[Event "New York International Masters-01"] [Site "New York"] [Date "1924.03.23"] [Round "6"] [White "Lasker, Emanuel"] [Black "Lasker, Edward"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C99"] [Annotator "Edward Lasker"] [PlyCount "206"] [EventDate "1924.??.??"] {[%evp 0,206,16,28,38,44,44,-1,8,-26,-22,-36,4,-51,-37,-19,8,-36,-18,-30,-13, -13,-7,12,-9,-18,-36,-10,9,-10,-28,-25,3,3,16,-65,-65,-104,33,20,39,51,-37,-19, -22,-47,-9,-4,-46,-27,-54,-4,2,33,4,2,68,57,57,57,41,-23,77,122,119,100,94,102, 125,126,126,117,121,137,137,127,128,131,121,145,140,134,159,100,91,93,173,100, 93,78,75,78,149,117,95,135,130,111,108,80,67,30,57,7,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-20,0, -34,-4,0,0,-33,0,-35,-19,-45,-46,-56,-51,-50,-51,-51,-51,-91,-67,-63,-29,-63,0, -22,0,-32,-10,-18,-16,-14,-19,-32,-16,-8,-46,-41,-59,-91,-99,-112,-24,-108, -131,-103,-35,-63,-71,-130,-112,-105,-95,-87,-105,-100,-105,-100,-105,-100, -100,-100,-78,-247,-284,-284,-224,-176,-195,-208,-61,-334,-333,-340,-340,-340, -322,-333,-322,-333,-322,-322,-322,-322,-322,-322,-322,-322,-322,-322,-322, -322,-322,-322,-47,-41,-41]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Bd7 14. Nf1 Rfc8 {At first everything went according to schedule. But here Lasker did not continue with 15.Bd3, as Maroczy and I had anticipated the night before, but he made the strange looking move} 15. Re2 {This led me to consider} Nh5 {although that meant sacrificing a Pawn:} 16. dxe5 dxe5 17. Nxe5 Bxh3 18. Nxf7 Be6 19. Ng5 Bc4 20. Bd3 Rd8 21. Rc2 Nf4 22. Bxf4 Qxf4 23. Nh3 Qe5 24. Bxc4+ Nxc4 25. Qe2 Rd4 26. f3 Rad8 27. Rac1 Bc5 28. Kh1 Bb4 {After truly hair-rising eleven moves we arrived at this position which Alekhine considered to be lost for Black. He remarked: "White is a substantial Pawn to the good, and the control of the black squares is not sufficient compensation. It is merely necessary to drive the Black Knight from its commanding post. The contemplated invasion of d2 by this Knight is an act of desperation which should not alter the fate of the game." Had Alekhine not judged the position "a posteriori", he would probably have considered the possession of the Queen's file and the control of the black squares more than enough to compensate Black for the Pawn sacrificed. But I had to make two more moves in as many seconds and after} 29. b3 Nd2 30. Ne3 Ba3 {I had no more time left to figure through} (30... Nxe4 31. fxe4 Rxe4 32. Rc8 Re8 $3 {which would have won a solid Pawn and the game.}) 31. Rd1 Bb4 32. a3 Ba5 33. b4 Bc7 34. f4 Nxe4 { After I had made this surprise move, I got up from the table and walked around to calm my nerves a bit. Capablanca happened to pass my board, and when he saw the move I had made he joined me and said, with his infectious little laugh: "What, are you making combinations with the Doctor, ha, ha, ha?" However, the laugh was on us, I am sorry to say. When I got back to the board, Lasker floored me with a move I had not considered at all. He played} 35. Kh2 $3 { and even my reply} Rxd1 $3 {did not ruffle him. He simply took back the Rook, and I had no satisfactory continuation:} 36. Nxd1 Qe7 37. Rxc7 {Here the equalizing injustice of chess came to my rescue.} ({Lasker could have won a piece with with} 37. Ndf2 {but he was probably just as fatigued as I was from the wild struggle and he did not see that I could not defend myself with} Rd4 { , because of} 38. Qe3 Bb6 39. Nxe4 Rxe4 40. Qxe4 $3 Qxe4 41. Rc8+ Kf7 42. Ng5+) 37... Qxc7 38. Qxe4 Qc4 39. Qe7 Qc8 40. Ndf2 h6 41. Qa7 Qe6 42. Qb7 Qd5 43. Qb6 Rd6 44. Qe3 Re6 45. Qc3 Qc4 46. Qf3 Qc6 47. Qd3 Rd6 48. Qb3+ Qd5 49. Qb1 Re6 50. Ng4 Re2 51. Nxh6+ gxh6 52. Qg6+ Kf8 53. Qxh6+ Ke8 54. Qg6+ Kd8 55. Qg3 Re8 56. Qf2 Rg8 57. Qb2 Qd6 58. Qc3 Kd7 59. Qf3 Kc7 60. Qe4 Rg7 61. Qf5 Re7 62. Ng5 Re3 63. Ne4 Qe7 64. Nf6 Kb8 65. g3 Rxa3 66. Kh3 Ra1 67. Nd5 Rh1+ 68. Kg2 Qh7 69. Qxh7 Rxh7 70. Kf3 Kb7 71. g4 Kc6 72. Ke4 Rh8 {It was very amusing to observe the effect of my move 72... Rh8 on Alekhine, Capablanca and Reti who were following the progress of the game on a demonstration board about twenty feet away from our table. All three were, of course, anxious for Lasker, their most dangerous rival, to lose. I noticed that after Alekhine had seen my move and transmitted it to the others, they were all first silent for a few seconds. Then I saw Alekhine gesticulate excitedly and, though he was merely whispering so as not be heard, he whispered loud enough for me to discern these words uttered in his inimitable heavy Russian accent: "Nein, Nein! Dies mag vielleicht zerr fein sein!" - meaning: "This may perhaps be very subtle!" Well, if it was, Lasker "outsubtled" me.} 73. Ne3 Re8+ 74. Kd4 Rd8+ 75. Ke4 a5 76. bxa5 b4 77. a6 Kc5 78. a7 b3 79. Nd1 Ra8 80. g5 Rxa7 81. g6 Rd7 82. Nb2 Rd2 83. Kf3 Rd8 84. Ke4 Rd2 85. Kf3 Rd8 86. Ke4 Kd6 87. Kd4 Rc8 88. g7 Ke6 89. g8=Q+ Rxg8 90. Kc4 Rg3 91. Na4 Kf5 92. Kb4 Kxf4 {I was still thinking that my game was won - encouraged by the congratulations extended by Bogoljubov, Reti, and Alekhine, when my dream was shattered by Lasker's continuation} 93. Nb2 { Lasker kept on moving the Knight from b2 to a4 and after another ten moves - the game was in its fourteenth hour - I had to concede a draw. I I don't think that in my whole chess career, I have played another game in which I worked with comparable intensity. Although I did not win it, I treasure it as one of those games which make one glad to know chess.} Ke4 94. Na4 Kd4 95. Nb2 Rf3 96. Na4 Re3 97. Nb2 Ke4 98. Na4 Kf3 99. Ka3 Ke4 100. Kb4 Kd4 101. Nb2 Rh3 102. Na4 Kd3 103. Kxb3 Kd4+ 1/2-1/2