[Event "URS-ch01"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "1920.??.??"] [Round "13"] [White "Rabinovich, Ilya Leontievich"] [Black "Alekhine, Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E43"] [PlyCount "78"] [GameId "2172133171855373"] [EventDate "1920.10.04"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "URS"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,78,19,34,29,22,52,33,33,34,25,28,39,8,25,32,28,30,34,34,37,37,31,24,26,33,36,46,64,61,59,39,22,13,34,39,-100,-116,-127,-115,-106,-121,-120,-119,-123,-119,-126,-118,-121,-123,-106,-83,-93,-101,-109,-132,-157,-129,8,0,-80,-66,0,-85,-91,-72,-44,-492,-516,-525,-544,-548,-551,-551,-507,-507,-499,-623,-920,-832,-832]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. e3 Bb4 6. Qc2 Ne4 7. Bd3 f5 {In his book "My Best Games of Chess 1908-1923" Alekhine calls this line favorable for Black. Nowadays this seems quite exaggerated.} 8. O-O Bxc3 9. bxc3 O-O 10. Nd2 Qh4 11. f3 ({Not} 11. g3 {when} Nxd2 ({or} 11... Ng5) 12. Bxd2 Qg4 13. f4 h5 {is nice for Black.}) 11... Nxd2 12. Bxd2 Nc6 13. e4 {This seems a logical move, but in fact it may be a bit premature.} ({According to my Stockfish, after} 13. Be1 Qf6 14. Bf2 {White would have a small advantage.}) 13... fxe4 14. Bxe4 ({Alekhine gives} 14. fxe4 e5 {Too direct.} (14... Ne7 {(not mentioned by Alekhine) would have given equality, it seems.}) 15. d5 Ne7 16. c5 Ng6 17. cxb6 {as best play for both sides,} ({but Stockfish indicates a substantial advantage for White after} 17. Qb3 Kh8 18. Qc4)) {After White's last move the evaluations slightly differ. Alekhine sees a small advantage for Black, Stockfish for White.} 14... Na5 15. Rae1 ({But here they both agree that} 15. Bxb7 Nxb7 {would have been preferable.}) 15... Bxe4 16. Rxe4 Qh5 17. Qa4 {Anyway, this is a mistake. White will lose a pawn without compensation.} ({After} 17. c5 Nc4 18. Qd3 Nxd2 19. Qxd2 bxc5 20. Re5 Rf5 21. g4 Qg6 22. Rxc5 {(Stockfish) Black's advantage would be minimal.}) 17... Nxc4 18. Re2 {A sad retreat.} ({After} 18. Qxc4 d5 {Black wins.}) 18... b5 19. Qb3 Qf5 20. Rfe1 Rab8 21. Bc1 a5 22. Re4 a4 23. Qd1 Rbe8 24. Qe2 c5 {Alekhine was proud of this move, as the consequences had to be calculated accurately.} ({Nevertheless, a quiet move such as} 24... Rf6 {was probably better. With a good pawn up, there was no need for sharpening the game.}) 25. Be3 cxd4 26. Bxd4 e5 27. f4 ({After} 27. Bxe5 {Black would win with} d5) ({and after} 27. Bc5 {Alekhine intended to proceed with} d5 28. Rxc4 bxc4 29. Bxf8 Qxf8) 27... d6 {A good move, but an unnecessary subtlety.} ({In the Dutch version of his best games book, Alekhine wrote that after} 27... d5 28. Rxe5 Nxe5 29. Bxe5 {White would have a "completely holdable" position, but as far as I can see, he didn't repeat this dubious claim in the English editions. In fact White would be clearly lost.}) 28. h3 Re6 29. fxe5 dxe5 30. Bc5 ({Alekhine gives the line} 30. Bxe5 Rfe8 31. Rf1 Qg6 32. Rxc4 Rxe5 {and Black wins.}) 30... Rf7 31. Rb1 h6 32. Rxb5 Nd2 33. Rxa4 {It seems as if White has recovered. He is even a pawn up now. But with his next move Alekhine shows that he has exactly calculated the consequences of his two pawn sacrifices.} Qc2 {Suddenly with his queen, knight and the rook on f7, Alekhine has obtained a decisive attack against White's king.} 34. Rb8+ Kh7 35. Kh1 Rf1+ 36. Bg1 Rxg1+ {An elegant final combination, wrote Alekhine with good reason.} 37. Kxg1 Qc1+ 38. Kf2 Rf6+ 39. Ke3 Nb1+ {White resigned. He will be mated soon.} 0-1