Game 29 in the book: Alekhine's win over Dr. S. Tarrasch at the International Tournament at Mannheim, 1914. A Giuoco Piano annotated by Alekhine, who plays White.
4…Qe7This ancient defence is better than its reputation, but it demands particularly accurate opening play on the part of Black.
5.d45. ....P x P would be quite illogical, for after 6. Castles, White would obtain a very strong attacking game.
6…d6The most usual move, but not the best. With 6. ....Kt—B 3 attacking the K P, Black could gain valuable time by compelling White to make a defensive move.
8.Be3In a game Gunsberg—Alekhin, in the St. Petersburg Tournament, 1914, White continued here: 8. P—R 5, but after 8. ....Kt x R P; 9. R x Kt, B x R; 10. Q—R 4 ch, P—Kt 4; 11. Q x B, P x B; he did not secure sufficient compensation for the sacrifice of the Exchange.
8…Bg4As the sequel will show, this Bishop was needed for the defence of the Q Kt P. Therefore it would have been better to play first 8. ....Kt—B 3.
9…Nb8The intention is to protect later on the Pawn at Q Kt 3 by Q Kt—Q 2, in the event of White playing Q—Kt 3 after exchanging the Bishops.
10.a5Less good would have been 10. B x B, P x B, as the open Q B file would give Black sufficient prospects to compensate for the weakness of his Queen-side Pawns. The text-move forces Black either to retire his Bishop to R 2, which would leave his Q R badly placed after 11. B x B, R x B; or to open White's K B file, thus giving the latter the initiative on both wings.
12.Nbd2If 12. Q—Kt 3, then 12. ....B—B 1.
13.Qe1More simple would have been 13. P—Kt 4, followed by 14. Q—K 1, etc. The text-move, however, can hardly be said to be inferior and, in fact, results in luring his opponent to retire his B to B 1, a somewhat peculiar manoeuvre which will give White further possibilities of attack.
14.Qb1Not 14. Q—Kt 3, because of 14. ....P—K R 4!, etc.
14…Bc8Better was 14. ....Castles K R; after which White would have continued his advance on the Queen-side, e.g.: 15. P—Kt 4, Q Kt—Q 2; 16. B—Q 3 and by 17. P—B 4. After the text-move Black's game becomes very precarious.
16.Nh4In order to open a file on the Queen-side by 17. P—Kt 5, should Black play 16. ....Kt—B 1. But Black, with his next move, prefers to create a first weak point on the King-side.
17…c6This counter-attack in the centre complicates the game. After 18. ....P x P; 19. P x P, P—K B 4 Black secures the square at K 4. Against that White will be able to exercise pressure on the opposing K P, and will, sooner or later, post his Knight at Q 4. In the end the insecure position of Black's King will be the deciding factor in White's favour.
20.Ng5An unexpected move. Instead of playing this Knight at once to Q 4, White takes five moves, but the Knight arrives there with decisive results! The idea is to provoke a further weakening of Black's position by the attack on the K P. Had White played 20. Kt—Q 4, at once, Black would have obtained a satisfactory position after 20. ....Kt—K 4; 21. R—B 4, Castles!, and White could not capture the K P because of 22. ....Kt x Kt; 23. R x Kt, P—B 4; etc., or 21. Q—R 4, Kt x P!
20…h6If now 20. ....Kt—K 4; 21. B—Kt 3!, B—B 4; 22. B—R 4 ch, K—B 1; 23. B—B 2!, and White has the advantage.
21.Nh321. Q—R 4 was not feasible because of 21. ....Kt—R 2.
21…Qe5Black over-estimates the efficacy of this counter-attack. He should, after all, have played 21. ....Kt—K 4; and the continuation would have been: 22. Kt—B 4, B—B 4; 23. P—R 3, P—R 4; 24. B—Kt 3, R—Q B 1; 25. P—B 4, followed by Kt—K 2 and Kt—Q 4 with the better prospects for White.
22.Rc1Only the B P had to be defended, for Black would gain no advantage from capturing the Q P, e.g.: 22. ....Q x P; 23. B x Kt, Q x B; 24. Kt—K B 4, Q—B 3; 25. P—B 4! followed by 26. P—Kt 5, and White regains the Pawn with a dominating position.
22…Ng4Only leading to a further weakening of the position, for Black will not be able to play P—B 4. Somewhat better would be 22. ....Castles.
24…Ngf6Forced, for if 24. ....P x Kt; 25. P x P, followed by 26. P x Kt, would spell immediate disaster for Black.
25…Nxd5Seeking some sort of compensation for his precarious position, which, it is clear, could not be held for long in any way.
27…Qe5After 27. ....Castles, there were many threats for Black, as for instance 28. R—B 5, Kt—K 4; 29. P—B 4! or 28. ....Q—R 7; 29. R—R 1, Q—Kt 7; 30. Kt—B 4!, winning the Queen in either case. If 27. ....Kt—B 1, the sequel would have been 28. Q—K 2! (threatening Kt—B 4 and Q 6), B—K 3; 29. P—B 4, Q—K 4; 30. P—B 5, P—Q 4; 31. P—B 6!, P x P; 32. Q R x P, followed by 33. R x Q B P, and the passed Pawns on the Queen-side would win easily. After the text-move White wins easily by a direct attack on the Black King's position.
32.Rd4More simple and direct than combinations starting with Kt x B P. Now Black has no move.
Alexander Alekhine, My Best Games of Chess 1908–1923 (1927) · Public domain · source