Capa At His Best #3... Bullying The Bully

[Event "New York"]
[Site "New York, NY USA"]
[Date "1924.03.23"]
[EventDate "1924.03.16"]
[Round "6"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Jose Raul Capablanca"]
[Black "Savielly Tartakower"]
[ECO "A80"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "104"]

1. d4 {Notes by Alekhine and Reti.} e6 2. Nf3 f5 3. c4 Nf6
4. Bg5 Be7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. e3 b6 7. Bd3 Bb7 8. O-O Qe8 9. Qe2
Ne4 10. Bxe7 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Qxe7 12. a4 Bxf3 13. Qxf3 Nc6
14. Rfb1 Rae8 15. Qh3 Rf6 16. f4 Na5 17. Qf3 d6 18. Re1 Qd7
19. e4 fxe4 20. Qxe4 g6 21. g3 Kf8 22. Kg2 Rf7 23. h4 d5
24. cxd5 exd5 25. Qxe8+ Qxe8 26. Rxe8+ Kxe8 27. h5 {! This is
the calamity--the Rook now enters the hostile camp. --
Alekhine} Rf6 28. hxg6 hxg6 29. Rh1 {White plays logically to
utilize his advantage on the K-side and very properly does not
concern himself with the weakness of the Q-side. Black, on the
other hand, makes a defensive move which he could perhaps have
omitted. -- Reti} Kf8 30. Rh7 Rc6 31. g4 {Anxious nature might
have moved the King towards the queenside, but Capablanca
adheres to the principle of aggression that governs rook
endings. -- Reti} Nc4 32. g5 {He gives his opponent the
opportunity of winning a pawn. But Capablanca has confidence
in the passed pawn which he obtains. -- Reti} Ne3+ 33. Kf3 Nf5
34. Bxf5 {Simple and compelling. -- Alekhine} gxf5 35. Kg3
{Decisive! White sacrifices material in order to obtain the
classical position with King on f6, pawn on g6, and Rook on
h7, whereupon the black pawns tumble like ripe apples. --
Alekhine} Rxc3+ {It is extremely instructive to see how
Capablanca is no longer in the least concerned about material
equality, but thinks only of supporting his passed pawn. --
Reti} 36. Kh4 Rf3 37. g6 Rxf4+ 38. Kg5 Re4 39. Kf6 {It is a
frequently available finesse in such positions not to capture
hostile pawns, but to pass them by in order to be protected in
the rear against checks by the rook. -- Reti} Kg8 40. Rg7+ Kh8
41. Rxc7 Re8 42. Kxf5 {Again the simplest. Kf7 would not yet
have been disastrous because of Rd8, etc. -- Alekhine} Re4
43. Kf6 Rf4+ 44. Ke5 Rg4 45. g7+ Kg8 {After exchanging rooks,
White would win still more easily. -- Alekhine} 46. Rxa7 Rg1
47. Kxd5 Rc1 48. Kd6 Rc2 49. d5 Rc1 50. Rc7 Ra1 51. Kc6 Rxa4
52. d6 {Capablanca's management of the endgame gives the
impression of being so natural that one easily forgets the
difficulty of such precise play. The difficulty is chiefly
psychological. In chess, as in life, one is so accustomed to
place value on the material factors that it is not easy to
conceive the idea of indulging in pawn sacrifices when there
is so little available material. --Reti} 1-0