Jose Raul Capablanca X Emanuel Lasker - World Championship 12th 1921

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Lasker, Emanuel2686–Capablanca, Jose Raul27190–1D61World Championship 12th10Havana08.04.1921

The Players Emanuel Lasker (1868-1941) is one of the most famous chess players of all time. As a youngster Lasker showed incredible talent at both chess and mathematics and he fulfilled his potential in both fields. Lasker defeated Steinitz to become World Champion in 1894, a title he was to hold for twentyseven years, which is still a record. Despite his victory over Steinitz, the chess world remained unimpressed, chiefly as the former World Champion was 32 years older than Lasker and his health was declining. Lasker, however, was still improving. In 1896 he proved his worth without doubt by winning four successive major events, including the St Petersburg tournament. Lasker continued to have excellent results, before beating Steinitz in a return match in 1896/7. During his chess career he still found time to pursue his mathematical studies, and in 1900 he was awarded his doctorate at Erlangen University. In chess Lasker was an exceptional tactician, but more than anything he was an immensely resourceful fighter. On countless occasions he was able to turn inferior positions to his advantage and his defensive qualities were without equal. José Raúl Capablanca (1888-1942) is one of the legends in chess history. Born in Cuba, he learned chess at the age of four and gave due notice of his talent when, barely a teenager, he defeated Corzo, who won the national championship in the same year, in an informal match. Capablanca was educated in America, and spent much of his free time playing masters at the Manhattan Chess Club. Even in his younger days it was obvious to everyone that Capablanca was a natural-born chess player. Positionally and in the endgame he had no equal, but as his countless wins against other tacticians show, he was also at home in highly complex positions. At one stage of his career Capablanca lost only one tournament game in ten years, which gave him an aura of invincibility. It came as absolutely no surprise when, in Havana during 1921, he finally met with Lasker and took the world title, without losing a single game. The Game Here we see Capablanca in tremendous form, remorselessly grinding down Lasker in a game that effectively sealed Capablanca’s victory in the match. In a fairly normal Queen’s Gambit position, Lasker takes on an isolated queen’s pawn. However, he fails to play dynamically enough to make use of his active pieces, and Capablanca is able to execute some elegant exchanging manoeuvres. To the untrained eye it looks as if the game is heading for a draw, but Capablanca secures an edge, which he turns into a serious endgame advantage. He increases the pressure in all sectors of the board, and eventually, having started off with just one moderately weak pawn, Lasker is left with nothing but weaknesses. Robbed of all counterplay, bound and gagged, he can do little but await the execution. What makes this game so remarkable is that Capablanca was able to render one of the most resourceful players of all time so completely helpless. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.c3 f6 4.g5 e7 5.e3 0-0 6.f3 bd7 7.c2 (the Rubinstein Attack) c5! 8.d1 a5 9.d3 h6 10.h4 cxd4 11.exd4 dxc4 12.xc4 b6 The position is equal. 13.b3 d7 14.0-0 ac8 A classic set-up in the spirit of Steinitz (cf. Game No.18). 14...c6 15.e5 d5 16.xd5 bxd5 17.e2 ad8 18.f4 e8 19.xe7 xe7 20.f5 xf5 21.xf7 xf7 22.xe6 ed6 23.g4 h8 24.e5 xe5 25.dxe5 e3 26.xf7 xd1 27.exd6 xd6 1/2-1/2 (27) Stahlberg,G-Capablanca,J Moscow (Russia) 1935 15.e5 b5 'This is a weak move which might have given Black a great deal of trouble. 16.fe1 And now Nxf7! would win. bd5N The first critical moment. Lasker's next move shows that the typical methods of playing positions with an isolated d-pawn had not yet been mastered. 16...c4 17.xc4 xc4 18.xf6 xf6 19.d7 fd8 20.xf6+ gxf6 21.d3 f8 22.f3 g5 23.h4 d2 24.xd2 xd2 25.xf6 g7 26.f4 c4 27.e2 c2 28.g3 xb2 29.h5+ f8 30.xe6 xd4 31.xh6 Euwe,M-Landau,S Noordwijk 1938 1/2-1/2 (43) 17.xd5? A completely unnecessary exchange, denying White all hopes of an advantage (a similar mistake was made by Zukertort – Game No.18). 17.xf6 xf6 18.xd5 exd5 19.g4 17...xd5 18.xe7 xe7 19.b3 19.e4 is interesting. c6 20.g4 cd8 21.d3 b4 22.d2 19...c6 20.xc6 bxc6 21.e5 b6 22.c2 fd8 23.e2? Too passive! d5! 24.xd5 'A worse mistake than the previous move. cxd5 'From now on the student will do well to study carefully every move up to the end. It is one of Black's best efforts in his whole career, and that against one of the strongest players the world has ever seen. ' (Capablanca) 25.d2 f5 26.b3?! h5 'To prevent g2-g4 at any time.' (Capablanca) 'A hasty move, as a result of which Black almost missed the win. 27.h3? 'A completely bad move, allowing Black to paralyse the white pawns. ' (Lasker) h4! After the blockade of the kingside the number of weaknesses in White's position exceeds the permissible norm, and he is now strategically lost. 28.d3 c6 29.f1 g6 30.b1 b4 31.g1 a5! 'This decides the outcome. From here and to the end of the game Black plays with merciless consistency. Capablanca's style is irreproachable.' (Lasker) 32.b2 a4 Giving White yet another weakness – at b3. 33...Rb6 and ...axb3 is threatened. 33.d2 (an attempt to save himself in the endgame) xd2 34.xd2 axb3 35.axb3 Endgame KRN-KRN b6! 36.d3 a6! 37.g4 hxg3 38.fxg3 a2 39.c3 c2 (with the threat of ...Nxd4) 39...b2 is more complex. 40.b5 g7 41.f1 f6 42.g4 h4 40.d1 e7 41.c3 c1+ 42.f2 c6 43.d1! A pretty trap. 43.b5 43...b1! 44.e2?

Finally White blunders a pawn. 44.e1 44...xb3!-+ 45.e3 45.xb3 xd4+ 45...b4! It is clearly simpler to convert the advantage with the rooks on. And in the given instance this simplicity and inevitability, typical of Capa, creates a particular impression, because playing White was the great Lasker! 46.c3 e7 47.e2 f5+ 48.f2 g5 49.g4 d6 50.g1 e4+ 51.f1 b1+ 52.g2 b2+ 53.f1 f2+ 54.e1 a2 55.f1 g7 After tying down the opponent's pieces, Black activates his king. 56.e3 g6 57.d3 f6 58.e3 f7 59.d3 59.f3 only move. 59...e7 60.e3 d6 61.d3 61.f3 61...f2+ 62.e1 g2 63.f1 a2 64.e3 e5 65.d3 exd4 66.xd4 66.f3 c5 67.e1 66...c5 Black is clearly winning. 67.d1 d4 68.c1+ d5 "The black pawn will advance and White will have to give up his knight for it. This is the finest win of the match and probably took away from Dr Lasker his last real hope of winning or drawing the match. " – Capablanca. wins. Lessons from this game: 1) If you have an isolated queen’s pawn, it is necessary to play energetically and aggressively. Otherwise the pawn is liable to become a static weakness that could easily cost you the game. 2) "A weakness is not a weakness unless it can be attacked." 3) When the opponent’s position is paralysed on one wing, see if you can take advantage of this by making additional gains in other parts of the board before undertaking decisive action. 4) In a winning ending don’t give the opponent any more counterplay than you have to - and ideally stamp out his activity altogether. Then bring your king up and promote a pawn. Accuracy: White = 37%, Black = 54%. 0–1

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