The match was regarded as little more than an exhibition and Alekhine himself wrote regarding one of the games, "(it) proves how useless from the sporting point of view was the arrangement of this second match, and at the same time explains my indifferent play on a number of occasions. I felt sure that Bogolubow was no longer able to take advantage of the opportunities my play might present to him, and - very unfortunately for the general artistic value of the present match - the score 7 to 1 after the twenty-second game fully justified my sanguine outlook."
The match was to consist of the best of 30 games, and 6 wins.
Given here is one of the more interesting games from the match. It was a heartbreaking game for Bogoljubow to lose, but Alekhine deserves credit for his resourceful play after black's 47...g5.
Euwe explained the situation after 47.Rcd2 as follows:
Bogoljubow has attained several strategic advantages
a) white's a-Pawn in weak
b) black has a fine outpost for his N on d5
c) his light squared B is on an excellent diagonal
With his 47...g5 Boboljubow endeavored to unite these advantages in a tactical way by forcing open the g-file after which he would double Rs on it. That, in conjunction with his control of the long white diagonal, would give him a very dangerous attack.
However, the ever alert Alekhine realized that several of his pieces would remain inactive as long as the position was closed, but they would become very effective tactically in an open position.
The result was that Bogoljubow's 47...g5 actually played right into Alekhine's hands. When Alekhine replied 48.g4 it opened up a floodgate of possibilities and an unsuspecting Bogoljubow, thinking himself safe, continued with his positional plans only to find that Alekhine's pieces were perfectly positioned to conduct a winning tactical conclusion to the game.
All very interesting, but as is often the case, all this was based more on the result of the game than on a concrete assessment of the position such as we can get today using Stockfish and Komodo which, for better or worse, alters our perception of the game.
Stockfish approves of 47...g5 after which black has a slight advantage. Alekhine's reply (48.g4) is not rated as highly as 48.Bc4, but the difference in the evaluation is minimal. The reality is that it was only after Bogoljubow's horrible blunder at move 51 that the game was lost and the game was, in fact, a colossal battle.
Alexander Alekhine - Efim Bogoljubov
Result: 1-0
Site: World Championship Match, Villingen GER
Date: 1934.04.11
Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Slav
[...] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.♘c3 ♘f6 4.e3 e6 5.♗d3 ♘bd7 6.f4 his is an unusual move that turns out to be unsatisfactory. Alekhine's hopes for a K-side attack never materialize. Additionally, the center P-formation may become a disadvantage, 6...dxc4 This move is a simple and good reply because after, say, 6...Bd3 white could establish a strong P-chain withe 7.c5 and 8.b4 etc, 7.♗xc4 b5 8.♗d3 ♗b7 9.♘f3
52.♖xe7+ ♖xe7 53.♗h4 ♔f7 54.♗xe7 ♔xe7 55.♖c7+ ♖d7 56.f6+ A nice touch. 56...♔e8 57.♗g6+ ♔d8 58.f7 ♔xc7 59.f8=♕ f3 60.♕xb4 ♖d6
9.e4 is inviting, but after 9...b4 10.♘ce2 c5 black has an excellent position.
9...a6 10.a4 b4 In an earlier game black got a satisfactory position after white maneuvered Nb1-d2-c4. Another alternative is 11.Ne4 followed by Nxf6+. In any case, black now has equality. 11.♘e2 c5 12.O-O ♗e7 13.a5 This P is destined to become weak.
13.♘g3 g6 14.♔h1 O-O 15.e4 cxd4 16.♘xd4 ♘c5 with a sizeable advantage to black. Kaminik,A (2138)-Filipenko,A (2288)/Opatija CRO 2013
13.♗d2 seems to be the best reply, but black retains a slight advantage after 13...♖c8 14.♖c1 O-O 15.♘e5 a5
13...O-O 14.♘g3 g6 Eliminating the possibility of white's playing f5. 15.♕e2 cxd4 Well-played. In order for white to retain a presence in the center he has to take with the P, but it will soon become a target. 16.exd4 ♘b8 This backward N move is also a very fine move! It prepares a double attack on the d- and a-Pawns. Fine and Reinfeld observed that this move required careful calculation and it revealed a profound insight into the position. 17.♘e5 This is an interesting attempt to eliminate black's positional pressure by offering a P for a speculative attack. There was also a psychological consideration...Bogoljubow had had a bad experience in a similar situation in their second game. Here is an interesting conundrum: Komodo prefers 17.Ne5 and thinks black is slightly better. Stockfish likes 17.f5, but thinks black still has a sizeable advantage. Which is correct?!
17.f5 exf5 18.♗e3 ♘c6 19.♗xf5 ♖e8 (19...gxf5 allows white to equalize after 20.♘xf5 ♕d5 21.♘e5) 20.♗h3 ♕d5 21.♖ad1 With the advantage to black.
17...♘c6 The correct decision. Bogoljubow has his own plans and correctly refuses to take the bait.
17...♕xd4+ 18.♗e3 ♕d6 19.♖fd1 ♘d5 20.♘e4 ♕c7 21.♖ac1 ♕xa5 and black has no more than equality.
18.♘xc6 ♗xc6 19.♗c4 Capturing the a-Pawn was more promising.
19.♗xa6 ♖xa6 Suggested by Fine and Reinfeld and leading to complications. 20.♕xa6 ♕xd4+ 21.♔h1 ♕d5 Black threatens to regain the exchange with ...Bb5
19.♗xa6 h5 is the best reply and it allows black to retain a slight advantage. 20.♗c4 h4 21.♘h1 h3
19...♗b7 20.♗e3 ♕d6 Bogoljubow has accomplished the plan he initiated on move 15 and now has an excellent game. 21.♖ad1 The R has more important functions than simply guarding the a-Pawn. 21...♖fe8 22.b3 Not played to defend the B, but to play Qa2 in case the a-Pawn needs protection. 22...♗f8 Here Bogoljubow begins regrouping his pieces. 23.♖d3 Played so as to allow him to attack the b-Pawn without blocking the Rs defense of his own d-Pawn. 23...♕c7 24.♕a2 ♗d6 25.♗d2 ♕c6 26.♗e1 ♖ad8 White is at a disadvantage and one of his difficulties is finding a good square for his N. 27.♖d2 ♗e7 Toying with the idea of 28...Rxd4 and ...Bc5 28.♕b2 ♖d7
28...♖xd4 does not work as white can repulse the attack. 29.♖xd4 ♗c5 30.♖f3 ♕c7 (30...♗xd4+ 31.♕xd4 black has lost a piece.) 31.♖fd3 ♕xa5 32.h3 ♕c7 33.♔h2 h5 34.♗f2 h4 35.♘e2 ♗xd4 36.♕xd4 ♕c6 37.♖f3 white has defended against all the threat and is still up a piece.
29.♖c2 Clever. He dares black to take the d-Pawn. 29...♕d6 This is not really bad, but due to approaching time pressure Bogoljubow decides not to undertake anything and wait for adjournment so he can analyze at his leisure. The problem is that this move relaxes the mating threat on the long diagonal and eases white's defensive task in the process. (29...♖xd4 30.♗xa6 ♕xa6 31.♕xd4 ♕xa5 32.♗f2 with an equal position.)
29...♘g4 Subsequent analysis showed this to be the best continuation. Play might run 30.♗d3 ♕d6 31.♗d2 ♗h4 32.h3 ♕xd4+ 33.♕xd4 ♖xd4 34.♗e2 ♖ed8 35.♗c1 ♘f6 36.♔h2 ♘e4 37.♘xe4 ♗xe4 38.♖c7 ♗d3 39.♗xd3 ♖xd3 40.♖c6 ♖xb3 41.♖xa6 ♖c8 with a considerable advantage.
30.♘e2 ♘d5 He still should have played 30...Ng4 31.♕c1 ♗d8 32.♗g3 The idea is to meet 32...Bxa5 with 33.f5. Not wanting to allow white any counterplay with his next move Bogoljubow removes his Q to safety. 32...♕e7 33.♖a2 Harking back to move 21, it turns out that the R needs to defend the a-Pawn after all. 33...♕f6 As far as I know no annotator has questioned this move which loses much of black's advantage.
33...♕f8 Per Stockfish and Komodo. 34.♕d2 ♗f6 35.♔h1 ♖c8 36.h3 h5 37.♖c1 h4 38.♗f2 ♕d6 39.♗e1 ♖dc7 40.♖ac2 and while there is nothing decisive for black he has at least kept white in a difficult bind.
34.♕d2
34.♗xa6 gets very tricky, but black's more active pieces keep the advantage for him...for example: 34...♗xa6 35.♕c6 ♗xe2 36.♕xd7 ♗xf1 37.♕xe8+ ♔g7 38.♔xf1 ♕xd4 39.♕b5 ♕d1+ 40.♗e1 ♗f6 41.♖e2 ♘c3 42.♖d2 ♕xd2 43.♗xd2 ♘xb5 with a won ending.
34...♕f5
34...♘c3 allows black to capture the d-Pawn, but Bogoljubow rightly prefers to wait until he can get it for nothing. 35.♘xc3 ♖xd4 36.♕e3 bxc3 37.♕xc3 ♖xf4 38.♕xf6 ♖xf6 with equal chances.
35.♗d3 ♕f6 36.♗c4 ♗e7 For the next few moves both players make non-committal moves because of mutual time pressure. 37.♕d3 ♖ed8 38.♗e1 ♕f5 39.♕d2 ♕e4 40.♗d3 ♕e3+ 41.♗f2 Alekhine's sealed move. 41...♕xd2 42.♖xd2 ♖c8 43.♗c4 ♔g7 44.g3 ♖cd8 45.♖c1 h6 46.♗d3 f5 While not strictly bad or losing, with this and his next move Bogoljubow lets his advantage slip away.
46...♗d6 is the recommended moveafter which, after a lot of maneuvering, black has the somrwhat more active position, but finding a breakthrough will prove difficult. 47.♖e1 h5 48.h4 ♘e7 49.♖c2 ♘f5 50.♖ec1 ♗d5 51.♗c4 ♗e4 52.♖a2 ♖a8 53.♖d2 ♘e7 54.♖a2 ♘d5 In Shootouts from this position using Stockfish black won two games with three draws.
47.♖dc2 g5 The plan was to continue with ...g5 and then advance his h-Pawn. 48.g4 After 48.Bc4 Stockfish begins waffling in an attempt to discover the best reply. After the text it still thinks black's advantage is considerable. Fine and Reinfeld called it a cunning counter-thrust that turns black's plans topsy-turvy. That's true, but only in the psychological sense. 48...♘xf4 And it's with this move that his advantage evaporates.
48...♖f8 Keeps the advantage, the best line running 49.♘g3 gxf4 50.♘h5+ ♔f7 51.gxf5 ♖g8+ 52.♔f1 ♖g5 53.fxe6+ ♔xe6 54.♖e2+ ♔f7 55.♖e5 ♗d6 56.♖xg5 hxg5 57.h4 g4 and black has a significant advantage that should be enough to secure the win.
49.♘xf4 gxf4 50.gxf5 e5 51.♖e1 This position is now equal. Bogoljubow spent a significant amount of time on his next move which turns out to be the real mistake that allows the advantage to swing over to white. 51...exd4 After this absolutely horrible blunder Komodo gives white the advantage by over 3-1/2 Pawns!
51...♖xd4 maintains equal chances after 52.♗xd4 ♖xd4 53.♖c7 ♔f6 54.♖xe5 ♗d5
54...♔xe5 55.♖xe7+ ♔d6 56.♖xb7 ♖xd3 57.f6 ♔e6 58.f7 ♖d8 and white is better.
55.♖exe7 ♖xd3 with a difficult ending for both sides. 60...d3 is no better. 61.♕f4+ ♔d8 62.♕b8+ ♗c8 63.♕b6+ ♔e7 64.♕e3+ ♔d8 65.♗xd3 and wins
61.♗d3 Bogoljubow resigned. Powered by Aquarium
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