Thursday, June 21, 2018

Richard Reti X Efim Bogoljubow - New York 1924

[Event "New York"] [Site "New York"] [Date "1924.04.02"] [Round "12"] [White "Reti, Richard"] [Black "Bogoljubow, Efim"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E01"] [WhiteElo "2555"] [BlackElo "2590"] [Annotator ""] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1924.03.16"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "20"] [EventCountry "USA"] [EventCategory "14"] {The Players Richard Réti (1889–1929) was born in what was then Hungary but he later adopted Czechoslovakian nationality. Réti was one of the leading figures in the “Hypermodern” school of chess, which revolutionized chess thinking in the period after the First World War. The new ideas introduced by the Hypermoderns had a particular impact on opening play. It had always been accepted that opening play had three main objectives: to develop the pieces, bring the king into safety and control the centre. This last had been taken to mean occupying the centre with pawns, and the ideal central formation was thought to be pawns on d4 and e4 with White, or d5 and e5 with Black. The Hypermodern school held that central control was possible without the physical occupation of the centre by pawns; instead, the pieces would exert control from a distance. In keeping with this theory, Réti favoured openings involving the fianchetto of the bishops (i.e. b3 + Bb2 and g3 + Bg2 with White, and the analogous development with Black). From b2 and g2 the bishops would exert an influence on all four central squares (d4, e4, d5 and e5). If Black tried to occupy the centre with his own pawns, the idea was that the persistent pressure exerted by the bishops would cause the enemy centre to collapse, opening the way for White’s own pawns to advance in the centre without resistance. These new theories proved controversial, and would never have gained any credence had they not been backed up by practical successes. Although Réti was one of the world’s leading players in the early 1920s, he was never in a position to challenge for the world championship and his early death deprived the chess world of one of its most profound thinkers. He left behind two classics of chess literature (Modern Ideas in Chess and the unfinished Masters of the Chess Board) and a collection of games bearing the hallmarks of a great chess artist. The ideas of the Hypermoderns were gradually assimilated into chess thinking; one of their theories which has gained universal acceptance is that a pawn-centre which is insufficiently supported by pieces is not strong, but weak. Many opening systems have been developed with the specific purpose of luring the opponent into a premature central advance; this over-extension is then punished by a vicious counterattack. Efim Bogoljubow (1889–1952) was born the same year as Réti, in Ukraine, but became a German citizen in 1927. Although his career was far longer than Réti’s, his greatest achievements were also in the 1920s. His best result was victory in the Moscow 1925 tournament, where he took first prize by a massive 1½ point margin over a field that included all the leading players of the time with the exception of Alekhine. This and other successes led him to challenge Alekhine for the world championship in 1929, but he lost decisively (+5 =9 –11). A second world-title match against Alekhine in 1934 again ended in defeat (+3 =15 –8). Although Bogoljubow continued to compete with some success during the late 1930s, his results gradually declined, although he won the German Championship as late as 1949. The Game The current game, which won the first brilliancy prize at the extremely strong New York 1924 tournament, is one of the most elegant examples of Hypermodern opening play. White’s opening appears modest, but its latent power is revealed when Réti opens the position up and his bishops suddenly develop tremendous power. Bogoljubow tries to free himself tactically, but is demolished by a refined combination.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Bd6 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 Re8 7. Bb2 Nbd7 8. d4 $1 {Auf diese Weise bekommt der Nachziehende Schwierigkeiten mit der Entwicklung seines Damenläufers.} c6 9. Nbd2 Ne4 {Der von Bogoljubow gewählte Zug führt zum Abtausch des Springers, aber das bedeutet nicht, dass sich seine Lage verbessern wird.} (9... Bb8 10. Qc2 a5 11. a3 b5 12. c5 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nd4 Bd7 15. e4 a4 16. b4 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Nc4 18. Nxc6 $1 $18 { 1-0 Winants,L-Cosma,E/Cappelle 1993/TD (22)}) ({Ein Versuch des Nachziehenden seinen schwachen Läufer c8 zu befreien wäre:} 9... e5 {aber danach folgt:} 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe5 13. Bxe5 Rxe5 14. Nc4 Re8 15. Ne3 { [%cal Yg2d5,Ye3d5]} Be6 16. Qd4 $1 $14 {[%cal Yf1d1,Ya1c1] Und Weiß bekommt einen kleinen aber dauerhaften Vorteil.}) 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11. Ne5 f5 12. f3 $1 { Richtiger strategischer Zug. Wenn Schwarz schon seine Stellung im Zentrum schwächt, muss man dringend das Spiel öffnen um den weissen Entwicklungvorsprung auszunützen.} exf3 13. Bxf3 $1 Qc7 (13... Nxe5 14. dxe5 Bc5+ 15. Kg2 Bd7 (15... Qxd1 16. Raxd1 $16 {Nach dem Damenabtausch kommt der Läufer c8 überhaupt nicht mehr ins Spiel.}) 16. e4 $1 $16 {Weiß hat grossen oositionellne Vorteil.}) 14. Nxd7 Bxd7 15. e4 e5 {Sonst folgt 16.e5 nebst weiterem Durchbruch d4-d5 oder g3-g4. Nach dem Zug in der Partie scheint es als ob der Nachziehende seine Probleme gelöst hätte. Aber Reti spielt eine Reihe ganz feiner Züge, um die versteckten Möglichkeiten seiner Stellung auszunützen.} 16. c5 $1 Bf8 17. Qc2 $1 {Weiß greift die schwarzen Zentralbauern an.} exd4 ({Schwarz ist in seinen Möglichkeiten gehemmt. Zum Beispiel:} 17... fxe4 18. Bxe4 $18 {[%cal Yd4e5,Ye4h7] Und Schwarz verliert einen Bauern.}) 18. exf5 Rad8 (18... Re5 19. Qc4+ Kh8 20. f6 $1) 19. Bh5 $1 { Anfang eines genau berechneten entscheidenden Manövers, das schließlich zu einem sehr schönen Schlag führt.} Re5 20. Bxd4 Rxf5 (20... Rd5 21. Qc4 Kh8 22. Bg4 {Und Weiß verbleibt mit Mehrbauer und besserer Stellung.}) 21. Rxf5 Bxf5 22. Qxf5 Rxd4 23. Rf1 $1 Rd8 (23... Qe7 24. Bf7+ Kh8 25. Bd5 $3 {[%cal Yf5f8]} Qf6 26. Qc8 $18) 24. Bf7+ Kh8 25. Be8 $3 {Schönheitspreis des Tuniers. Lessons from this game: 1) Central control is an important objective of opening play, but this does not necessarily mean the occupation of the centre by pawns; control can be exerted by pieces from a distance. 2) A single badly-placed piece can poison one’s entire position. In this game Black never really recovered from his handicap of an inactive light-squared bishop. 3) Stay flexible. Be ready to transform advantages from one type to another, or to switch from positional play to attack.} 1-0

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