Max Euwe

Euwe – Alekhine · 1934 · 1–0

Zurich 1934 — one of Euwe's most famous games and a portent of things to come: he outplays the reigning World Champion Alekhine in a Queen's Gambit Declined, breaking with 28.e4 and grinding the endgame home. Euwe finished second at the great Zurich tournament, half a point behind Alekhine but beating him head-to-head.

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Euwe – Alekhine · 1935 · 1–0

The Pearl of Zandvoort — Game 26 of the 1935 World Championship match. The positional 17.f4! and the piece sacrifice 21.Nxf5! (three pawns and a raging attack) produced Euwe's finest game of the match and opened the two-point lead that carried him to the crown as the fifth World Champion.

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Euwe – Maroczy · 1936 · 1–0

Zandvoort 1936, dubbed 'the second Pearl of Zandvoort' — a kingside brilliancy against the veteran Géza Maróczy: Euwe tears open the black king with 20.Bxh6! and swings the rook up (21.Rd4–g4), the mating attack unstoppable.

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Euwe – Reshevsky · 1936 · 1–0

Nottingham 1936 — at one of the strongest tournaments ever held, Euwe grinds down Samuel Reshevsky in a Queen's Indian, converting a queenside majority into a decisive passed a-pawn. He finished third at Nottingham, just behind Botvinnik and Capablanca and ahead of Alekhine.

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Euwe – Botvinnik · 1938 · 1–0

AVRO 1938 — days after Botvinnik's famous win over Capablanca, Euwe halted the tournament leader: in a Grünfeld the future sixth World Champion erred early, Euwe won the exchange (17…Nxe4 18.Nxa8) and doubled rooks on the seventh to force resignation in 34 moves.

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Euwe – Capablanca · 1938 · 1–0

AVRO 1938 — with the world's elite assembled, Euwe outplays José Raúl Capablanca in a Queen's Indian, liquidating into a bishop-versus-knight endgame and shepherding his extra pawns to victory. A scalp of the third World Champion at the same event as his win over Botvinnik.

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Euwe – Flohr · 1939 · 1–0

Amsterdam 1939 — a crisp attacking win over Salo Flohr in a Slav: Euwe swings his rook to the kingside (23.Rh5, 28.Rh6) and finishes with 38.Rxh7 and the passed e-pawn queening.

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Euwe – Keres · 1939 · 1–0

From the hard-fought 1939–40 match with Paul Keres — a Ruy Lopez in which Euwe's kingside build-up crashes through with the rook sacrifice 41.Rxg6+! hxg6 42.Qxg6+.

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Szabo – Euwe · 1946 · 0–1

London (Staunton Memorial) 1946 — a spectacular Black win over László Szabó: Euwe sacrifices on g2 (…Rg3, …Rxg2) and marches the white king up the board, hounding it with checks to the very end.

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Euwe – Smyslov · 1948 · 1–0

The 1948 World Championship Tournament — Euwe defeats the future seventh World Champion Vasily Smyslov in a Grünfeld, winning material and converting the endgame. A bright spot in an event the former champion finished last.

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Tartakower – Euwe · 1948 · 0–1

Venice 1948 — a dazzling king hunt with Black: Euwe sacrifices knight and rook (22…Nf4+, 27…exf4+, 29…Rxe4+) to drag Tartakower's king into the open and chase it to mate.

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Geller – Euwe · 1953 · 0–1

Euwe's Immortal, Zürich Candidates 1953 — at 52 he invites Geller's kingside storm, lets him win the exchange on h8, then breaks through first on the other wing (23…Rc2, 24…Rxg2+, 25…Qb3–f3): a counterattack for the ages, and perhaps his most famous game.

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Euwe – Najdorf · 1953 · 1–0

Zürich Candidates 1953 — one of Euwe's finest attacking games: against Najdorf's King's Indian he hurls the kingside pawns forward (13.h4, 15.g4) and sacrifices into a mating attack (19.Nxg6+), finishing 37.Qg7+.

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Donner – Euwe · 1956 · 0–1

Amsterdam 1956 — one of Euwe's best-known later victories: a 22-move Black miniature over Jan Hein Donner from the Dutch Championship match Euwe won 4–0, sacrificing (16…Bxh3, 18…Rxe4) to reach the crushing 22…Qf3.

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Euwe – Fischer · 1957 · 1–0

New York 1957 — the former World Champion, then 55, beats a 14-year-old Bobby Fischer in just 20 moves (17.Qh7+, 19.Ncxd5), seven years before Fischer began his own march to the title. Euwe won one game of their short informal match.

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