[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bogoljubow,E"]
[Black "Alekhine,A"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "C15"]
[PlyCount "170"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. Ne2 dxe4 { Since the c3-Knight is pinned, Alekhine decides to go ahead and release the tension in the center. } 6. a3 Be7 7. Bxf6 { Bogo removes the e4-pawn's defender. } 7... gxf6 8. Nxe4 { Although Black's f-pawns are doubled, this really isn't a weakness yet. The f6-pawn is well-defended and helps Black control the center. } 8... b6 9. N2c3 f5 { Alekhine decides to kick the well-placed central Knight. } 10. Ng3 Bb7 { The Bishop is strongly-placed, controlling the long a8-h1 diagonal. } 11. Bb5+ c6 { Although this blocks the Bishop's long diagonal, it's really Black's only choice (see the variations). } ( 11... Nd7 { At first glance, this seems to be a reasonable move... } 12. d5 { ...but it allows White to advance the d-pawn. } 12... exd5 13. Nxd5 c6 14. Nxe7 Qxe7+ 15. Be2 { White now has the better of it, since the doubled f-pawns have now become a weakness. } ) ( 11... Bc6 12. Bxc6+ Nxc6 13. d5 { This is no better -- Black has given up his great fianchettoed Bishop and White can advance the d-pawn (just as we saw in the other variation). } ) 12. Bc4 Nd7 { It's OK to play the Knight here now. White can't advance the d-pawn because of the two pawns defending d5, so blocking the Queen's control of d5 is not a problem. } 13. Qe2 Nf6 14. O-O-O Qd6 15. Rhe1 Nd5 16. Nxd5 cxd5 { Now the b7-Bishop really does run right into a brick wall. } 17. Bb5+ Kd8 18. Kb1 { This is pretty standard positioning for the King in Queenside castled positions. The King guards the a-pawn. } 18... h5 { Preventing White's planned Qh5. Meanwhile, Alekhine plans his own Kingside offensive. } 19. Nxh5 Qxh2 20. Ng3 Qh4 21. Rh1 Qf6 22. Nh5 { Bogo has a lot of reasonable moves to choose from. This one is less forcing than the other moves, but it does grab the initiative by attacking the Queen. } ( 22. Rxh8+ Qxh8 { Although the Queen is in the corner, it's not badly placed. It controls both a long diagonal and an open file. White can't do anything to harass the Queen here -- Rh1 loses a pawn to ...Qxd4. } ) ( 22. Qe5 Qxe5 23. dxe5 Kc7 { The position is even. White will have a hard time coming up with a plan in this position. His Bishop can't get at the f7-pawn and his own g2-pawn can easily become a target. } ) ( 22. Ba6 Kc7 { This simple-looking move actually accomplishes a lot: it defends the b7-Bishop while connecting the Rooks. } ( 22... Rxh1 23. Rxh1 Bxa6 24. Qxa6 Qxd4 25. c3 Qf6 26. Qb7 Rc8 27. Qxa7 { White is on the attack. } ) ) 22... Qg5 23. f4 Qg6 24. Rd3 { Lifting the Rook to the third rank, where it will swing over to join the Kingside hostilities. } 24... a6 25. Rg3 { Bogo meets the threat against his Bishop with a stronger threat against the Black Queen. } 25... Rxh5 $1 { Now the fireworks begin! Alekhine had to calculate a very complex tree of tactics to be able to come up with this move -- see the variations over the next several moves. } ( 25... Qh6 { Playable, but weaker than Black's actual move. } ) 26. Qxh5 $1 ( 26. Rxg6 Rxh1+ 27. Ka2 fxg6 28. Qxe6 axb5 29. Qxb6+ Kc8 ( 29... Ke8 30. Qxb5+ Kf7 31. Qxb7 ) 30. Qe6+ Kb8 31. Qxe7 ) 26... Qxh5 ( 26... Qxg3 27. Qxf7 axb5 28. Qxe6 Qg7 ) 27. Rxh5 axb5 { Now that the smoke has cleared, we can take a look at the position. Alekhine has two Bishops for a Rook, which tends to be an advantage (the Bishops can team up to cover a lot of territory), but his pawn structure is a mess. Overall, Black is a bit better, but White will have plenty of chances in the moves ahead. } 28. Rh7 Kd7 29. Rxf7 Rf8 30. Rh7 { It is definitely not in White's best interests to swap off a pair of Rooks, as two Bishops working as a team can dominate a lone Rook. } 30... Re8 { The game will now become one of threats, counterthreats, and maneuvers. } 31. Rg6 Bc8 32. c3 { Bogo links up his pawns to strengthen the d4-pawn. } 32... Kc7 33. Kc2 { Now that the endgame is here, it's time to start centralizing the King. } 33... Bd7 34. Rgg7 Kd6 35. Kd2 Bc6 36. Rg6 { The idea is to snatch another pawn after Rh5 and Rxf5 (the e6-pawn is pinned and can't recapture). } 36... Rf8 { Alekhine provides another defender for the f5-pawn, nipping White's plan in the bud. } 37. Ke3 Bf6 38. Ra7 ( 38. Rgh6 { This accomplishes nothing really (except the strengthen control of the h-file), but is still better than what was played. It was a bad idea to separate the White Rooks. } ) 38... Bd7 { Good move! Alekhine has now disconnected the White Rooks by blocking the open rank. The a7-Rook will have a hard time rejoining its brother. } 39. Kf3 Bd8 40. Rg7 Bc7 41. Rh7 Rd8 42. g3 Bb8 43. Rb7 Bc7 { Both players are probing for weaknesses by making easily-countered threats. Sometimes it's a good idea to just make simple threats, racking up a few moves toward making time control, and saving your clock time for when you really need it. } 44. Ra7 { Bogo wants to see if Black will play ...Bb8 again and settle for a draw. } 44... Kc6 { Alekhine is content to sit on his good defensive position and wait for his opponent to make a mistake. } 45. a4 { Bogo needs to clear the a-file so that he can break his Rook out. } 45... bxa4 46. Rxa4 b5 47. Ra1 { At last, freedom for the Rook! Now it can still control the a-file or else swing over to the Kingside and rejoin its twin. } 47... b4 48. Ke3 Bb6 49. Ra4 bxc3 50. bxc3 { It's to Alekhine's advantage to clear out some pawns so that his Bishop pair can fly into action. } 50... Rg8 51. Kf2 Rc8 { Now we return to a battle of maneuver. } 52. Ra3 Kd6 53. Rh1 Rb8 54. Raa1 Bb5 55. Ke3 Rg8 56. Rhg1 { Little by little, Alekhine is using his freedom of movement to force his opponent into an increasingly defensive position. } 56... Kc6 57. Kd2 Bc4 58. Rae1 Kd6 59. Ra1 Bc7 60. Ke3 Kc6 61. Kd2 Bd8 { Alekhine's plan is to play ...e5, allowing his Bishop and King to infiltrate White's position (see the variations). } 62. Rae1 { Bogo fights back by making repeated initiative-grabbing threats. } 62... Rg6 63. Ra1 Be7 64. Rae1 { Now, however, Bogo is out of threats, so he just starts playing waiting moves to see what his opponent will do. } 64... Bd6 65. Kc2 Kd7 66. Ra1 Bc7 67. Kd2 Kc6 68. Rae1 Bd6 69. Kc2 Kc7 70. Kd2 Kd7 71. Ra1 Kc6 72. Rae1 Kc7 73. Ra1 Rg8 74. Rae1 Kd7 75. Ra1 Bc7 76. Rab1 Ra8 77. Ra1 Rh8 78. Rh1 Rg8 { Alekhine doesn't want to trade off a pair of Rooks. He wants a Rook around to be able to make threats. } 79. Rhg1 Bd8 80. Rae1 Be7 81. Rb1 Kc7 82. Rbe1 Bd6 83. Ra1 Kc6 84. Rae1 Kc7 85. Ra1 Kd7 { It's clear to both players that Bogo's not going to allow Alekhine to break the center, so the players call a truce. } 1/2