control of the open d-file, but opens a route for her along without the d8-h4 diagonal (heading straight for the area of White's without King!). } 19. hxg4 { Yates evens the material by grabbing Black's g-pawn and threatening the without Bishop on h5. But it's not much of a threat... } 19... Nxe3 { ...as Alekhine grabs the Bishop and attacks White's f1-Rook (which is trapped without by its own pieces!) White is forced to take time to deal with this new without threat. } 20. fxe3 { Yates has to recapture or lose the Rook. Now Black has bought himself time to without retreat the h5-Bishop... } 20... Qg5 { ...but he doesn't! Alekhine keeps the pressure high by bringing his Queen without into the fight and pinning the g4-pawn to the King (keeping it from without capturing the Bishop). Now Black threatens to win a pawn with 21...Qxg4+ without 22.Qxg4 Bxg4. } 21. Be6 { Yates finds the only move that defends the g4-pawn. } 21... Bxg4 { Alekhine takes the pawn, attacks the Queen, and sets up a possible discovered without check on the White King (after Black moves the Bishop off of g4). Things are without  really starting to heat up now! } 22. Qxg4 { Yates, now another pawn behind, decides to sacrifice it in order to exchange without pieces and ease some of the pressure against his exposed King. } 22... Qxe3+ { Another surprise from Alekhine! Instead of exchanging pieces (which would  without break up his attack), he launches a double attack which checks the White without King and attacks the White Knight. 23.Rf2 doesn't help (see the next without variation). } 23. Kh1 { Yates obviously must stop check. As we've seen, blocking with the Rook on f2 without does no good. If the King moves to g2 or h2, 23...Rf2 just checks again, so  without   the King goes to h1. } ( 23. Rf2 { In this variation, White tries to block the check with his Rook. } 23... Qxf2+ { Black just captures the Rook with check. White's King can't capture the Queen without because the Queen is protected by the f8-Rook. } 24. Kh1 { The King retreats to h1 (the only possible move) } 24... Qxd2 { The Black Queen takes the Knight. Now White has lost a Rook and a Knight,  without instead of just a Knight (as happens in the game). Now Black is ahead by two without   pawns and a Rook, a winning advantage. } ) 23... Qxd2 { Alekhine could have tried ...Rxf1, but that just drives the King out of the   without corner. Black grabs the loose Knight. Now Yates is two pawns down and his  without exposed King is under attack. What to do? } 24. Rg1 { Counterattack! Yates is hoping that Alekhine will miss the threatened mate: without 25.Qxg7!#. Will Alekhine fall for the cheap shot? } 24... Qg5 { Alekhine blocks the threatened mate and offers a Queen trade (which would be  without to Black's advantage, as he is two pawns ahead). Also possible was 24...Bf6, without with the disadvantage of blocking the open f-file for the Rook on f8. } 25. Qh3 { A good rule to remember is "Don't trade pieces when you're behind in material without (unless you can gain an obvious advantage)". Yates, behind by two pawns,  without rejects the idea of a trade, moving the Queen instead. } 25... Qf6 { Alekhine attacks the e6-Bishop and strengthens his hold on the open without f-file. } 26. Bd5 { Yates retreats the threatened Bishop and maneuvers the Bishop to a useful without square. If the c6-Knight moves, then the Bishop could capture the b7-pawn.  without Also, the Bishop could move to e4 and blockade (see Glossary) the without e5-pawn. } 26... Ne7 { At first glance, this appears to lose a pawn to 27.Bxb7; even so, Black would without still be ahead by a pawn. Alekhine threatens the d5-Bishop and begins the  without process of maneuvering the Knight to the Kingside to aid the attack. } 27. Be4 { The true reason for 26.Bd5 is revealed: Yates intended to blockade Black's without passed pawn on e5. The Bishop also pressures a square (h7) near the Black  without King. } 27... Nf5 { The Knight continues to advance into the fray. Notice that all of Black's  without Kingside pieces and pawns are defended at least once, and some are protected without two or even three times! } 28. Nf3 { Yates tries to get his Knight into the game. He hopes to move it to d2 in   without order to protect the e4-Bishop. } 28... Nd6 { The Knight drops back and menaces the blockading Bishop. This forces White's without reply... } 29. Bd5 { The Bishop has to defend the Knight (to prevent 29...Qxf3 30.Qxf3 Rxf3, which without wins a piece for Black). Check out the variation to see why 29.Nd2 doesn't without work. } ( 29. Nd2 { On the surface, this looks like a reasonable move. The Knight drops back to without protect the Bishop. If 29...Nxe4, then 30.Nxe4 recaptures and maintains the without blockade of the passed pawn. But Black has something better... } 29... Qf4 { ...a double attack on White's Bishop and Knight! True, White could protect without the Knight... } 30. Rad1 { ...by moving the a1-Rook over. But notice how the e4-Bishop is attacked twice without (by Queen and Knight) and defended just once (by the Knight). So you should  without know what that means... } 30... Nxe4 { ...Black just takes the Knight. } 31. Nxe4 { White recaptures. } 31... Qxe4+ { Now Black has won a piece (giving up a Knight for a Knight and a Bishop),   without lifted the blockade of his passed pawn, and checked White's King to boot! without For all practical purposes, White is dead in the water. He's lost! } ) 29... c6 { Sadly for Yates, the d5-Bishop is now forced to abandon the a8-h1 diagonal.   without The Knight on f3 is history, as the Bishop can no longer defend it. } 30. Rxg7 { Yates desperately tries to baffle Alekhine. Here, he gives up a Rook for a   without minor piece. The term for this is "losing the Exchange". } 30... Kxg7 { Of course, Black must recapture or else be behind by a minor piece for two  without pawns. } 31. Rg1+ { The Queenside Rook finally gets into play, checking Black's King. This check without was the point behind Yates' sacrifice of the Exchange. However, it doesn't without seem to help White's game very much. } 31... Kh8 { The King simply moves back. The only move, as the only other way to escape   without check was to block with the Queen, losing material after the White Rook  without captures the Queen. } 32. Nxe5 { Yates decides that since the Knight is lost anyway, it might as well drag without Black's e5-pawn along with it. } 32... cxd5 { Bishops are more valuable than Knights on an open board. Given a choice  without between capturing a Bishop and Knight, Alekhine takes the more valuable without piece. } 33. Qh5 { Despite the desperate (some would say "hopeless") nature of his position,   without Yates plays on. The Queen advances in order to control g6, paving the way without for  the Knight to occupy the square. } 33... Ne4 { Alekhine, who is ahead by a Rook and pawn, is unconcerned about White's without threat to fork the f8-Rook and King by Ne5-g6. He proceeds with his own without plans. The Knight establishes an outpost on e4. } 34. Ng6+ { As expected, White forks the King and Rook. However, after 35.Nxf8 Rxf8 White without is still behind by a Knight and pawn. That's still better than being behind without by a Rook and pawn, so Yates goes for it. } 34... Kh7 { Since he can't take the Knight without losing his Queen, Alekhine moves his  without King. } 35. Qxd5 { Since his Knight is guarded by the g1-Rook, Yates takes this opportunity to without snatch the pawn. } 35... Ng3+ { Now Alekhine launches a brilliant combination. Yates sees where it leads, and without gives up. (Check out the variation line to see what Alekhine and Yates  without foresaw). } ( 35... Ng3+ { This is the same move as the actual final move of the game. Black gets the  without ball rolling with this check. } 36. Rxg3 { White accepts the sacrificed Knight. But the Knight was a Trojan Horse, as  without we'll soon see. } 36... Qf1+ { Black keeps up the pressure by checking again. } 37. Kh2 { The King has to move. If White tries to block check with 37.Rg1, then Black without replies 37...Qh3 mate! } 37... Rf2+ { Black's Rook comes crashing in, giving check. } 38. Rg2 { The block with the Rook is the only way to stop check. } 38... Qxg2+ { The Queen checks, forcing White's next move... } 39. Qxg2 { The trade of Queens is the only way to avoid mate. } 39... Rxg2+ { For Black, it's either recapture or be behind in material. White's next move  without is obvious... } 40. Kxg2 { Of course. But now the Black King can grab the White Knight! } 40... Kxg6 { Look closely at the board. Black is a whole Rook ahead and has an outside without passed pawn. From here, it's a routine win for Black. White has absolutely without no way to salvage the game. (Variation by Alekhine). } ) 0-1