The book was first published in English in 1953 and it’s been in my library for decades, but I have never read it. It’s Euwe’s Judgment and Planning In Chess.
An Amazon review says Euwe examines positions “from the point where the opening stage has come to an end and he describes the characteristics of the position. He explains why one side stands better and gives practical advice.”
Except for readers too lazy to learn Descriptive Notation, reviewers on Amazon give it good reviews, but I don’t like it. To me, Euwe’s writing is dry and boring. Naturally those of us who go over the games with engines will find errors in his analysis. That’s the case with all these old books. You can still learn from them because you are learning patterns and ideas. Besides, the games are usually interesting because they illustrate a point of some kind.
While browsing the book the other day I noticed the following game and after examining it more closely it turned out to be pretty interesting. Euwe played the opening poorly and Tartakower got an excellent position, but then got sidetracked by defending against a not very dangerous attack by Euwe. In trying to defend against the “attack” Tartakower weakened his own position and ended up with a lost one. Euwe’s conduct of the concluding attack was not perfect, but it was good enough.
[Event "Venice"]
[Site ""]
[Date "1948.10.??"]
[Round ""]
[White "Savielly Tartakower"]
[Black "Max Euwe"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C53"]
[Annotator "Euwe/Stockfish 17.1"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "1948.10.03"]
{C53: Giuoco Piano} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Bb6 5. d4 Qe7 6. O-O
d6 7. h3 Nf6 8. Re1 O-O {This is a well known setup: white has Ps in d4 and e4,
black has Ps on e5 and d6. Whits has two options: either play d5 or dxe5.
However, he should not play either one because it would open up the diagonal
for black’s B on b6. Therefore, he should try to force black to play ...exd4}
9. Na3 {The idea is to play Nc2-e3-d5} Nd8 {Euwe, by his own admission, is
embarking on a very poor plan.} (9... h6 10. Bb3 a6 11. Nc4 Ba7 12. Ne3 Qd8 13.
dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 dxe5 {is completely equal. Grosar,A (2470)-Gostisa,L (2470)
Slovenia 1993 was eventually drawn.}) 10. Bf1 {An odd move!} (10. Bd3 c6 11.
Nc4 Bc7 12. b3 b5 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Ba3 {White is better. Rossolimo,N-Muhring,
W Hastings 1948}) 10... Ne8 {The idea of this move is to support the e-Pawn
with ...f6, but best was 10...exd4 which is preferable to Euwe’s suggested
waiting move 10...Kh8} (10... exd4 11. Nxd4 Re8 12. Bg5 Ne6 {and white is only
slightly better.}) 11. Nc4 f6 {It’s interesting that Euwe’s observation
that white’s plan as noted at move 9 has not accomplished much. Engines are
at loggerheads with Euwe here. Stockfish gives white a 2.5 P advantage as does
Dragon by Komodo. As for ``...f6 itself, it's the top engone choice.} 12. a4 {
This is a commonly seen move that here has a tactical point.} c6 {The same
result comes after 12...a6} 13. Nxb6 axb6 14. Qb3+ Ne6 15. Qxb6 {Here is the
flaw in 10...Ne6. Had black played 10...Nbd7 he would not have lost a P.} g5 {
Given his inferior position this attack on the K-sdie is his best practical
chance as he has little to lose.} 16. Bc4 {Euwe accuses Tartakower as taking
black's plan of a K-side attack too lightly. Perhaps that may be so, but this
move is not at fault as white still retains a considerable advantage. Perhaps
though 16.a5 is more consistent.} h6 17. h4 Kh7 {The plan is to open the
g-file.} 18. hxg5 {Euwe was rightfully critical of this move which opens the
h-file for black. Indeed, it lessens considerably white's advantage.} hxg5 19.
dxe5 dxe5 20. Be3 Rh8 21. g3 {Over the last couple of moves Tartakower has
completely lost the threat of the game. This move further weakens the position
of his K and at this point almost all of his advantage has disappweared anbd
things are only going to get worse.} Kg6 22. Kg2 {The point of his last move.
He intends to challenge black on the h-file witg Rh1. But, as Euwe put it,
black has more strings in his bow.} Nf4+ {A fairly obvious sacrifice. It
eliminstes a defender (the P at g3), exposed white's K and at the same time
allows black's B to join the attack with a gain of time. At this point the
chances are equal, all of white's advantage having evaporated owing to his
defensive policy.} 23. gxf4 {Euwe makes no comment on ths move which is a
gross blunder! Did Euwe miss the correct defense or did ge deliberately avoid
commenting?} Bh3+ 24. Kg3 {Stepping back to g1 is just as bad.} exf4+ 25. Bxf4
Qd7 {The threat of mate forces white to further weaken his position.} 26. Nh2
gxf4+ 27. Kxf4 Rh4+ {Euwe commented that black must proceed with the utmost
energy. That;s quite true, but he missed the most energetic line.} 28. Ke3 Bg2
$1 29. Nf3 {Tartakower has been stoutly defending a lost position, but now
Euwe takes advantage of the K's vulnerable position with a nice tactical blow.}
Rxe4+ $1 {[%mdl 512] This is even stronger than winning the N on f3.} 30. Kxe4
Nd6+ 31. Kd3 Qf5+ 32. Kd4 Qf4+ 33. Kd3 Qxc4+ {Euwe makes no comment on this
move which is a major slip. Black's position has gone from winning to just
better.} 34. Kc2 Bxf3 {Euwe acknowledged that his attack was over, but
correctly observed that his position is very promising.} 35. b3 Be4+ 36. Kb2
Qd3 37. Rg1+ Kf7 38. Rac1 {This allows an elegant finish, but the game is
already over.} Qd2+ 39. Ka3 Nc4+ {[%mdl 512] The offer with this coupled with
the next move destroy white's defenses.} 40. bxc4 Rxa4+ $1 {[%mdl 512]} 41.
Kxa4 Qa2+ 42. Kb4 Qb2+ {White resigned.} 0-1