WEBVTT 00:01.060 --> 00:01.810 Hi there. 00:01.990 --> 00:09.700 In this lecture, we see Alexander Alekhine playing against Mme Prat in 1914 and simultaneous display. 00:09.730 --> 00:11.620 So we'll play like a prince. 00:11.650 --> 00:13.600 Let's see what happened. 00:13.870 --> 00:15.400 Default Alekhine. 00:15.400 --> 00:20.530 We have D five, nine, ten, three and now Chigorin Defense. 00:21.100 --> 00:27.180 See such a Korean names after the kind of font of the Soviet chess score. 00:27.610 --> 00:31.240 Very creative player scoring defense making scoring. 00:31.240 --> 00:40.600 Anyway, so we have e6 knight C free D take C for every 95 six Bishop take C four and now Bishop b4 00:40.600 --> 00:41.500 Black is winning. 00:41.500 --> 00:47.790 It seems to volunteer the dot square Bishop but overall this position seems passive. 00:47.800 --> 00:55.030 Sometimes both bishops are given up in scoring and in the engine world the scoring doesn't do very well 00:55.030 --> 00:56.740 for black whites, usually winning. 00:57.850 --> 01:03.550 Now here, yes, we do have this dangerous bishop without a counterpart, and Black's central pressure 01:03.550 --> 01:05.290 is kind of minimal here. 01:05.770 --> 01:11.860 So Queen C 297 In fact, Bishop, a free black, is tied down, Can't move the knight to G six now C 01:11.860 --> 01:21.460 six Dalton square weaknesses just basically feed this bishop we have here E4 and you might think E5 01:21.460 --> 01:22.320 is coming. 01:22.450 --> 01:30.880 This is an interesting point we have actually Rook 81 Bishop D7 So would you play E5 or something else? 01:34.940 --> 01:38.690 Although the special hasn't got a counterpart, this one has got a passive counterpart. 01:38.690 --> 01:40.700 And in fact, we're X-raying f7. 01:41.210 --> 01:47.780 And in fact, it seems as though we'd be letting black off if we moved the rook to make them look cute 01:47.780 --> 01:48.740 in the center. 01:49.490 --> 01:51.680 Because the rook is kind of good by default here. 01:51.680 --> 01:54.590 It's also X-raying f7. 01:55.370 --> 01:59.330 So in fact 95 is played rather than E5. 02:01.160 --> 02:06.740 For example here 95 Bishop b3 b5 one has a big advantage. 02:07.010 --> 02:13.280 Now I mention this because there's an absolutely beautiful combination coming up and it's really good 02:13.280 --> 02:16.940 if we can see the intricacies of how this was established. 02:17.060 --> 02:23.180 So yes, making use of defaults here, establishing that as a of common square through the x rays. 02:23.900 --> 02:28.400 This is a good tactical sense we can develop, I believe. 02:28.640 --> 02:32.660 So the move is what do you think Alekhine played for 100 points. 02:33.910 --> 02:37.240 And why once play, you might want to pause. 02:37.240 --> 02:38.260 Then the video. 02:39.390 --> 02:39.960 Yeah, we play. 02:40.140 --> 02:45.870 If I were exploiting the default rook on F1 and we've got a ripping plan of F for F five to try and 02:45.870 --> 02:50.760 rip open both the file and the diagonal on that F seven point. 02:51.420 --> 02:53.760 So I believe 95 is quite instructive. 02:53.760 --> 02:56.850 We have Rocky eight, if not G six. 02:56.850 --> 02:59.880 Yeah, we can just, you know, take on G six, take on our faint. 03:01.140 --> 03:01.710 Thanks very much. 03:01.710 --> 03:06.300 So rookie eight I'm pinning from the relative pin but it weakens. 03:06.690 --> 03:09.600 In fact I have seven which is great. 03:09.600 --> 03:15.330 Now f four is even greater Queen C seven and now just F five we have 88. 03:15.540 --> 03:18.540 If it takes F five, we're just going to take 1f7. 03:18.540 --> 03:21.090 And then it's also like probing F seven as well. 03:21.120 --> 03:26.910 Bishop takes E seven is the most accurate, leading to a tactical disaster because of 9g6 check and 03:26.910 --> 03:34.080 96e7 So rook 88 and now here, guess what Alekhine plays in this position. 03:37.530 --> 03:38.520 400 points. 03:42.410 --> 03:42.710 James. 03:42.830 --> 03:43.400 He just plays. 03:43.580 --> 03:49.310 He plays Night Takes F seven, bringing the count F seven, and now just E five. 03:50.030 --> 03:51.670 So night really can't move. 03:51.680 --> 03:53.630 There'd be big trouble if the night moved. 03:54.470 --> 04:00.230 F thanks was also like possible and bringing the king out like this, it's going to be very, very dangerous 04:00.230 --> 04:01.040 for the king. 04:01.490 --> 04:05.900 I mean, this situation is intolerable to take it further. 04:05.900 --> 04:11.960 D five check C tanks, Rock takes the king's to expose, and we're going to win the Queen here. 04:12.260 --> 04:13.820 That's just a fictional example. 04:13.820 --> 04:23.210 So anyway, but the tension is actually kept here even more E5 e.g. Bishop D6 putting the Queen on a 04:23.210 --> 04:30.470 bad square and Queenie two giving various options to why sometimes Queen H five will be possible. 04:30.830 --> 04:37.610 We see b five if Knight's H seven that does weaken H five and in fact Queen H five check G six. 04:37.610 --> 04:44.840 Queen 6g6 is a crisscross kind of mate, the Queen substituting the bishop as kind of Boden's mate pattern. 04:45.050 --> 04:54.860 So anyway, we see B five bishop b3 e5 and now rook d14 and now and the Queen actually announced a mate 04:54.860 --> 04:59.090 in ten and the engines do actually indicate this is a made ten. 04:59.210 --> 05:08.840 He was right in 1913 he announces maintain it is actually a mate in ten funny stuff so just to point 05:08.840 --> 05:09.860 out you. 05:13.520 --> 05:15.470 Alaska was born out of the combination. 05:16.160 --> 05:19.180 Alaska said Alekhine was born out of the combination. 05:19.190 --> 05:23.120 Now, for me, you know, Checkmates are really beautiful. 05:23.360 --> 05:31.250 So if you've seen the checkmate course upon me, if you've seen the Art of Checkmate course, then. 05:32.330 --> 05:37.650 You know, you see the beauty of Checkmates and we're really in this course kind of trying to work out 05:37.650 --> 05:40.740 exactly how to get those ingredients we need. 05:40.740 --> 05:46.740 So we want to build up our combination of mastery, and we also want to be able to reverse engineer 05:46.740 --> 05:48.990 to get those positions in the first place. 05:50.040 --> 05:54.120 And here there's a concrete mate in ten, which is absolutely stunning. 05:54.840 --> 06:02.370 And for me, you know, that makes a good story that imagine that he's based his play on beautiful attacking 06:02.370 --> 06:03.300 combinations. 06:03.450 --> 06:04.990 So it's going to be interesting. 06:05.010 --> 06:12.060 The king you know beautiful chap mates to work this out if you want this good exercise in visualization. 06:12.060 --> 06:13.590 So I'll give you time to pause the video. 06:13.590 --> 06:15.330 There's actually a mate in ten. 06:15.420 --> 06:17.550 So how would you do this, mate in ten? 06:17.550 --> 06:19.020 It's really wonderful stuff. 06:19.410 --> 06:21.240 It brings the king down the board. 06:21.240 --> 06:22.230 That's my clue to you. 06:26.850 --> 06:27.110 Okay. 06:27.120 --> 06:28.490 The first move is Queen H five. 06:28.500 --> 06:28.770 Check. 06:28.800 --> 06:37.080 This leverage is now up to 9/10 because once the choice G six, we're just going to play Queen STS g6. 06:37.110 --> 06:37.620 Checkmate. 06:38.190 --> 06:40.320 So night six, and now we leverage a double check. 06:40.320 --> 06:41.040 So it doesn't matter. 06:41.040 --> 06:41.880 The bishop's attacked. 06:41.880 --> 06:46.470 It's a double check from the pawn and the rook. 06:46.470 --> 06:48.420 So the king has to move to G6. 06:49.350 --> 06:51.750 And now the bishop is used to bring the king down the board. 06:51.750 --> 06:52.680 Bishop C to check. 06:52.680 --> 06:54.060 There's not too many choices. 06:54.660 --> 06:56.010 Rook have five check. 06:56.220 --> 07:02.700 And now King G thinks if King G4, we have h free check, King G3. 07:03.420 --> 07:04.260 And guess what? 07:04.260 --> 07:06.600 We can play here, which is simple and strong. 07:08.220 --> 07:09.270 In this position. 07:11.710 --> 07:12.760 If at some points. 07:13.780 --> 07:15.300 We can cover escape squares. 07:15.310 --> 07:16.360 We don't have to check immediately. 07:16.360 --> 07:23.790 We can cover the H4 escape square, which makes rookie free much more effective without the four square. 07:23.800 --> 07:29.890 And so here rookie free king of four is available, but rookie free is checkmate. 07:30.160 --> 07:36.670 So that's on King G4, but we have King G six in the game and now another double check bringing the 07:36.670 --> 07:37.540 king down the board. 07:37.540 --> 07:42.640 So you know the bishop and rook double check Rook G6 check Bringing the king down the board. 07:43.450 --> 07:47.290 Rook e4 check for rook. 07:47.290 --> 07:49.480 Thanks for checking Range five. 07:50.680 --> 07:53.640 And now there's two ways of mating quite quickly here. 07:53.650 --> 07:55.240 Can you find one of them here? 07:57.460 --> 07:58.130 Okay. 07:58.510 --> 08:06.400 G phrase is one way for H for it's actually funny enough, blacks are not in any position to actually 08:06.400 --> 08:08.410 defend the H four square. 08:08.740 --> 08:11.170 So, you know, Black has to resign her. 08:12.400 --> 08:14.860 Any move basically any move. 08:15.130 --> 08:16.720 There's rook H for checkmate. 08:16.750 --> 08:28.180 There was also for the record in this position, we could play rook G free, which does actually mean 08:28.180 --> 08:36.460 there's various threats which can't be parried like Bishop G6, Bishop D1 and if G5 in fact. 08:38.010 --> 08:45.180 Gee five looks as though well, Bishop D1 is King G6 now, but we switched to rule change free hair. 08:45.210 --> 08:45.960 Checkmate. 08:46.740 --> 08:47.660 So yes. 08:47.670 --> 08:52.020 And if Rook have a we have Bishop D1. 08:52.770 --> 08:53.670 Checkmate. 08:54.270 --> 09:00.880 Yes, the rook is covering G5 or Bishop G6 is checkmate. 09:00.900 --> 09:03.300 So anyway, the ingredients. 09:03.300 --> 09:05.160 How did this occur for me? 09:05.160 --> 09:11.310 You know, giving up a bishop in the opening like this is a recipe for disaster with it's not quite 09:11.310 --> 09:12.600 a main line scoring. 09:13.020 --> 09:17.430 This looks as though it's just a big, big, juicy advantage for why. 09:17.460 --> 09:22.410 The instructive point is don't just be quick to put your rooks together. 09:22.410 --> 09:28.920 You know, sometimes Capablanca did that, but Alekhine is concerned more about attacking combinations 09:28.920 --> 09:39.850 and having, you know, this pressure on F7 Yeah, this 95 seems really like appropriate and you know, 09:39.870 --> 09:42.090 it's putting pressure on F7 in its own right. 09:42.090 --> 09:49.200 So really ripping open issues after 9/10 have some bringing the king out and not being content with 09:49.200 --> 09:51.240 just f takes e6 plain vanilla. 09:51.450 --> 09:53.370 This beautiful position here. 09:54.990 --> 10:03.780 Black's really in big trouble with the king, but the rook move rook d one makes sure that. 10:05.040 --> 10:10.710 The combination works even better than Queen H five immediately. 10:11.340 --> 10:12.990 So Rook D one. 10:14.980 --> 10:17.650 Then it's definitely a mate in ten. 10:18.160 --> 10:24.610 So the rook is controlling some key squares which are useful for this mate in ten. 10:25.750 --> 10:31.540 So yes, in particular coming up for using the E4 square. 10:31.840 --> 10:34.630 Yeah, it's better than on its position. 10:35.320 --> 10:38.140 So you can see, you know, he's optimised for this mate combination. 10:38.770 --> 10:42.370 If the rook wasn't on E1, it wouldn't be so fantastic. 10:42.610 --> 10:48.460 So the rook can sometimes use these squares, especially the E4, in the combination. 10:48.460 --> 10:51.460 So a really, truly beautiful combination. 10:51.860 --> 10:52.840 I'm really. 10:53.050 --> 10:54.610 I really love this one, actually. 10:54.760 --> 10:57.970 So bringing the king down the board and controlling care squares. 10:59.200 --> 10:59.500 So. 10:59.500 --> 11:00.040 Geoffrey. 11:00.040 --> 11:00.540 Yeah. 11:00.550 --> 11:01.520 End of game. 11:01.570 --> 11:03.010 Hope you enjoyed it as much as me. 11:03.340 --> 11:04.150 And so much.