Already by 1937 he had won a number of important tournaments and in early April when ten masters, including Keres, the world champion Alexander Alekhine and potential his challenger, Reuben Fine, participated in a tournament at the seaside resort in Margate, England, it promised to be an interesting event.
It was expected that the tournament would be a contest among Alekhine, Fine and Keres. Indeed, as they were facing the lower ranked players first it was expected they would all start 4-0, but in the second round Alekhine lost to one of the tailenders, Victor Berger, who scored the win in a game that was filled with multiple mutual blunders in time pressure.
The virtually unknown Victor Berger (1904-1996) was also known as Victor Buerger. He was born in Nikolaev, Ukraine and at some point emigrated to Great Britain, probably in the early 1920s as that's when he began showing up in crosstables in English events. He is listed on Chessmetrics' rating list from 1927 to 1939 with a high rating of 2549 in 1929. That may not look too high by today's standards, but at the time it put him in the world's top fifty.
The game with Berger was adjourned and Alekhine stepped out for an adult beverage and upon returning he resigned stating, "The next seven rounds will show if I can afford to give an extra point to Fine." He couldn't because both Keres and Fine were unbeatable and Alekhine suffered losses to both of them as well.
Fine and Keres lead all the way and they faced each other in the last round. The game, which was full of mutual mistakes, was eventually drawn resulting in a first place tie. Keres was critical of himself, claiming, "I felt that I still lacked the necessary endgame technique.”
The Czech magazine Sachovy Tyden (Chess Week) wrote that the extraordinary tactical ability of Keres left a deep impression on everybody and added that considering the fact that he was only 21 years old, he was destined for future fame. The magazine added that the only factor that spoke against him was his modesty. After all, according to the magazine, "No player with aspirations of becoming a World Champion has ever been known for this characteristic."
In 1937 Keres was so successful that he was being compared to Morphy. The comparison was due mostly because his style contrasted so sharply to top players of the day like Reuben Fine and Salo Flohr who Soviet master, author and teacher Peter Romanovsky claimed had no particular style or preferences. i.e. they were extremely boring players.
Keres was the exception to this non-style. Sachovy Tyden gushed about how he was the most admirable phenomenon in chess at the moment and in the year and a half he had been on the international scene he had produced a quantity of brilliant games that few could manage in a lifetime.
They prophesied that in the future the name Paul Keres would be "written into the history of chess with golden letters." At the same time they declared that only Keres could play the way he did where "everything appears to be hanging by a thread, yet despite appearances every eventuality has been accounted for." While Keres never obtained the title World Champion with his style, another player who played in a similar style did if only briefly...Mikhail Tal.
Besides the aforementioned Berger, another player not too well known, but one who deserves to be, was the Czech player IM Jan Foltys (1908-1952). In the mid-1940s Chessmetrics estimates his rating to be 2653 putting him in the world's top 20 with players with the likes of Ragozin, Flohr, Lilienthal and Szabo. In 1951 he qualified at Marianske Lazne for the 1952 Interzonal in Stockholm, but died of leukemia at Ostrava before it took place.
Trying to pick a "best" game by Keres is impossible because he played so many, but when he beat Alekhine at Margate, you just know it had to be a great game. Keres kept up the pressure from the beginning and under the strain of constant defense Alekhine totally collapsed.
Paul Keres - Alexander Alekhine
Result: 1-0
Site: Margate
Date: 1937.04.07
Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense Deferred
[...] 1.e4 e5 2.♘f3 ♘c6 3.♗b5 a6 4.♗a4 d6 The Steinitz Defence Deferred is an interesting and still relatively unexplored system. Apparently passive, yet extremely solid and quite flexible, it has survived the test of time since the days of players like Janowski, Schlechter, Capablanca, Alekhine, Keres, Smyslov and others who have all used it successfully. 5.c4 The defense played by Alekhine was one of his favorites and he achieved some notable successes with it. As a result, Keres decided to try this seldom played move even though he knew that positionally it's not as good as the ususal 5.c3. Today it's known as the Duras System after Oldrich Duras, a Czech master from the early 20th century who played it almost exclusively. The idea is that white shuts down black's active possibilities such as ...d7-d5 and ...b7-b5 at a cost of weakening d4 square. However, due to the pin on the N the game takes on a positional, maneuvering character. 5...♗d7 6.♘c3 g6 This is the line that Alekhine often used on the occasions he faced 5.c4. Usual is 6...Bg4 and then maneuver the N on g8 to c5. 7.d4 ♗g7 Theoretically this move is regarded as somewhat inferior to the immediate 7...exd4.
12.♘xf4 exf4 13.e5 The move 13.O-O, originally recommended by Lajos Steiner, allows white to keep a slight opening advantage. At the time Keres was concerned about ... Qf6 and so after long thought decided on this move which he considered a promising P sacrifice. While not technically correct white gets good practical chances because, as Keres stated, in a tournament game exact analysis of the variations isn't possible because of the limited amount of time available.
7...exd4 8.♘xd4 ♗g7 9.♘xc6 bxc6 10.O-O ♘e7 This is wrong; black should play 10...Nf6. 11.c5 with the advantage to white. Boleslavsky-Fine, USSR-USA Radio Match 1945.
8.♗e3
8.♗g5 f6 9.♗e3 ♘h6 Often seen, but inferior to capturing twice on d4. 10.dxe5 fxe5 11.c5 Jobava,B (2721)-Lomsadze,D (2345)/Tbilisi 2012 and white was better.
8.d5 ♘ce7 9.♗xd7 ♕xd7 10.O-O with equality. Aldama Degurnay,D (2385)-Li,R (2571) /Philadelphia, 2017.
8...♘f6 Keres considered this an inaccuracy and believed black should either play 8...Nge7 or possibly exchange on d4. 9.dxe5 dxe5
9...♘xe5 Keres considered this better because black gains space for his pieces. 10.♘xe5 dxe5 11.♗c5 ♗xa4 12.♕xa4 ♕d7 13.♕c2 is equal. Florian,J-Saemisch,F/Prague 1943
10.♗c5 Preventing black from castling and at the same time making it difficult for him to generate any counterplay. 10...♘h5? (10...♗f8!?11.♗xf8 ♔xf8 12.♗xc6 ♗xc6±) 11.♘d5 Keres' move prevents black from playing his intended ...Nd4
11.♕b3!? makes it even easier for White 11...b5 12.cxb5+−
11...♘f4
11...b6 12.♗a3 ♘d4 13.♘xd4 exd4 14.g4 Keres
14.O-O This is better. 14...c6 15.♖e1 b5 16.♗b3 with an excellent position.
14...c6 (14...♘f6 This loses to 15.♗e7 wins.) 15.♗xc6 ♗xc6 16.gxh5 and white is slightly better. 13.O-O ♕f6 This move actually holds no danger for white. 14.♗d4 ♘xd4 15.♗xd7 ♔xd7 16.e5
13...g5 Alekhine thought a long time before playing this move and he eventually came to the conclusion that accepting the P was too dangerous. Unfortunately for him, it was the wrong decision and taking the P was the best course.
13...♘xe5 14.♕e2 f6 15.O-O-O and in the post-game analysis both Keres and Alekhine concluded that this line leads to approximate equality. The best continuation is now 15...♗xa4 16.♖xd8 ♖xd8 Black only has a R, B and P for his Q and Komodo evaluates the position as equal. However, in Shootouts using Stockfish white scored +3 -0 =2 in long tedious endings in Q+2Ps vs R+3Ps endings.
14.♕d5 This fine move puts an end to any hopes Alekhine had of advancing ...g4. 14...♗f8 This is his best move as it relieves some of the pressure on his position, but he can't avoid material loss.
14...g4 loses to 15.O-O-O and if 15...gxf3 16.e6 ♗xb2 17.♔xb2 ♕f6 18.♔c1 ♕xe6 19.♖he1 O-O-O 20.♖xe6 ♗xe6 21.♕xf3
15.♗xf8 ♖xf8 16.O-O-O ♕e7 Best. (16...g4 still fails to 17.e6 ♗xe6 18.♗xc6 bxc6 19.♕xc6)
16...h6 results in a lost ending. 17.e6 fxe6 18.♕d3 ♕e7 19.♕g6 ♕f7 20.♕xh6 O-O-O 21.♗xc6 ♗xc6 22.♘xg5
17.♗xc6 In order to keep his attack alive Keres wisely avoids taking the g-Pawn.
17.♘xg5 O-O-O (17...♕xg5 18.♕xd7#) 18.♘e4 ♗f5 19.♘d6 cxd6 20.♗xc6 dxe5 and black has actually gained the advantage.
17...♗xc6 18.♕d3 ♗d7 It's essential for black to defend his K so once again Alekhine offers a P. (18...♗xf3 19.♕xf3 c6 20.♖d6 and the ending is in white's favor.)
18...♖d8 is the best defense, but in his notes Keres didn't mention it. 19.♕c2 h6 20.♘d4 ♗xg2 21.♖he1 ♗h3 and after doubling Rs on the d-file white will have a slight advantage.
19.♘xg5 Obviously the N cannot be taken because of Qxd7 mate. White could have taken the h-Pawn, but he is not interested in putting his Q out of play.
19.♕xh7 O-O-O 20.h3 ♖h8 21.♕d3 g4 22.hxg4 ♖xh1 23.♖xh1 ♗xg4 and black has equalized.
19...O-O-O Once again Keres plays it safe and avoids the risks involved in taking the h-Pawn. 20.♘f3
20.♘xh7 ♗g4 21.♕a3 Otherwise it's black who ends up slightly better. 21...♖xd1 22.♖xd1 ♕xa3 23.bxa3 ♖h8 (23...♗xd1 loses 24.♘xf8 ♗e2 25.e6 fxe6 26.♘xe6 ♔d7 27.♘xf4 ♗xc4) 24.f3 ♖xh7 25.fxg4 ♖xh2 26.♖d4 ♖xg2 27.♖xf4 with an even ending.
20...f6 Keres gave this a ! stating that it gets rid of his doubled P, opens up the position and gains black more freedom for his pieces to the point that he even gets a little counterplay. That may be a bit over optimistic an assessment though as even here black had several reasonable moves that keep his chances alive.
20...♗h3 21.♕xh7 ♗xg2 22.♖he1 ♗xf3 23.♕h3 ♕e6 24.♕xf3 ♕xc4 is roughly equal.
(20...♖g8 21.♕xh7 ♖xg2 22.♖d2 ♗g4 is also about equal.)
20...♗e6 21.♕xh7 ♗xc4 22.♖xd8 ♖xd8 is a bit more complicated, but with correct play black should hold his own.
21.exf6 ♖xf6 After this Alekhine gets into serious trouble. By far his best move was recapturing with the Q.
21...♕xf6 22.♕d4 This is, according to Keres and the engines, better than taking any risks by capturing the h-Pawn and it was the move Keres, who was somewhat short of time, said he would have played. On the other hand, Alekhine was more afraid of 22.Qxh7. 22...♕xd4 23.♖xd4 and thanks to his P majority on the K-side white has some slight winning chances.
22.♖he1 In spite of Keres' excellent play thus far the game is still far from won if black continues to put up manly resistance. As it turns out, Alekhine makes a rare gross tactical blunder. 22...♕b4 Losing outright.
22...♗e6 23.♕xd8 ♕xd8 24.♖xd8 ♔xd8 25.b3 b5 with a difficult ending where white is a P up and prevailed in five Shootouts without any serious difficulties.
23.♕xd7 Mate attack!
23.♕xd7 ♔b8 24.♕xd8 ♔a7 25.♕xf6 ♕xc4 26.♕c3 ♕xc3 27.bxc3 ♔b6 28.♖e7 ♔c6 29.♖dd7 a5 30.♖xc7 ♔b5 31.♖xb7 ♔c4 32.♖e5 ♔xc3 33.♖d7 a4 34.♖d4 a3 35.♖c5#
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