Alekhine At Budapest 1921

     In 1921, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (March 24, 1877 - June 29, 1933), was an obese comic actor who got his start on stage, then in silent film comedies. He formed his own production company and hired Buster Keaton to star in his first film, The Butcher Boy (1917). 

     Arbuckle, himself, was soon starring in and making feature-length films, but his acting career was abruptly ended when he was arrested on manslaughter charges in 1921. It was alleged that while sexually assaulting an actress the 266-pound Arbuckle had ruptured her bladder. He was acquitted after three trials, but his acting career was ruined. In the 1930's he returned to acting, making several successful short films that led to a contract with Warner Brothers to do a feature film. Arbuckle died in his sleep the night after the contract was signed. The Smithsonian magazine has all the juicy details of his trial HERE.

     In February of 1921 the US State Department and the American consulate in Berlin refused to give a visa to world champion Emanuel Lasker and his wife for his trip to the United States and then on to Cuba to meet Capablanca. The reason...his German background. Lasker made it to Havana via Holland instead and on March 15 the Lasker-Capablanca world championship match began. 

     The games were played on the same table that was used by Steinitz and Chigorin in their world championship match in Havana. Capablanca won with a score of +4 -0 =10 when Lasker resigned on April 27, 1921 on the grounds of ill health. 

     On April 29, 1921, Alekhine and his wife were given permission to leave Russia for a visit to the West and he never returned. In September he won a tournament in Budapest which helped his bid as a world championship challenger. 

     At the tournament in Budapest, Alekhine introduced the Alekhine's Defense in games against Endre Steiner and Fritz Saemisch. Alekhine stated that he actually introduced the new defense in a consultation game at Zurich in August of 1921 and then introduced it into master practice at Budapest in September. He wrote, "Its correctness now seems perfectly established. One of the most searching proofs of its vitality lies in the fact that Dr. Emanuel Lasker, ex-champion of the world, although openly opposed to this defense, successfully adopted it against Maroczy at the New York Tournament (March-April 1924), after having tried in vain to demolish it." 

     In his book of best games Alekhine included the win against Steiner, but not the draw with Saemisch. He also included his wins against Bogoljubow and Sterk, but to be honest, I didn't find any of those games particularly interesting! The only game he played at Budapest that I really liked was the following snappy win against Zoltan Von Balla (1883-1945) who was Hungarian champion in 1906 and 1911. He died in a traffic accident with a Soviet tank at the end of World War II.

Alexander Alekhine - Zoltan von Balla
Result: 1-0
Site: Budapest
Date: 1921.09.17
London System

[...] 1.d4 d5 2.♘f3 e6 3.♗f4 This is one of those openings that is often hyped as a "system" that can be used against virtually any black defense. While that is true, the implication that because the opening comprises a smaller body of theory, that makes it easy to play with little study which is misleading. I have Tim Harding's book on the Colle, London and Blackmar systems and in the book he devotes 47 jam packed pages to its analysis. If you are going to play it correctly, there is a lot of stuff to learn. 3...c5 Usual is 3...Nf6, but occasionally one sees 3...Bd6. The text is a natural reaction. 4.e3 Equally good is 4.c3. 4...♘c6 5.c4

5.♘c3 a6 6.♗d3 ♗d6 7.dxc5 ♗xf4 8.exf4 ♕a5 9.O-O ♘f6 10.♘e2 ♕xc5 11.c3 with equality. Kharlov,A (2605) -Sherbakov,R (2555)/Niksic 1996

5.c3 This has also been played many times. One example... 5...♗d6 6.♗g3 ♘f6 7.♘bd2 O-O 8.♗b5 ♘e7 9.♗d3 ♕b6 10.♖b1 ♘g6 11.♗xg6 hxg6 12.♗xd6 ♕xd6 13.♘e5 with an even position. Gelfand,B (2734) -Inarkiev,E (2730)/Magas RUS 2016

5...♘f6 6.♘c3 cxd4 7.exd4 This position has also been seen many times as far back as 1887. 7...♘e4

7...dxc4 was played in Blackburne,J-Zukertort,J/London 1887 8.♗xc4 ♗e7 9.O-O O-O 10.♖c1 ♗d7 11.♕e2 ♖c8 12.♖fd1 ♕a5 White has more freedom for his pieces, but in the game Zukertort managed to hold on for many moves and the game was eventually drawn.

7...♗b4 is probably black's most promising continuation. After 8.a3 ♗xc3 9.bxc3 O-O 10.♗d3 ♕a5 11.♕c2 dxc4 12.♗xc4 ♘xd4 13.♘xd4 e5 with equal chances. Yanchenko,R (2436)-Tang,A (2513)/chess.com INT 2018

8.♗d3 It should be pointed out that 8.c5 releasing the tension in the center only benefits black.

8.c5 ♕a5 9.♖c1 ♗e7 10.♗d3 O-O 11.O-O f5 12.♘e5 with equality. Pietrow,A-Janse,J/Dieren 1999

8...♗b4 9.♖c1 ♕a5 This does not turn out well for black.

9...♘xc3 was better. Then after 10.bxc3 dxc4 11.♗xc4 ♗d6 white would have the more active position, but black's position is solid.

10.♕b3 dxc4 11.♗xc4 g5 A rather surprising and rash move that black will soon regret. (11...O-O 12.O-O ♗d6 was much safer.) 12.♗e3 g4 13.♘e5 ♘xe5 14.dxe5 ♗xc3

14...O-O is better as after 15.O-O ♗xc3 16.bxc3 ♕xe5±17.♖ce1 he has an extra P and his K is safe for the moment. However, white's pieces are very active.

15.bxc3 b6 Understandably he wants to get his B (and R) into play, but this mvoe is tactically flawed. (15...♘c5 16.♕b5 ♕xb5 17.♗xb5 ♗d7 and black is still in the game.) 16.O-O ♗d7 17.♖fd1 ♗a4 His position is bad, but this mistake simply hastens the end.

17...O-O-O 18.♕b4 ♗c6

18...♕xb4 19.cxb4 ♔b8 20.f3 leaves white with a dominating position which he can convert to a won ending without much trouble.

19.♕e7 with a promising attack, but this was black's best option.

18.♕b1 This backward retreat of the Q is the kind of move that is hard to see because our natural tendency is to look for moves that advance pieces. 18...♘xc3 At this point, while white has no immediate forcing win, black is lost no matter what he does. Sooner or later his position is going to collapse. (18...♘c5 19.♖d4 h5 20.♗g5 ♖c8 21.♗f6 is very bad for black.)

18...♗c6 19.♗d3 ♘c5 20.♗g5 ♖g8 21.♗f6 ♘xd3 22.♕xd3 ♕d5 23.♕g3 ♕c5 24.♖d6 here, too, black is bound hand and foot.

19.♖xc3 ♕xc3 After this black's K is caught in a crossfire from which there is no escape.

19...O-O is no better. 20.♕e4 ♕xc3 21.♗d3 f5 22.exf6 ♕c7 23.♕xa4 ♖xf6 24.♕xg4 ♔h8 25.♖c1 ♕g7 26.♕e4 ♖af8 27.♗d4 winning easily.

20.♗b5 ♗xb5 21.♕xb5 ♔f8 22.♗h6 ♔g8 23.♕d7 Black resigned. (23.♕d7 ♕a1 24.♖xa1 g3 25.hxg3 b5 26.♕e7 b4 27.♕g5#)

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The Punching Bag Strikes Back

     In 1913, Capablanca was in Russia and played an exhibition knock-out match against three opponents. The conditions to win the gold cup were that Capablanca must not lose a game. If he did, the cup would go to the opponent with the best score against him. 

     Capablanca was employed by the Foreign Office of Cuba and was assigned to the newly founded Cuban Consulate at St. Petersburg. His duties were probably intended to be that of a Goodwill Ambassador based on his chess playing skill, plus a major international tournament was scheduled to be played in St. Petersburg. 

    He arrived in St. Petersburg on November 18, 1913 and during his stay and until the great tournament of 1914, he gave multiple simultaneous exhibitions and played many exhibition games against Russian masters. 

    One such exhibition was the Savorin Cup. According to a post on chessgames.com the Savorin Cup could actually be the Suvorin Cup. Aleksei Suvorin (1834-1912) was a Russian newspaper publisher, book publisher and journalist from St. Petersburg whose publishing empire wielded considerable influence during the last decades of the Russian Empire. According to the poster there are many Suvorin's in Russia, but very few Savorins.

    In the cup Capablanca defeated Alexander Alekhine and Fyodor Dus-Chotimirsky 2-0, but then scored 1-1 against Eugene Znosko-Borovsky. Thus, Znosko-Borovsky was the winner and also won the side stakes. 

     Eugene Znosko-Borovsky (August 16, 1884 – December 31, 1954) was a Russian master, music and drama critic, teacher and author. Born in St. Petersburg, he settled in Paris in 1920 and lived there for the rest of his life.

     Outside of chess Znosko-Borovsky was a noted drama critic. He was also a soldier in the Russian military and fought and was wounded in both the Russo-Japanese War and in World War One. Later, he fought against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution before moving to France. 

     Generally regarded as a minor master and punching bag for top level players, Znosko-Borovsky actually had considerable talent and he managed to chalk up wins against Capablanca, Rubinstein, Euwe and Bogoljubow. Chessmetrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2613 in 1914 and that ranked him number 18 in the world.

Jose Capablanca - Eugene Znosko-Borovsky
Result: 0-1
Site: St Petersburg, Savorin Cup
Date: 1913.12.18
French Defense McCutcheon Variation

[...] 1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.♘c3 ♘f6 4.♗g5 ♗b4 With the McCutcheon Variation black ignores white's threat of e4-e5 and instead plays for a counterattack on the Q-side. 5.exd5 At the time this game was played and as it is today, 5.e5 is most fequently played, but Capa considered 5.exd5 to be stronger. 5...♕xd5 This is preferable to 5...exd5. This move represents a clash of plans at the very basic level. Black's idea is to seize the initiative by distrupting white's Q-side. White has compensation in that he breaks up black's K-side.. 6.♗xf6 gxf6 7.♘f3 ♗xc3 8.bxc3 b6 This represents a long range plan on black's part. He hopes to use the B on the long diagonal in conjunction with his Rs on the g-file to attack white's K. 9.♗e2 One of three good moves at white's disposal.

9.g3 ♕a5

9...♗b7 10.♗g2 ♕e4 11.♔d2 ♕g6 12.♘h4 ♕h6 13.f4 Black is better. Tarrasch,S (2612) -Alekhine,A (2621)/St Petersburg 1914

10.♕d2 ♘c6 11.♗g2 ♗b7 12.O-O O-O-O Kasimdzhanov,R (2664)-Glek,I (2566)/Mainz 2003 is equal.

9.c4 ♕e4 10.♕e2 ♗b7 11.O-O-O is equal. Timman,J (2630)-Visser,Y (2485)/Vlaardingen 2005

9...♗b7 10.♕d2 ♘d7 11.c4 ♕f5 12.O-O-O Today this move is exclusively played, but at the time it was a novelty. Capa explained that he got the idea from a game of Walter P. Shipley that he saw. His thinking was that black has no dark squared B and his pieces are developed with the aim of a K-side attack and so white's K will be perfectly safe opn the Q-side in spite of appearances. Also, if black plays ...O-O the white can take advantage of the awkward position of black's Q to begin a K-side attack. 12...O-O-O 13.♕e3 ♖hg8 14.g3 Capa called this an unquestionable mistake and wrote that he overlooked white's fine reply. Stockfish considers the position to be quite equal. 14...♕a5 Black threatens to win material: Qa5xa2 (14...♖g4 leads nowhere after 15.♘d2 ♗xh1 16.♗xg4 ♕xg4 17.♖xh1) 15.♖d3 Doubling Rs on the d-file. There also may be some distant possibility of using the R to slide over and attack black's K. 15...♔b8 The move 14...Rg4 was still a reasonable alternative. 16.♖hd1 ♕f5 17.♘h4 This move was criticized because it puts the N out of play, but Capa liked it because by forcing the Q to g6 white gains time with f2-f4 which consolidates his position and drives the black Q out of play. Stockfish prefers transferring the N to the Q-side with Nd2-b3. 17...♕g5 18.f4 ♕g7 In his book Chess Fundamentals Capablanca made no comment on this move, but it is a mistake that allows white to secure a considerable advantage. The correct idea was to transfer the Q back to the Q-side with 18...Qa5 after which it would have been very difficult for white to make progress. At the same time, black would have had few attacking chances on the K-side. 19.♗f3 Of course he wants to eliminate the black B leaving black with a white square weakness around his K. 19...♖ge8

19...♗c8 Black must agree to the exchange. 20.♕e4 c6 21.♕xc6 ♗a6 22.♕a8 ♔c7 23.♕xa7 wins. In fact, there is actually a mate in 8.

20.♗xb7 ♔xb7 21.c5 The threat is 22.c6. 21...c6

21...♕g4 This is a pass to demonstrate white's threat. 22.c6 ♔xc6 23.♕e4 ♔d6 24.d5 ♔e7 25.dxe6 ♘c5 26.♘f5 wins.

22.♘f3 ♕f8 23.♘d2 Capa gave this a ? and said he considered the right move (23.Rb3) but gave up on it because it was too slow and he believed there must be some quicker way to win. Actually, it turns out that 23.Nd2 is the quickest way.

23.♖b3 allows black to strike a quick counterattack in the center that equalizes. 23...e5 24.fxe5 fxe5 25.cxb6 axb6 26.♘xe5 ♕g7 27.♕f3 ♘xe5 28.dxe5 ♕g5 29.♔b1 ♖xe5

23...bxc5 24.♘c4 ♘b6 25.♘a5 ♔a8 26.dxc5 ♘d5 27.♕d4 ♖c8 Here according to Stockfish white is winning (evaluation of about 3.5 Ps). Capa correctly points out that his next move was an error adding that the right move was 28.Nc4. His explanation was that he was still looking for the knockout blow and he thought that the P he gets on d6 would win. He also gives Znosko-Borovsky great credit for the way he conducted his defense adding that he could have gone wrong a number of times since move 22. 28.c4 White threatens to win material: c4xd5

28.♘c4 This is much better than 28.c4. 28...e5 29.♕g1!29...♖b8 30.♘d6 ♘b4 31.♖a3 ♖ed8 32.♕h1 and white wins rather easily.

28...e5 This equalizes. 29.♕g1 e4 30.cxd5 exd3 Capa makes no comment on his next move which is a poor one, but as he explained, he thought the P on d6 assured the win. 31.d6 After this the advantage belongs to black.

31.♘xc6 This move forces an unbalanced material situation where a draw is probably going to be the outcome. For example 31...♖e4

31...♖e2 32.♖xd3 ♕e8 33.♕d4 ♖e4 34.♕c3 ♖e1 35.♔b2 ♕e2 36.♔a3 ♖c1 37.♕d2 ♕xd2 38.♖xd2 ♖xc5 with a likely draw.

32.♖xd3 ♖c4 33.♔d2 ♖xc5 34.♕d4 ♕d6 here, too, a draw is likely.

31...♖e2 32.d7 Again, Capa makes no comment on this move, but after this he is dead lost.

32.♖xd3 is correct and then the onus is on black to find the winning plan. Probably beginning with moves like ...Qe8 and ...Rb8 and there does not seem to be anything white can do to save the game. 32...♕e8 33.♕d4 ♖b8 and from this position black scored 5-0 in Shootouts.

32...♖c2 33.♔b1 ♖b8 34.♘b3 ♕e7 Here Capa mistakenly thought he had a chance to win the game after 35.Qd4 35.♖xd3

35.♕d4 ♖xh2 This was the only move Capa considered. After 36.♕xd3 ♖d8 At this point he gives some truly faulty analysis, but it is true he has at least a draw after 37.♕f3

37.♕a6 This was Capa's analysis, but it is totally the wrong move. 37...♕e6 38.♕d3 ♕e2 39.♕xe2 ♖xe2 40.♖d6 ♖e6 and wins.

37...♖xd7 38.♕xc6 ♖b7

35.♕d4 ♖e2 Instead of Capa's faulty capture of the h-Pawn, this keeps black's hopes of winning alive. 36.♖xd3 ♖d8 37.♕d6 ♕xd6 38.cxd6 ♖xd7 39.♘c5 ♖d8 40.h4 ♖e1 41.♔c2 ♖e2 From this position black scored 5 wins in Shootouts, but it was in difficult endings so in practical play both sides have plenty of room for error.

35...♖e2 36.♕d4 ♖d8 37.♕a4 ♕e4 38.♕a6 ♔b8 As Capa pointed out, there is nothing to be done against this simple move.

38...♕h1 This move demonstrates the point that it's never too late to blunder. 39.♘c1 ♖b8 (39...♖e1 40.♕c8 mate next move.) 40.♖b3 ♕e4 41.♘d3 and black has to take the draw. 41...♕h1 42.♘c1 ♕e4 etc.

39.♔c1 ♖xd7 40.♘d4 ♖e1 41.♔d2

41.♔b2 an white gets mated in 16. 41...♖xd4 42.♖b3 ♖b4 43.♕a4 ♖xb3 44.♕xb3 ♔c8 45.♔c3 ♖e3 46.♔b2 ♕d4 47.♔b1 ♖e1 48.♔c2 ♖e2 49.♔c1 ♕d2 50.♔b1 ♖e1 51.♕d1 ♖xd1#

41...♖xd4 White reigned. "A very interesting battle." (Capablanca)

41...♖xd4 42.a3 ♖e3 43.♔c1 ♖exd3 44.♕b5 cxb5 45.c6 ♖c4 46.♔b1 ♖d1 47.♔a2 ♕b1#

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A Lesson By Bobby Fischer

 

    One of the characteristics of Fischer's games was their strategic clarity and the following game against Olicio Gadia (July 2, 1928-May 1, 1988, 59 years old), the Brazilian champion in 1959 and 1962, illustrates that quality quite well. 

    The game was played at Mar del Plata in 1960 where Fischer (17 years old) and Spassky (23 years old) tied for first with a 13.5-1.5 score, a full two points ahead of Bronstein. Olafsson finished 4th with 10.5-4.5. 

     The tournament was an exciting one. Fischer and Spassky met in an early round. Spassky played 1.e4 and amazingly, Fischer did not play the Sicilian and Spassky played the King's Gambit! After a bitter fight Spassky won. 

     Thereafter, for round after round, both of them battered down their opposition. With one round to go, Fischer trailed Spassky by half a point. In the last round Fischer had white against the lowly placed Luis Marini of Argentina and Spassky had black vs. Bernardo Wexler of Argentina who finished in sixth place. Both games saw sacrifices: Fischer sacrificed a piece and the exchange and won; Spassky sacrificed a Queen for two minor pieces and drew. And so they ended up tied for first.

     Whether you have seen Fischer's game against Gadia before or not, it's worth playing over again because the strategy Fischer uses is one that is frequently seen in Sicilian positions.

Robert Fischer - Olicio Gadia

Result: 1-0

Site: Mar del Plata

Date: 1960.03.31

Sicilian Najdorf

[...] 1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.♘xd4 ♘f6 5.♘c3 a6 Fischer faces his favorite defense. 6.♗c4 His favorite way of meeting the Najdorf. 6...e6 7.♗b3 b5 8.O-O ♗b7 The main move here is 8...Be7. Although b7 is a good square for this B in the Najdorf, there is a lot to recommend for keeping it on c8 for the moment. For one thing it defends e6. Obviously an immediate sacrifice on e6 is not good, but with his next move Fischer continues with his strategic plan of attacking e6 with f2-f4-f5. 9.f4

9.♗xe6 This has been tried a few times, but unless black defends poorly the best white can hope for is a draw. 9...fxe6 10.♘xe6 ♕d7 11.♘d5 ♗xd5 12.exd5 and black is better.

9...♘c6 This questionable. Better are 9...Be7 or even 9...Nbd7 10.♘xc6 ♗xc6 So, with his last move black has eliminated one of the pieces that was attacking e6, but with his nexr move, Fischer continues the attack on e6. Note that black is not without threats of his own. He threatens both ...Nxe4 and ...b4. 11.f5 With the obvious threat to take on e6, but this move also is dangerous to black because it threats to open up the position with black's K still in the center. Already, even though the engines evaluate this position as quite equal, practically black is facing a difficult defensive task.

11.e5 Might be tempting, but after 11...dxe5 12.fxe5 ♕xd1 13.♖xd1 ♗c5 14.♔h1 ♘g4 black would win.

11...e5 Black would like to keep the P on e6 to shield f7, but doing so also has its disadvantages. This P-structure is very familiar in the Sicilian. If given enough time, black can play ...O-O and maneuver his Q to b7 when he would have pressure on white's e-Pawn. But, time is something black doesn't have. (11...♕d7 12.fxe6 fxe6 and e6 is weak as well as his Ks position.)

11...b4 This has been tried here, but it is tactically faulty. 12.fxe6 bxc3 13.exf7 ♔d7 14.e5 and with a lot of luck black may be able to survive. Using Stockfish 12 I ran some Shootouts from this position and white scored +1 -1 +4, but in practical play the odds are likely to favor white and no player of black would want to face constantly being on the defense.

11...b4 12.fxe6 fxe6 Declining the sacrifice is even worse. After 13.♘e2 Now taking the e-Pawn is too risky so black's best chance is 13...d5 14.♘f4 Still attacking e6. 14...♗c5 15.♔h1 ♕e7 Black successfully defends e6 and he has developed his pieces, but now the issue is the safety of his K which has no safe haven.

12.♕d3 Defending the e-Pawn.

12.♗g5 Was much better as the e-Pawn cannot be taken. 12...♕b6 13.♔h1 ♘xe4 14.♘xe4 ♗xe4 15.f6 g6 16.♖e1 ♗c6 17.♕d2 with excellent compensation for the P. Note that in effect black is playing without his B and R.

12.♗g5 ♗e7 This a better defense, bit it, too, is not very good for black. 13.♗xf6 ♗xf6 14.♗d5 ♕b6 15.♖f2 O-O 16.♗xc6 ♕xc6 17.♘d5 and white's N which is far superior to black's B gives him a huge strategic advantage.

12...♗e7 Black decides the best plan is to try and get castled.

12...♕b6 With the idea of attacking the e-Pawn is a plausible alternative. 13.♔h1 ♕b7 14.a4 ♘xe4 This avoids complications that arise from 14...b4

14...b4 15.♘d5 ♗e7 16.♗h6 In this positions Shootouts resulted in white scoring +1 -0 =4, but here, too, black's defense must be near perfect.

15.axb5 axb5 16.♖xa8 ♕xa8 17.♘d5 ♘c5 18.♘c7 ♔d7 19.♘xa8 ♘xd3 20.cxd3 ♗xa8 21.♗xf7 with roughly even chances.

13.♗g5 Fischer plans to eliminate the N and place a piece on d5. 13...♕b6 14.♔h1 O-O 15.♗xf6 ♗xf6 Which piece should white place on d5, the B or the N? 16.♗d5 Excellent! This trades off black's last defender of d5 and allows white to get a well posted N vs black's horrible B.

16.♘d5 This is the wrong piece because after 16...♗xd5 17.♗xd5 ♖ac8 18.c3 While white has a good B vs black's bad B, breaking through is not going to be easy. 18...b4

16...♖ac8 17.♗xc6 ♖xc6 This is not good at all. It was better to fight back with 17...Qxc6

17...♕xc6 This at least hinders Nd5 because of the threat to the c-Pawn. 18.♖f2 ♕c4 19.♕f3

19.♕xc4 ♖xc4 20.♖e2 ♖fc8 An even with his bad B the advantage has swung to black owing to his strong Rs.

19...♕b4 20.♖b1 ♖xc3 21.♕xc3 ♕xe4 and black is offering stout resistance.

18.♖ad1 This keeps the black Q from going to d4.

18.♘d5 ♕d4 and black has managed to equalize in all variations. For example 19.♕xd4 exd4 20.♘xf6 gxf6 21.♖fd1 ♖xc2 22.b3 (22.♖xd4 ♖xb2 23.♖xd6 a5 and black is even a little better!) 22...♖fc8 23.h3 ♖b2 24.♖xd4 ♖cc2 25.♖xd6 ♖xg2 26.♖g1 with a likely draw.

18...♖fc8 19.♘d5 Success! 19...♕d8

19...♕d4 would run into 20.♘xf6 gxf6 21.♕g3 winning the Q. The point of 18.Rad1

20.c3 White has a strategically won position. This is the type of position Fischer was aiming for when he played 13.Bg5 to eliminate the N on f6. 20...♗e7 This position is another one where Fischer demonstrated his genius. Many players would not hesitate to play 21.f6. 21.♖a1 This is a strategic idea that we often see in the games of great players...a sudden shift of play to a different sector of the board. In this case to the Q-side. Black has no counterplay at all against the threat of a4.

21.f6 ♗xf6 22.♘xf6 gxf6 23.♕h3 followed by a R lift to continue the attack. There is little back can to here but sit and wait.

21...f6 Black sets himself up for disaster with this move, but there really wasn't a good defense.

21...♗f8 What else?! 22.a4 bxa4 (22...♖b8 23.axb5 axb5 24.♖a7) 23.♖xa4 and white doubles Rs on the a-file.

22.a4 ♖b8 This hangs the R on c6.

22...♖c5 23.axb5 ♖xb5 24.b4 ♖cb8 (24...♖a8 25.♘xe7 ♕xe7 26.♕xb5 axb5 27.♖xa8 ♔f7 28.♖fa1 g6 29.♖8a7) 25.♖xa6 Black can play on but he remains strategically lost.

22...♕e8 a last effort to resist the inevitable 23.axb5 axb5 24.♕xb5 ♔f8+⁠−

23.♘xe7 Gadia resigned. (23.♘xe7 ♕xe7 24.♕d5 wins the R)

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