[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker,Ed"]
[Black "Alekhine,A"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "C78"]
[PlyCount "115"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 { An unusual approach. Most players plant the Bishop on e7. Alekhine later indicated in the tournament book that this was an old idea of Moeller's. } 6. d3 Qe7 7. Nc3 { Lasker's idea is 8.Nd5 Nxd5 9.exd5, attacking the Knight on c6. } 7... Nd4 8. Nxd4 Bxd4 9. Ne2 { This move has a dual purpose: the Knight heads for the Kingside and threatens the d4-Bishop. } 9... Ba7 10. Ng3 { Lasker's idea is to post the Knight on f5. } 10... g6 { Alekhine stops the Knight dead in its tracks, but weakens the dark squares on the Kingside. } 11. Bh6 { Lasker is quick to exploit the Kingside weakness. Now the Black King can't castle on the Kingside. } 11... b5 12. Bb3 d6 13. h3 { This keeps Black from playing ...Ng4 with the idea of removing the annoying h6-Bishop. } 13... Be6 14. Qf3 { Lasker's plan now is to play Bg7, forking the h8-Rook and f6-Knight. } 14... Nd7 15. Nf5 { This appears to lose the Knight, but it's just an illusion; Lasker will regain the piece quickly. } 15... gxf5 16. exf5 d5 ( 16... Bxb3 { This doesn't work. } 17. axb3 { The Rook bears down on a6. } ) 17. fxe6 fxe6 { The e6-pawn covers d5, but Black's Kingside pawns have been ripped away. } 18. Be3 { "Why??!!??" we wonder. There was no threat to the Bishop and it was cramping Black from its post on h6. Lasker appears to have made a big mistake! } 18... Rf8 { This move was made possible by the Bishop abandoning its post on h6. } 19. Qh5+ Qf7 20. Qxf7+ { If Lasker doesn't play this, Black will castle Queenside and the Black Queen and two Rooks will use the open f- and g-files to attack the White King. } 20... Rxf7 21. c3 Ke7 22. Rae1 a5 { Alekhine's pawns advance ominously towards White's Queenside. The advantage has suddenly shifted over to Black. } 23. Bd1 Kd6 { Centralizing the King. Despite the wealth of material on the board, this is technically already an endgame. Black's King seems safe from attack, so Alekhine is doing the right thing by centralizing it. } 24. Bh5 Rf6 25. Bg4 Bxe3 { Alekhine prepares a further pawn advance by swapping Bishops. This also helps to safeguard his King (the Black King is on a dark-square, so trading off dark-squared Bishops makes the King more secure). } 26. fxe3 b4 27. c4 { Lasker is trying to keep the Queenside closed. Otherwise Black's Rooks could attack simultaneously on open files on both sides of the board. } 27... Raf8 28. Rxf6 Nxf6 ( 28... Rxf6 { This is still met by 29.Rf1. } 29. Rf1 { Black must either trade Rooks or abandon the f-file. If the Rook leaves the file, the White Rook invades on either f7 or f8. } ) 29. Rf1 e4 { Alekhine's plan now is to swap off pawns to get a 3 to 2 pawn majority on the a- to c-files. } 30. cxd5 exd3 31. dxe6 c5 { Alekhine's plan has succeeded, but both players now have an advanced passed pawn. Note, however, that both promotion squares are covered by opposing minor pieces. } 32. b3 d2 33. Bf3 Ne4 { A startling move at first glance, until you look a bit deeper. White can't take the Knight (see the variations to White's next move). } 34. Rd1 ( 34. Bxe4 { Note that the Bishop no longer covers d1. } 34... Rxf1+ 35. Kxf1 d1=Q+ ) 34... Nc3 35. Rxd2+ Kxe6 { Now each side must rely on their respective pawn majorities if a win is to be had. } 36. Kf1 Rf7 37. Ke1 Ke5 38. Rd8 { "Get your Rook behind the pawns" is good endgame advice. This includes getting one's Rook behind the enemy pawns! Lasker is now gunning for the a- and c-pawns. } 38... Rc7 39. Re8+ ( 39. Ra8 a4 40. bxa4 Nxa2 41. a5 b3 42. a6 b2 43. Re8+ { White has to play this -- his Rook was in the way of his own pawn's advance. By checking the King, White gains a tempo. } 43... Kd6 44. Rb8 Nb4 { Blocking the Rook's threat to the b-pawn. } 45. Be4 Re7 { The position is better for Black. (Variation by Alekhine). } ) 39... Kf6 40. Rf8+ Ke5 41. Re8+ ( 41. Ra8 Nxa2 ( 41... a4 42. bxa4 Nxa2 { Similar to Alekhine's variation given above. } ) 42. Rxa5 ) 41... Kf6 42. Rf8+ ( 42. Ra8 { This variation was still possible. } 42... Nxa2 ( 42... a4 43. bxa4 Nxa2 ) 43. Rxa5 ) 42... Kg7 { It's either play this or agree to a draw. Alekhine later said he should have taken the draw here. } 43. Ra8 a4 44. bxa4 Nxa2 45. a5 c4 { Even though the b-pawn is farther along toward promotion, Alekhine chooses to advance the c-pawn as it's supported by the Rook. } 46. a6 c3 ( 46... b3 47. a7 b2 48. Be4 ) 47. Bd1 { The Bishop cuts off the advance of both pawns. } 47... Nc1 { Covering for the b-pawn. } 48. a7 { The a8-Rook is in the way of the pawn, so now it's stuck -- it can't move without the loss of the pawn. Consequently, Black's attention now shifts to the Kingside. } 48... Kh6 49. g4 Rg7 50. h4 ( 50. Bc2 { An interesting move that gives the Bishop possibilities on both sides of the board. } 50... b3 51. Kd1 ) 50... b3 51. Rc8 Rxa7 52. Rxc3 b2 53. Rc6+ Kg7 54. Rb6 Ra1 { The idea of course is to win a piece. } 55. Rb7+ Kg8 56. Rb8+ Kg7 57. Rb7+ Kg8 58. Rb8+ { Lasker's only hope to avoid a loss is a draw by threefold repetition. } 1/2