[Event "Rice Memorial, New York"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1916.02.08"] [Round "?"] [White "David Janowski"] [Black "Jose Capablanca"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D15"] [Annotator "Various engines and GMs"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "1916.01.17"] {QGD, Slav Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 {Black has tried many different move here: 4...e6, 4...dxc4 and 4...a6 being the most popular. According to P.W. Sergeant in the tournament book Janowsky played what at the time was considered the theoretically correct move.Today it rates a ? because it leads to a fundamental weakening of black's Q-side P-formation} Bf5 { Solving the problem of the development of this B} (4... Bg4 {has been called a serious error by Yugoslav Master Drazen Marovic, but engines aren't quite so harsh.} 5. Ne5 Bf5 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. e4 {which is an outright refutation of 4... Bg4, bur black can improve.}) (4... Bg4 5. Ne5 Bc8 {Not a good move to make, but it allows white only a minimal advantage after} 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Bf4 e6 8. e3 Be7 9. Bd3 {Even so, it's hard to imagine a strong player going for 4...Bg4} ) 5. Qb3 {In my database other moves tried here are 5.e3 (white gets only slightly better results) and 5.cxd5 (white get vastly better results) and the text (white wins almost 2 to 1). Engines prefer 5.Qb3} Qb6 {True, this results in the weakening of black's P-structure, but Capa himself thought black's position was satisfactory.} 6. Qxb6 axb6 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Nxd5 cxd5 9. e3 { How should white meet the threat of ...Nc6-Nb4? Yermolinsky did not seem to think the threat was so dangerous as to warrant white preventing it.} (9. Bf4 Nc6 10. e3 Nb4 11. Bb5+ Bd7 12. Bxd7+ Kxd7 13. Kd2 {with a lead in development which will be followed by Rhc1 with a completely equal position.}) 9... Nc6 10. Bd2 Bd7 {This move has been highly praised as a deep and beautiful move. Black intends to exploit his command of the a-file and he conceives a deep strategic plan on the Q-side involving the advance of his b-Pawn. In order to carry this out, he needs his bishop on d7-Marovic. played with the idea of supporting ... b5 is all Yermolinsky had to say about the move.} (10... e6 11. Bb5 Bd6 12. O-O Ke7 13. Rfc1 Rhc8 {with full equality. Hoang,T (2317)-Le,K (2261) Ho Chi Minh City VIE 2012}) 11. Be2 {This is bad according to Marovic, but is it really?} ( 11. Bb5 {This was suggested by Capablanca.} f6 12. O-O e6 13. a3 Bd6 14. Bc3 Na5 15. Bd3 {with full equality. Hutinovic,H (2050)-Petrovic,M (2121) Sarajevo 2013}) 11... e6 {According to engines the position is equal.} 12. O-O Bd6 13. Rfc1 Ke7 14. Bc3 Rhc8 15. a3 Na5 16. Nd2 f5 17. g3 b5 18. f3 Nc4 19. Bxc4 bxc4 20. e4 Kf7 {The critical position according to Yermolinsky. He mentions that Capa favored black because of some positional elements: two Bs, more compact P-structure and more active K. Yermo was a little sarcastic when he wrote that Capa threw in the point about the K just for good measure. Yermo was also critical of past annotators who simply repeated Capa's overview without paying any attention to white's next move.} 21. e5 {Years ago Vidmar suggested the correct move 21.exf5 and Yermo and Stockfish agree that it's best. Yermo thinks Janowsky was good rnough to recognize that 21.exf5 was correct, but he played the inexplicable text move giving black a free hand all over the board because he didn't want to allow the exchange ...Bxe5 resulting in a B of opposite color ending and Janowsky despised endings!} (21. exf5 exf5 22. f4 { followed by Nf3-e5 and the centralized N is at least as good as black's two Bs. }) 21... Be7 22. f4 {White's B is what Najdorf once called nothing but a tall Pawn.} b5 {Perhaps 22. ..g5 was slightly better.} 23. Kf2 Ra4 24. Ke3 Rca8 25. Rab1 h6 26. Nf3 g5 27. Ne1 Rg8 28. Kf3 gxf4 29. gxf4 Raa8 {As far as I am aware no comments have been made on this position which seems to be the critical one. SashChess in the GoldDigger mode evaluates the position as dead equal (0.00) and suggests the correct continuation is 30.Nc2 followed by Rg1} 30. Ng2 {After this black's position is slightly better.} Rg4 31. Rg1 Rag8 32. Be1 b4 {Capa's plan is to change his bad light squared B into a good one by repositioning it.} 33. axb4 Ba4 {[%mdl 32]} 34. Ra1 Bc2 {The threat is ...Rxg2 winning.} 35. Bg3 (35. Rc1 {A pass to demonstrate the threat.} Rxg2 36. Rxg2 Be4+ 37. Ke3 Rxg2 38. Ra1 Rxb2 {and wins}) (35. Ra7 {This move saves the day!} Rxg2 36. Rxg2 Be4+ 37. Ke3 Rxg2 38. Bh4 Kg6 39. Rxe7 {with equal chances. Five Shootouts were all drawn.}) 35... Be4+ 36. Kf2 h5 {[%mdl 2048] Amazing! Capa has conjured up an attack on the K-side and after white gets his pieces over there to defend, Capa will qrap up the game on the Q-side.} 37. Ra7 (37. Ne3 { is no better.} h4 38. Nxg4 fxg4 39. Ra7 hxg3+ 40. hxg3 Rb8 41. Rga1 Rxb4 42. R1a2 Bb1 {wins}) 37... Bxg2 38. Rxg2 h4 39. Bxh4 Rxg2+ {The game is over.} 40. Kf3 Rxh2 41. Bxe7 {[%mdl 4096]} Rh3+ 42. Kf2 Rb3 43. Bg5+ Kg6 44. Re7 Rxb2+ 45. Kf3 Ra8 46. Rxe6+ Kh7 {Janowsky resigned. Black mates in 11 moves.} (46... Kh7 47. Re7+ Kg6 48. Re6+ Kg7 49. Bh6+ Kh7 50. Kg3 Ra3+ 51. Kh4 Rg2 52. Re7+ Kxh6 53. Re6+ Kg7 54. Re7+ Kf8 55. Rg7 Kxg7 56. b5 Rg4+ 57. Kh5 Rh3#) 0-1