Alekhine’s Greatedt Game?

 

   When it comes to picking Alehome’s greatest game it;s impossible because he had so many, but his game against Reti at Baden-Baden, 1925 has to be one of them. It’s been annotated by a lot of GMs including Gary Kasparov. You’ve probably seen it before, but even if you have it’s worth looking at again. 

    Following World War I which ended in November of 1914 no really great tournaments had been held in Germany and so Tarrasch prevailed upon the authorities Baden-Baden, a famous spa city, to host another international tournament...the last had bee in 1870! 

    Unfortunately neither Emanuel Lasker and Jose Capablanca both priced themselves out of the market when they insisted on a large appearance fee which officials were either unwilling or unable to meet. Also invited but unable to accept because of their professional employment were Milan Vidmar, an electrical engineer and college professor, and Geza Maroczy, at the time an auditor with the Hungarian government. Alekhine’s win at Baden-Baden was just the first of great wins to come. The others were San Remo in 1930 and Bled in 1931.

ChessBase

Richard Reti–Alexander Alekhine0–1A00Baden-Baden GERBaden-Baden GER25.04.1925Stockfish 16

A00: Reversed Alekhine 1.g3 Alekhine called this move eccentric. e5 2.f3 This is the eccentric move! The opening is now an Alekhine Defense with the colors reversed! e4 3.d4 d5 3...c5 4.b3 c4 5.d4 c5 5...c6 6.c3 c5 7.g2 f6 8.0-0 xd4 9.cxd4 xd4 This weird position offers equal chances. Wohl,A (2415)-Hamdouchi,H (2615) Catalan Bay 2003 6.e3 d5 7.d3 cxd3 8.cxd3 f6 Black is a little better. Katavic,B (2197)-Pejic,I (2097) Split CRO 2011 4.d3 exd3 5.xd3 As far as I know this move has not been commented on, but 5.cxd3 is a good alternative. 5.cxd3 f6 6.g2 e7 7.0-0 0-0 8.c3 c5 9.b3 h6 10.f4 c6 11.c1 g4 12.h3 h5 13.g4 g6 14.g3 c8 15.h4 b6 16.d2 d4 17.xf6 xf6 18.d5 e7 A draw as agreed. Zacurdajev,M (2374)-Serov,M (2275) St Petersburg 2007 5...f6 Here or on the next move black could also have played ...c5 6.g2 b4+ 7.d2= xd2+ 8.xd2 0-0 9.c4 Alekhine stated that (apart from his eccentric first move) Reti has played the opening very well. He is correct...Stocjfish evaluates the position as dead even. a6 It's a bit off that Alekhine avoids ...c5, but Alekhune;s move is, as might be expected, perfectly satisfactory. 10.cxd5 10.a3 prevent ...Nb4, but then black has c5 11.c2 dxc4 12.xc4 e6 13.2f3 c6 with complete equality. 10...b4 11.c4 bxd5 12.2b3 c6 13.0-0 e8 14.fd1 g4 15.d2 c8 16.c5 h3 The play of neither side can be faulted as evidenced bny the fact that Stockfish offers 17.Bxd5, 17.Bh1, 17.Bf3 and 17.Nf3 as all being of bearly equal worth! 17.f3 g4 18.g2 h3 And now ...b6 would win. 19.f3 g4 Obviously Alekhine is willing to accept the draw. Had Reti taken the draw bwith 20.Bg2 Alekhine would still have finished first by a full point. 20.h1 To quote a better annotator than I, "Had Reti played 20.Bg2, the game would have ended in a draw by repetition and we would not seen a brilliant combination..." Soviet GM Alexander Kotov. h5 Just the slightest hint of what's coming. 21.b4 a6 22.c1 h4 23.a4 It's hard to fault Reti's play on the Q-side as technically the position remains equal, but hindsight indicates that play in the center might have been better. 23.e4 b6 24.d3 bd7 25.f3 with the slimest advantage and black's shenanigans on the K-side have been greatly reduced. 23...hxg3 24.hxg3 c7 25.b5 White is not yet facing a astrophysics, but just a smidgen better would have been 25.e4. axb5 26.axb5 e3 "It seems almost incredible that this spectacular move not only stops white's attack but even brings him serious trouble. And yet it is so. It is obvious enough that the R cannot be taken because of 27...Qxg3, followed by 28... Nxe3 and wins; and also that white has to do something in order to parry 27... Rxg3!, etc." Alekhine. It's is an amazing move and one that Stockfish hit upon in an instant. However, the engine also evaluates the position a equal (0.18). 27.f3 "As the following shows, this move loses perforce." Alekhine, 27.fxe3 loses outright. xg3+ 28.g2 xe3 White cannot prevent ...Qxg2# 27.f3 This move throws a monkey wrench into the works... xf3 28.exf3 and there is no black attack. Play might continue... cxb5 29.xb5 a5 30.cd1 30.fxe3 xd2 31.c2 xe3+ 32.g2 At first glance it's hard to believe that black is winning, but here is how it's done... b4 33.c4 a2+ 30...e1+ 31.xe1 xd2 with complete equality. 27...cxb5 Again, I quote a better annotator than myself. "The start of a typhoon that sweeps almost all the pieces from the board." Kasparov 28.xb5 28.d4 would have been tougher for black to meet. a4 29.b2 c4 30.xc4 bxc4 31.d4 e8 32.e1 c3 33.xc3 xc5 and black's piece activity and two passed Ps assure him of a significant advantage. 28...c3 29.xb7 xb7 30.xb7 Even with the Qs off the board and with his R and N attacked black has a stunning continuation. xe2+ 31.h2 Now what?! e4 Alekhine explains the position: "The beginning of a new combination, wich however, is the absolutely logical consequence of the previous maneuvers, aiming, after a series of twelve practically forced moves, at the capture of white's exposed Nt at b7. Black's R is still taboo as 32. fxe3? Nd2 would lose the exchange." Alekhine. The move also receive high praise from Kasparov and Fuscher, so you know it simply must be good! 32.c4 xf2 Worse is 32...xf3 33.xe4 xe4 34.fxe3 xh1 35.xh1 xg3+ and it;s highly doubtful that black could win. 32...xf3 is also a clunker. 33.xe2 xf2+ 34.xf2 xf2 35.d5 with a likely draw. 32...xd2 is met by 33.xd2 e6 34.fxe3 a2 35.e4 xd2 36.c2 xc2 37.xc2 with a draw. 33.g2 Black is clearly winning, but Alekhine's final combination makes this game a true masterpiece. e6 An important key move of the combination. And not 33...xf3 34.xf3 xf3 35.xe2 White is equal. 33...e4 It must be pointed out that this is an equally effective move. 34.dc2 a6 Threatening ...Ra6 35.h4 2xg3 36.xe4 xe4 37.c5 xc5 38.xc5 h6 and wins 34.cc2 g4+ 35.h3 e5+ 36.h2 xf3 37.xe2 g4+ 38.h3 e3+ Of his next move Alekhine wrote, "The final point! winning a piece." 39.h2 xc2 40.xf3 d4 White resigned. 40...d4 41.f2 xf3+ 42.xf3 d5 with a won ending. 0–1

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