Chajes–Capablanca, from the Rice Memorial Tournament, New York 1916. In his favourite line of the French Defence Capablanca wins a pawn and stands clearly better, but in pressing for a king-side attack he overreaches; Oscar Chajes defends precisely and wins. Capablanca's own public-domain notes from Chess Fundamentals (1921) accompany the game.
4…Bb4Of all the variations of the French Defence I like this best, because it gives Black more chances to obtain the initiative.
5.e5Though I consider P x P the best move, there is much to be said in favour of this move, but not of the variation as a whole, which White adopted in this game.
8…Kf8The alternative, P - K Kt 3; leaves Black's King's side very weak. White by playing P - K R 4 would force Black to play P - K R 4; and later, on White's Bishop by going to Q 3, would threaten the weakened K Kt P. By the text move Black gives up Castling, but gains time for an attack against White's centre and Queen's side.
9…c5Threatening Q - R 4 and stopping thereby White's threat of B - R 3. It demonstrates that White's last move was a complete loss of time and merely weakened his position.
14…Nc6Black has come out of the opening with a Pawn to the good. His development, however, has suffered somewhat, and there are Bishops of opposite colour, so that it cannot be said as yet, that Black has a won game; but he has certainly the best of the position, because, besides being a Pawn to the good, he threatens White's K P, which must of course be defended, and this in turn will give him the opportunity to post his Knight at Q 4 via K 2. When the Black Knight is posted at Q 4, the Bishop will be developed to B 3 via Q 2, as soon as the opportunity presents itself, and it will be Black that will then have the initiative, and can consequently decide the course of the game.
15.Rd1To prevent Kt - K 2; which would be answered by Kt x P, or still better by B - R 3. The move, however, is strategically wrong, since by bringing his pieces to the Queen's side, White loses any chance he might have of making a determined attack on the King's side before Black is thoroughly prepared for it.
17.Be3Better would have been P - Q R 4, in order to play B - R 3. The White B would be much better posted on the open diagonal than here, where it acts purely on the defensive.
18…Nd5This Knight completely paralyses the attack, as it dominates the whole situation, and there is no way to dislodge it. Behind it Black can quietly develop his pieces. The game can now be said to be won for Black strategically.
23…Qb4In order to pin the Knight and be ready to come back to either K 2 or B 1. Also to prevent Q R - Kt 1. In reality nearly all these precautions are unnecessary, since White's attack amounts to nothing. Probably Black should have left aside all these considerations, and played Q - R 5 now, in order to follow it up with P - B 4, as he did later, but under less favourable circumstances.
24…f5Not the best, as White will soon prove. Q - B 1 would have avoided everything, but Black wants to assume the initiative at once and plunges into complications. However, as will soon be seen, the move is not a losing one by any means.
27.Rxh6+This wins the Queen.
29.Qxb4The position looks most interesting. I thought it would be possible to get up such an attack against the White King as to make it impossible for him to hold out much longer, but I was wrong, unless it could have been done by playing B - B 3 first, forcing P - Kt 3 and then playing K - R 4. I followed a similar plan, but lost a very important move by playing Q R - K Kt 1; which gave White time to play R - Q 1. I am convinced, however, that B - B 3 at once was the right move. White would be forced to play P - Kt 3, and Black would reply with either K - R 4; as already indicated, which looks the best (the plan, of course, is to play R - K R 1; and follow it up with K - Kt 5; threatening mate, or some other move according to circumstances. In some cases, of course, it will be better first to play K - Kt 5), or Kt - K 5, which will at least give him a draw. There are so many possibilities in this position that it would be impossible to give them all. It will be worth the reader's time to go carefully through the lines of play indicated above.
29…Rcg8As stated B - B 3 was the best move.
31…Kh5The plan, of course, as explained above, is to go to Kt 5 in due time and threaten mate at K R 8, but it is now too late, the White Rook having come in time to prevent the manoeuvre. Instead of the text move, therefore, Black should have played Kt - K 5; which would have given him a draw at the very least. After the text moves the tables are turned. It is now White who has the upper hand, and Black who has to fight for a draw.
32…Be4Kt - K 5 was still the right move, and probably the last chance Black had to draw against White's best play.
34…Kxg6Kt x Q; R x R, Kt x P was no better.
50…Kg8Most players will be wondering, as the spectators did, why I did not resign. The reason is that while I knew the game to be lost, I was hoping for the following variation, which Chajes came very near playing: 51 Q x P ch, K - R 2; 52 Q - R 5, R x P; 53 B - Kt 5 ch, K - Kt 2; 54 B x R ch, K x B; and while White has a won game it is by no means easy. If the reader does not believe it, let him take the White pieces against a master and see what happens. My opponent, who decided to take no chances, played 51 B - Kt 7, and finally won as shown below.
51.Bg7A very fine game on Chajes' part from move 25 on, for while Black, having the best of the position, missed several chances, White, on the other hand, missed none.
José Raúl Capablanca, Chess Fundamentals (1921) · Public domain · source