WEBVTT 00:02.290 --> 00:02.960 Hi there. 00:02.980 --> 00:06.670 In this lecture, Alexander Alekhine is playing against Capablanca. 00:07.090 --> 00:08.700 This is in 1948. 00:08.710 --> 00:13.170 Avro Tournament, round nine E4 from Alekhine. 00:13.180 --> 00:16.210 We have a French defense from Capablanca. 00:17.320 --> 00:24.160 We have had d4 d5 now Alekhine plays the transformation notes. 00:24.160 --> 00:25.690 F6 is played. 00:26.680 --> 00:29.440 Capablanca has tried C5. 00:31.250 --> 00:32.810 But against carers. 00:32.810 --> 00:35.000 But this didn't work out too well. 00:35.000 --> 00:37.880 So this is a switch to sex in this game. 00:38.240 --> 00:49.100 So a few days earlier C5 but okay E5 we get this quite dangerous pawn Shane Bishop D3 c5 This is for 00:49.100 --> 00:51.890 me and iconic attacking plans Pawn chain. 00:52.520 --> 01:04.820 Basically we have C3 9692 Queen B six Knights F3 C takes d4c thanks d for Bishop b4 check. 01:04.850 --> 01:06.290 This is an interesting move. 01:07.580 --> 01:13.250 We have King F one and White does have this grip on various dark squares. 01:13.250 --> 01:24.230 Here in this position we have Bishop E7 Ivory and from an engine perspective, black needs to play very 01:24.230 --> 01:25.100 accurately. 01:25.100 --> 01:29.480 Here there are two moves which might be better than what was played. 01:29.480 --> 01:31.880 98 seems overly passive. 01:33.410 --> 01:39.590 It seems if Black Castles there is an option for white for Queen C two and this is dangerous. 01:39.590 --> 01:47.510 Perhaps Black's best is to play F5, but we get situations where White does have such a grip on the 01:47.510 --> 01:56.480 dark squares and for example, here White could potentially evolve and attack with the G4 using F5 as 01:56.480 --> 01:57.920 a lever, for example. 01:57.920 --> 02:04.700 So this would be a promising attacking situation where we could even throw in a piece sacrifice for 02:04.700 --> 02:07.490 good measure and get a very strong attack from here. 02:07.910 --> 02:09.410 This is just a fictional example. 02:09.410 --> 02:13.850 Let's take it a bit further, but you can see why it's getting a strong attack on castling there. 02:16.460 --> 02:26.630 Now there is actually a more active move available to Planck, which is F6, and this seems the safest 02:26.630 --> 02:27.230 bet. 02:27.890 --> 02:33.620 So for example, if it takes nine takes, the point is the king is on the file. 02:33.950 --> 02:38.120 So later black should have, you know, at least an extra on the king. 02:38.120 --> 02:40.370 Black should have a small edge here, actually. 02:40.670 --> 02:51.800 So once best, if F6 is played as actually it seems not to take on F6, but play Knight F4, which is 02:51.800 --> 03:01.160 razor sharp so black could play knight D takes E5 two grab the centre White should counter sacrifice 03:01.160 --> 03:01.470 pack. 03:01.490 --> 03:07.340 Otherwise these pawns are pretty dangerous with the king on F1 it will be black that's attacking on 03:07.340 --> 03:08.060 the file. 03:08.060 --> 03:14.630 If white starts to go backwards with the Knights, so say Knight takes E5 counter-attacking back Queen 03:14.630 --> 03:15.590 h5. 03:15.800 --> 03:18.990 So knights have seven is forced, Bishop takes H7. 03:19.010 --> 03:22.400 This situation reaches a kind of dynamic quality. 03:23.180 --> 03:29.900 So all in all, F6 actually seems the safest even with F4 because of this knight d takes E5. 03:29.930 --> 03:33.200 The point is to try and exploit the king on F1 F4. 03:33.770 --> 03:35.300 But anyway, in the game. 03:35.300 --> 03:35.630 Yeah. 03:35.630 --> 03:40.380 There's this passive move from Capablanca Knight F eight. 03:40.400 --> 03:45.890 I'm a big fan of Capablanca as well as Alekhine, but this is a passive move. 03:47.460 --> 03:50.190 And yeah, this is one of the key, the science of games. 03:50.190 --> 03:55.860 After that epic world championship match, there were two the size of games that they played in tournament, 03:56.010 --> 03:57.600 eventually only two. 03:57.640 --> 03:58.560 This is one of them. 03:58.560 --> 03:59.200 So nice. 03:59.210 --> 04:05.870 In fact you can see blacks in a passive state because of this opening with a fight. 04:05.880 --> 04:18.330 Especially we have be4 now Bishop D7 Bishop Efrain 98 might see Frank and we have here a five knights, 04:18.330 --> 04:21.270 a four Queen 87 B5. 04:21.420 --> 04:27.510 So it's kind of got black in a kind of locked up position. 04:27.930 --> 04:34.020 We see B six and now Jeffrey, this gives the King G2 and the Rooks kind of useful potentially on the 04:34.260 --> 04:38.130 final at five if h6. 04:38.130 --> 04:39.930 Let's just see this as an example. 04:40.020 --> 04:49.200 King g2g6h for Rook Queen D two This is such a wonderful pawn chain to have fair and say Black wants 04:49.200 --> 04:51.930 to keep the H six pawn Bishop g5. 04:51.930 --> 04:55.380 The dark square weaknesses are being amplified. 04:55.380 --> 05:01.710 This pawn chain automatically kind of gets a grip on dark squares and winning tactics with the E5 pawn 05:01.710 --> 05:02.310 chain. 05:02.610 --> 05:09.210 If you look at my more generic pawn structures course, often when in tactics are on the dark squares, 05:09.210 --> 05:14.790 it's a logical expectation because we have support for dark square infiltration. 05:14.790 --> 05:16.770 Dot square tactics here. 05:16.770 --> 05:19.560 Bishop thanks G5 Queen Thanks G5. 05:20.580 --> 05:27.660 This situation for example with Queen a seven blacks not doing anything and black will be in trouble 05:27.660 --> 05:28.710 here eventually. 05:28.830 --> 05:30.840 There are tactics even on the Queen side. 05:30.840 --> 05:34.290 Even if this looks solid, you know, a tactic like Knight takes B6. 05:34.290 --> 05:37.140 It's just very unpleasant to play for black. 05:37.470 --> 05:44.720 This kind of scenario, there's too much pressure being built up, and Black doesn't want to allow a 05:44.730 --> 05:47.940 queen infiltration or the rooks, the rook going behind the queen. 05:47.940 --> 05:49.380 It's just so pleasant for white to play. 05:49.380 --> 05:52.230 White could double and infiltrate on C seven later. 05:52.350 --> 05:55.500 It's just bad states playing with 95 as well. 05:55.500 --> 05:56.430 It's just horrible. 05:56.580 --> 05:59.550 So anyway F five though was played here. 05:59.550 --> 06:12.630 King G2, Knight f7 Queen d2 h6h49287 and now H five marking out that G6 square nine after five. 06:12.870 --> 06:21.720 And here this is an interesting move 92 H for not minding annoyance temporarily on e e4 94 Queen B two 06:21.720 --> 06:27.150 It could have actually been taken as well for advantage White's position is very strong. 06:29.270 --> 06:32.720 If Dee takes the ninth can go into G six with advantage. 06:32.930 --> 06:35.260 If Bishop takes H for, it's not such a big deal. 06:35.270 --> 06:43.490 This position is also just very nice for wines, but Queen B two was played king of seven and free nine, 06:43.490 --> 06:45.170 egg five and now. 06:45.170 --> 06:49.610 Yeah, attacking with this wonderful pawn chain with black having a lack of counterplay. 06:49.760 --> 06:57.290 So can you see what's white plate here which is very logical to open up the black king will try to sow 06:57.290 --> 06:58.280 at ten points. 07:00.180 --> 07:00.660 Yeah. 07:01.350 --> 07:01.800 G fo. 07:01.800 --> 07:01.980 Yeah. 07:02.010 --> 07:04.250 Just trying to crack open the position here. 07:04.260 --> 07:05.130 F Thanks. 07:05.370 --> 07:06.690 Which gives Bishop G six. 07:06.690 --> 07:13.410 Jack So now the rooks are kind of disconnected and now a clever looking move. 07:13.650 --> 07:17.970 Four I mean, White's in such a great place here. 07:18.450 --> 07:20.340 Half takes could have been played as well. 07:20.340 --> 07:23.580 This position is also strong. 07:23.580 --> 07:29.550 For example, here this would be winning material for wines that would be strong as well as an example. 07:29.550 --> 07:31.860 But F4 looks very nice. 07:31.860 --> 07:38.610 Nice F3 If 94 one can afford to take out that night with Knight G six. 07:39.910 --> 07:42.610 And here, for example, Queen bee free. 07:42.640 --> 07:45.130 There's pressure points for five coming in later. 07:45.880 --> 07:51.500 Among other things, night takes or even D five opening up the bishop looking at B6. 07:51.520 --> 07:55.630 It's huge for white, but not every was played by Capablanca. 07:55.660 --> 07:57.550 Bishop takes H7 seven shank. 07:59.610 --> 08:02.970 Very, very strong position indeed. 08:03.260 --> 08:05.720 19th century could have been played as well. 08:05.730 --> 08:11.760 This is just great because White could use the semi-open G file with a few preparations. 08:11.760 --> 08:18.060 For example, this situation Y can just build up on the semi and g file road to Black's king and this 08:18.060 --> 08:20.100 should be absolutely great. 08:20.370 --> 08:22.680 It's going to be very difficult for for black. 08:22.680 --> 08:24.600 I mean, this is such a powerful position. 08:24.630 --> 08:28.740 If that's a good move for defending, that's not a good sign. 08:28.830 --> 08:32.370 We know we can take out h seven or we can just build up and build up. 08:32.370 --> 08:37.140 For example, we can just maneuver a knight basically to f6 it's and play. 08:37.140 --> 08:41.390 Even if I get everything we want with the attack here. 08:41.400 --> 08:43.710 So this kind of thing is absolutely crushing. 08:44.910 --> 08:46.680 So that's just the fictional continuation. 08:46.680 --> 08:48.390 So it takes F3 in a nutshell. 08:48.390 --> 08:49.410 We use the G file. 08:49.410 --> 08:51.210 We can get this Knight's F6. 08:51.210 --> 08:54.950 If nothing else, we can play slowly, as slowly, slowly as once. 08:54.960 --> 08:57.510 Black's so tight up here in this fictional version. 08:57.510 --> 09:03.450 Just to recap here, if Black's tying up like this with this E5 pawn chain, it gives us more time to 09:03.450 --> 09:05.760 systematically build on the GFL road. 09:05.760 --> 09:11.580 So just looking at this fictional continuation, we can see that we can even we can take time here. 09:11.850 --> 09:14.700 Why not get this piece to be an attacking piece? 09:15.300 --> 09:20.190 This is in a way, it's an instructive engine variation that we don't have to win material. 09:20.190 --> 09:26.040 We can just get this piece to be involved in the attack and just come like this. 09:26.370 --> 09:29.130 Yeah, it's an absolute crush there. 09:29.130 --> 09:34.680 But Bishop takes h seven check was played rotates now 96. 09:36.100 --> 09:41.140 And this is kind of funny that the king could actually use G4 and take out G4 here. 09:41.290 --> 09:48.340 So Bishop de Rook, AC one, because the knight is kind of stranded, it hasn't got any escape squares. 09:48.460 --> 09:54.970 Bishop e8 And now the king goes to G4 to take out G4 and with that the knight is just hanging. 09:55.600 --> 09:57.410 So this is a bad state of affairs. 09:57.430 --> 10:00.730 Queen f7 is joint king size G4. 10:00.760 --> 10:02.020 The king is going to be carnivorous. 10:02.020 --> 10:04.840 Here we have Knight H4. 10:05.410 --> 10:07.600 But yeah, this is just losing material. 10:08.830 --> 10:10.390 Knight takes H4, not mine. 10:10.390 --> 10:11.530 In Queen age five. 10:11.530 --> 10:11.980 Check. 10:12.010 --> 10:13.320 It's no big deal there. 10:13.570 --> 10:15.970 King G3, Queen f7. 10:16.300 --> 10:17.050 And with Knight. 10:17.050 --> 10:18.700 Afraid this is the end of the game. 10:18.880 --> 10:19.240 Yeah. 10:19.270 --> 10:20.560 Not Capablanca finest. 10:20.560 --> 10:22.570 It's towards the end of Capablanca, his career. 10:22.600 --> 10:24.610 He had some health issues, to be fair. 10:24.700 --> 10:27.670 And this is one of his, you know, battlements. 10:27.670 --> 10:31.990 One of the only battlements in Capablanca Korea, this Avro tournament in 1958. 10:31.990 --> 10:34.390 So yeah it's. 10:35.370 --> 10:40.950 It's perhaps it's an iconic game because of because of the two players involved. 10:40.950 --> 10:42.720 But it wasn't Capablanca at his peak. 10:42.750 --> 10:44.700 To be fair, let's just say that. 10:44.700 --> 10:52.200 So anyway, if the game continued, why it's just material up here and can just get around to taking 10:52.200 --> 10:53.820 out the H for pawn. 10:54.330 --> 10:59.280 So for example, like this, that's opening up an attack against the rook. 10:59.850 --> 11:09.150 You know, this is one variation, but also if, say, the rook had moved into H5 f6, you know, this 11:09.150 --> 11:14.880 situation is just really going to be strong with that G file y could round up the h pawn and you know, 11:15.180 --> 11:17.040 White's already material up. 11:17.280 --> 11:19.050 Black's pieces are not doing too much. 11:19.200 --> 11:27.360 So, yes, an interesting game, but it was for me, it seems effort is not in the spirit of what Black 11:27.360 --> 11:29.840 did to put the King on F1. 11:29.850 --> 11:37.620 It seems as though a key resource to improve here in this position would have been F6 seems the safest 11:37.800 --> 11:39.120 according to modern engines. 11:39.120 --> 11:41.270 So okay, an interesting game nonetheless. 11:41.280 --> 11:43.170 I hope you got some points from it. 11:43.770 --> 11:44.490 That's very much.