Capablanca-Euwe 1931 candidates’ match, Game 4 [Event "Capablanca - Euwe"] [Site "Amsterdam"] [Date "1931.07.18"] [Round "4"] [White "M. Euwe"] [Black "J.R. Capablanca"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E40"][FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]{ <sub><em>Click or tap on a move in the game text for a popout display board.</em></sub></br>[#]} 1. d4 {</br> Some players would turn to 1. e4 after falling behind in a match, but Euwe stuck to 1. d4 here, and against fellow Dutchman Landau in 1932. Euwe eventually adopted 1. e4 in another <em>de facto</em> candidates match vs. Flohr in 1932. </br> Flohr tied that match, and another against Botvinnik in 1933, causing FIDE to favor him as the challenger to Alekhine. Capablanca was ranked #2 or #3 the whole time, but when winning the 1931 match against Euwe didn’t secure a rematch, he retired for almost three years. In 1932, he told the Spanish newspaper <em>ABC</em>: “[E]veryone understands that he is avoiding the match with me.” ) </br>} 1... Nf6 {</br> Even if Black were content to draw the rest of the games, 1…d5 wouldn’t necessarily signify a more peaceful mood, since 2…e6 plus 3…d5 can just as easily follow 1…Nf6. </br>} 2. c4 {</br> 2. Nf3 meshes best with 1. d4 for control over e5, but 2. c4 leaves the f-pawn free for f2-f3 to assist e2-e4.</br>} 2... e6 {</br> Until 1935 — when he experimented with 2…c6 and 2…g6 — Capablanca’s only alternative to 2…e6 was 2…d6. None of those opponents took the proverbial bull by the horns with 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. e4 e5 5. d5.</br>} 3. Nc3 ( {</br> In 1929, Capablanca played} 3. Nf3 b6 { seven times, achieving six wins and one draw, a win rate with black ascribed to Fischer in the ’70s. 1929 was to Capablanca as 1970 and ’71 were to Fischer; Fischer on a quest to win the world championship in ’72, Capablanca hungry to shred Alekhine in a rematch. </br>} ) 3... Bb4 {</br> When I grow up, I’ll abandon silly defenses to the Queen’s Gambit (2…e5, 2…Bf5, 2…c5), and aim for the Nimzo-Indian. I’ve read two books about it (one of by Gligoric; if you wanted to learn the important things about an opening in the ’70s, you read Gligoric’s “Game of the Month” in <em>Chess Life and Review</em>), and I’m sure covering the first four games of the Capablanca-Euwe match was better for my understanding .)</br>} 4. e3 {</br> Average players reason that if doubling the c-pawns is part of Black’s blockading strategy, then why not 4. Bd2 (Alekhine, Flohr, and Tartakover tried 4. Bd2; following Tartakover’s lead in the opening leads to original positions, which can’t be discounted). </br> 1) Half the reason for 4. Qc2 is fighting for control of e4.</br> 2) If the bishop recaptures on c3, it’s automatically caught behind the d4-pawn (that bishop wants g5, to pin the knight hitting e4 ). The queen more easily moves clear of the d4-pawn, while it’s the knight that benefits most of all from a recapture on c3, and 4. e3 makes Ng1-e2 possible. </br>} 4... d5 {</br> You might say 4…d5 is Capablanca’s adjustment from Game 2, in which Euwe got a fine game against 4…b6 with a timely d4-d5. </br>} 5. Ne2 {</br> Against every other 4th move, 5. Ne2 feels most logical (though a majority of players who agree with that prefer Bf1-d3 before Ng1-e2). When …d7-d5 comes, White should arrange to recapture on c4 with the bishop. 5. Bd3 retains that option, but doesn’t gain time after Bd3xc4. 5. a3 makes more sense than usual, because after 5…Bxc3+ 6. bxc3, White can undouble the c-pawns by c4xd5. 5. Nf3 has been played most frequently, transposing to a popular Queen’s Gambit line (for instance, Fischer-Spassky, Reykjavik 1972, game 1, with one of the most famous ‘poisoned pawns’ in history).</br> } 5... dxc4 {</br> The well-worn path is } (5... O-O 6. a3 Be7 7. cxd5 {. …d5xc4 is based on White’s inability to make the best recapture.</br>} ) 6. a3 {</br> One sign of a chess writer with nothing to say is the note “Putting the question to the bishop” without explaining what ‘the question’ is. Does the bishop want to maintain the pin as long as possible (risking b2-b4 in the future), or fall back to a more flexible square (mostly e7; d6 just once, but it was Fischer).</br> } 6... Ba5 {</br> Consistent.</br>} 7. Qa4+ ( 7. Ng3 b5 { is an annoyance White can easily avoid.</br>} ) 7... c6 {</br> Providing b8-h2 as a diagonal for the bishop.</br>} 8. Qxc4 {</br> Naturally.</br>} 8... O-O {</br> Sensibly.</br>} 9. Ng3 {</br> 9. g3 is common. Purdy said “don’t fianchetto a bishop when there’s already a line for its development”, but White has to spend an additional move to develop that bishop, anyway (Ne2-g3 or g2-g3 cost the same unit of time), so post the bishop on the longest diagonal (but without regard for the holes created at f3 and h3).</br>} 9... Nbd7 {</br> This knight is usually ticketed for d5, and …b8-d7-b6-d5 gains time along the way, while …b8-a6-c7-d5 does not. </br>} 10. f4 {</br> Syncs well with a knight on g3, and White has a little more reason than usual to avoid the isolated pawn that might arise from ….e6-e5xd4: The black knights are well placed for occupying d5, and the a5-bishop can hit d4 after …Ba5-b6 (bearing on White’s king position, when the typical …Be7-f6 looks the other way). </br>} 10... Nb6 {</br> The standard knight maneuver. Capablanca felt at home with this pawn structure (though the blocked queen bishop is something he tried to avoid). </br>} 11. Qd3 {</br> Taking a clearer diagonal than a2-g8 following 11. Qb3.</br>} 11... c5 {</br> Three reasons: Working toward equality in the center, making some air for the queen bishop, preventing the loss of the other bishop by b2-b4.</br>} 12. dxc5 {</br> The right answer, avoiding an isolated d-pawn, threatening to keep the pawn (or more) with b2-b4, and preparing to gain time with recapture on d3.</br>} 12... Qxd3 {</br> At a spatial disadvantage, Black trades to relieve some cramp (at this state of the match, the simplification also suits).</br>} 13. Bxd3 {</br> Forced.</br>} 13... Bxc3+ {</br> Sets up the fork to recover the pawn.</br>} 14. bxc3 {</br> Forced.</br>} 14... Na4 {</br> As planned.</br>} 15. c6 {</br> Well thought, bringing about a mirrored (equally rickety) queenside pawn structure. </br>} 15... bxc6 ( {</br> White gains a sudden initiative on } 15... Nxc3 16. Bd2{</br>} ) 16. Ne2 {</br> White’s kingside aggression was snuffed before it could begin. The relatively-offside knight recentralizes usefully. </br>} 16... Nc5 {</br> Black’s offside knight improves without loss of time.</br>} 17. Bc4 ( {</br> The a6-f1 diagonal — the hole at d3 in particular — works in Black’s favor on } 17. Bc2 Ba6{</br>} ) 17... Ba6 {[#]} 18. Bxa6 ( {</br> Danger lurks in reduced positions: } 18. Ba2 $2 Nd3+ 19. Kf1 Nxc1 20. Rxc1 Rab8 {, where Black will win material. </br>} ) 18... Nxa6 {</br> Reaching an ending with the usual Nimzo-Indian pluses: development lead, good knight vs. bad bishop (though it’s typically White’s light-squared bishop blocked by pawns).</br>} 19. Kd2 {</br> Headed toward the wing with the holes.</br>} 19... Rfe8 {</br> Who wouldn’t play …Rfd8+ in an instant? The trouble with such automatic rook moves is that they don’t account for where the rook goes next. Black could occupy the b- and d-files, but the battleground is so narrow that White’s defense can be closely focused. Opening the e-file stretches the defense, while removing one of the white pawns from a black square won’t much help the c1-bishop. Stockfish agrees with Capablanca’s plan — he was the original “chess machine”, after all. </br>} 20. Nd4 {</br> Stockfish wants to put rooks on the b- and d-files, evaluating 20. Nd4 as fourth-best, because it’s a threat Black can ignore.</br>} 20... e5 {</br> As planned. White oughtn’t capture on c6, for c3 falls victim to a fork from e4 and a skewer from c8.</br>} 21. fxe5 {</br> White just moved the knight to d4 — spending another tempo to move it again immediately is out of the question.</br>} 21... Rxe5 {</br> Black has conjured slight advantages in time and mobility something from nothing, but these advantages are fleeting. </br>} 22. Kc2 {</br> Doubling the scope of the bishop.</br>} 22... Nd5 {</br> The centralizing move bears on two targets.</br>} 23. Re1 {</br> I’d prefer a student play (in alphabetical order) 23. Rb1, 23. Rd1, or 23. Rf1. 23. Re1 holds the e3-pawn, but he wants that pawn to disappear (freeing the bishop). Stockfish agrees with the active rook moves as preferable to the passive move (though we’re talking about tenths of a pawn). </br>} 23... c5 ( {</br> Another weak pawn to abandon. } 23... Nc5 24. Nxc6 Rg5 25. Re2 Ne4 { plus one or two rooks moving to the c-file.</br>} ) 24. Nf3 {</br> The most secure square for the knight, and saving some time by attacking.</br>} 24... Re4 {</br> Along the fifth rank, the rook can slide to attack any white pawn.</br>} 25. Rb1 {</br> With a one-square rook move, the scales of time and mobility are balanced.</br>} 25... Rae8 {</br> Again “threatening” e3. The pieces are coordinated, but Black is bluffing at the capture.</br>} 26. Rb7 {</br> White’s threat to a7, on the other hand, is real. Stockfish thinks White has pulled ahead.</br>} 26... R4e7 {</br> Rb7xa7 isn’t a threat to ignore, and the best defense is a counterattack.</br>} 27. Rxe7 {</br> Relieving some pressure on the e-file.</br>} 27... Rxe7 {</br> Forced.</br>} 28. e4 {</br> Freeing the bishop, better at move 28 than never.</br>} 28... Nb6 {</br> 28…Nf6 invites a bishop pin at g5. </br>} 29. Rd1 {</br> The back-rank threat means the e4-pawn is untouchable.</br>} 29... f6 {</br> Choosing the luft move that limits the white minor pieces, and providiing central access to the king.</br>} 30. e5 {</br> Losing the e-pawn on his own terms.</br>} 30... Kf7 ( {</br> White has sufficient piece mobility to compensate for} 30... fxe5 31. Rd8+ Kf7 32. Ng5+ Kg6{</br>}) 31. exf6 {</br> The weakening of the black kingside pawns won’t lead to trouble. White commands too few pieces for effective coordinatiion. </br>} 31... gxf6 {</br> Surely not 31…Kxf6?.</br>} 32. Re1 {</br> Peace talks begin.</br>} 32... Rxe1 {</br> Sounds good to Black.</br>} 33. Nxe1 {</br> Forced.</br>} 33... Ke6 {</br> On the surface, Game 4 was an uneventful draw, but underneath, the flow from Black’s advantage to White’s advantage to equal — though neither player made a significant mistake — was remarkable.</br>} 1/2-1/2 * You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization. Source image for thumbnails.
