[Event "New York"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1924.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lasker,Ed"]
[Black "Tartakower,S"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Lopez "Battle Royale""]
[ECO "D48"]
[PlyCount "71"]

1. d4 Nf6 { Tartakower picks a cagey move order. He could follow up with 2...g6 or 2...b6 (playing an Indian system), 2...d5 (a standard Queen's Gambit), or 2...e6 (with a couple of different choices possible at that point). } 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 { The game has become a Queen's Gambit. } 4... c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 { Black usually waits for White to develop his Kingside Bishop before making this capture. Why? } 7. Bxc4 { Because White must then waste a tempo in movng the Bishop a second time. } 7... b5 { Tartakower kicks the Bishop yet again. } 8. Bd3 a6 9. O-O c5 10. a4 { Lasker now attempts to thwart his opponent's Queenside ambitions. } 10... b4 { Black gains space } 11. Ne4 { It looks like Lasker is starting to pile up on the c5-pawn. } 11... Bb7 12. Nxf6+ ( 12. Qc2 { We see here why the pileup on the c5-pawn was doomed to failure. } 12... Rc8 { The pawn is attacked three times and defended three times -- White can't bring up another attacker, so he can't win the pawn. } ) 12... Nxf6 13. Qe2 { Preparing to win material; should the b7-Bishop move, the Bishop-Queen battery wins a pawn. } 13... cxd4 14. Nxd4 Qd5 { An obvious mate threat. } 15. f3 { Lasker blocks the mate. } 15... Bd6 { Tartakower continues with the same theme of a Kingside attack. } 16. Rd1 { A common strategic idea: the Rook goes to the open file. } 16... O-O 17. Bc4 Qc5 18. Bd2 { The Bishop vacates c1, which will allow the a1-Rook to take over the second open file (and the one on which the Black Queen resides, to boot!). } 18... Qc7 { Tartakower creates his own threatening Bishop-Queen battery. } 19. g3 { Lasker again blocks the threat with a pawn push. But notice the space that's being created around the White King -- very dangerous with two Black Bishops bearing down on the Kingside. } 19... Qa5 { Tartakower is overprotecting the b4-pawn. This may seem wasteful at first glance, but think about it: now either the Queen or d6-Bishop is free to roam elsewhere, while the pawn will remain protected. } ( 19... Rfc8 { Tartakower might have tried this, but it leads nowhere... } 20. Rac1 { The Bishop is adequately protected. White now also has the threat of Bxa6 with a discovered attack on the Black Queen. } ) 20. e4 { Lasker's idea is to fork the Bishop and Knight by advancing the pawn to e5. } 20... Rfd8 { Tartakower kills the intended fork. Check the variaton to White's next move to see why. } 21. Nb3 ( 21. e5 Bc5 ( 21... Qxe5 { More simple, but not as much fun. } ) 22. exf6 Bxd4+ 23. Kg2 Bxf6 { And Black has won a pawn (with an additional threat thrown into the mix). } ) 21... Qh5 { Tartakower brings his Queen over to the Kingside (the side his Bishops are aimed at). } 22. Rac1 Nd7 23. Qf2 Bc6 24. Nd4 Bxa4 25. b3 Bb5 ( 25... Bc5 26. Be3 Bxd4 27. Rxd4 Bb5 28. Bxb5 Qxb5 { White has a slight edge due to his control of the open files. } ( 28... axb5 29. Rcd1 ) ) 26. g4 ( 26. Bxb5 { Lasker missed this, which leads to a better game for him. } 26... axb5 27. Nc6 Bc5 28. Be3 Bxe3 29. Qxe3 Ra2 30. h4 Rda8 31. Rxd7 ) 26... Qg6 { The Queen's retreat allows Lasker the chance to to win back the lost pawn. } ( 26... Qh3 27. Bg5 Nf6 28. Nxb5 Nxe4 29. fxe4 Qxg4+ 30. Kh1 Qxg5 31. Nxd6 Rxd6 32. Qg3 Qxg3 33. hxg3 Rxd1+ 34. Rxd1 { Despite the deficit in pawns, White's Bishop gives him the edge. } ) 27. Bxb5 ( 27. Nxb5 axb5 28. Bxb5 Ne5 { Black edges his forces toward the Kingside, but White should have no problems. } ) 27... axb5 28. Nc6 { Lasker surprises everyone by passing up the pawn and going after the Rook. Why? } ( 28. Nxb5 Be7 { White wins back the pawn with an equal position. } ) 28... Rdc8 { Not the best choice (see the variation). } ( 28... Re8 { Black's best bet was to let White have the c-file and get his Rook back toward his King. } ) 29. Be3 { And now we see the point of the Knight move: the Rook no longer defends the d7-Knight. Lasker's Bishop move uncovers an attack against both minor pieces hanging loose on the d-file. } 29... e5 { Tartakower clears a path to allow the Queen to defend the d6-Bishop. } 30. Qd2 { The Queen joins the pileup on the Bishop. } 30... Qf6 31. Kg2 { Now Lasker has all of his weaknesses covered. } 31... Bc5 32. Qxd7 Bxe3 ( 32... Rxc6 33. Rxc5 Rxc5 34. Bxc5 h5 { Black is no better off than he was in the actual game. } ) 33. Ne7+ { WHAM! The steel trap snaps shut! } 33... Qxe7 { Tartakower has no choice (see the variations). } ( 33... Kf8 34. Rxc8+ Rxc8 35. Qxc8+ Kxe7 36. Rd7+ Ke6 37. Qc6# ) ( 33... Kh8 34. Rxc8+ Rxc8 35. Qxc8# ) 34. Rxc8+ { And the fat lady begins her song... } ( 34. Qxe7 { While White would still be winning, he'd be in for a longer haul after this move. } 34... Bxc1 35. Rd7 Rf8 36. Qxe5 Ra2+ 37. Kf1 h6 { Black will still lose, but he'll have the chance to harass White along the way. } ) 34... Rxc8 35. Qxc8+ Qf8 36. Rd8 { Tartakower sees there's no way to avoid defeat, so he throws in the towel. } ( 36. Rd8 Bc5 37. Rxf8+ Bxf8 38. Qe8 { Black has (literally) no moves except to push the pawns in front of his King. White will eventually either win the Bishop (and the game) or break through on the Kingside using his King as an attacker in support of the pawnstorm. } ) 1-0