WEBVTT 00:01.420 --> 00:02.210 Hi there. 00:02.230 --> 00:07.930 In this lecture, we see a very grounded attacking player, Alexander Alekhine playing against Aron 00:07.930 --> 00:12.240 Nimzowitsch in 1930 Sanremo Tournament round three. 00:12.250 --> 00:21.190 I just had to include this game in this positional section of kind of zugzwang zugzwang opponents. 00:21.190 --> 00:33.700 So Alekhine plays f4 Nimzowitsch plays e6 we see d4 d5 93 Bishop b4 so a winner variation e5 c5 Bishop 00:33.700 --> 00:38.140 d2 we see 97 and now Knight B five. 00:38.350 --> 00:45.190 Bishop takes D to check Queen takes D2 and Nimzowitsch castles C free B six. 00:46.420 --> 00:52.930 So here, perhaps better would have been to hit the pawn chain and the head of the pawn chain. 00:53.380 --> 00:55.440 Maybe this occurred to Nimzowitsch. 00:55.450 --> 00:58.870 It does actually generate significant counterplay. 00:59.440 --> 01:03.820 Sometimes you don't need to hit the pawn chain at the base or the exploitable base. 01:03.820 --> 01:08.200 So the base would be be to where the exploitable base of the pawn chain is d4. 01:08.440 --> 01:17.800 So here if F4 as example C takes D for C text, dd for F takes E five, D takes E five. 01:17.800 --> 01:25.990 This position should actually be overall slightly better for black, but B6 was played, which is kind 01:25.990 --> 01:26.930 of passive. 01:26.950 --> 01:38.140 F for Bishop a6 Knight F three Queen d7a for supporting that knight a bit more like BC six and now alekhine 01:38.140 --> 01:49.990 plays b4 we have C takes b4 C text P for Bishop b seven and now d6f5 Nimzowitsch is playing quite passively 01:49.990 --> 01:51.430 on this occasion. 01:51.430 --> 02:02.200 We have a 598 and now Knight takes B seven, queen takes B seven, and now a six, Queen F seven, Bishop 02:02.200 --> 02:03.100 B five. 02:04.060 --> 02:07.300 And this is which plays Knight eight to E seven. 02:08.200 --> 02:12.910 If he plays Knight six to E seven position me. 02:12.910 --> 02:20.140 This is just great for why after Rook C one this position is just the delight when it can get authority 02:20.140 --> 02:24.430 on that C file and infiltrate just in time to C seven. 02:24.430 --> 02:28.390 And this is causing a lot of damage for black, this infiltration. 02:28.390 --> 02:35.770 For example, Bishop dd seven here B five black is really tied down and we can use that safety hook 02:35.770 --> 02:37.210 of the A six pawn. 02:37.420 --> 02:43.660 So for example here Bishop C six and black's on the real pressure and we could end up playing a tactic 02:43.660 --> 02:48.640 like Rook takes e seven looking at Black's not careful, but it's getting very, very difficult for 02:48.640 --> 02:49.420 black hair. 02:50.080 --> 03:00.910 So okay then switch plays night eight to to e seven Alekhine castles H six fc one rook fc eight. 03:01.420 --> 03:05.650 And now there is a kind of delayed gratification we don't really want to exchange on C six. 03:05.650 --> 03:11.590 Now, if you did regard this as a plain vanilla simplifying tactic, we're going to make this so much 03:11.590 --> 03:14.830 more effective, this idea of the C six pressure. 03:15.100 --> 03:18.910 So rook c to Queen Knight building up the pressure. 03:18.910 --> 03:24.190 And here we have Queenie free for the moment and black's not going anywhere. 03:24.190 --> 03:30.340 And in fact, yeah, if we take on C six, we're going to lose most of our advantage. 03:30.340 --> 03:31.900 We're not going to be left with anything. 03:31.900 --> 03:34.270 But there's one of building up the advantage here. 03:34.270 --> 03:39.130 With slight improvements to the position and Alekhine style. 03:39.130 --> 03:49.450 Alekhine is known for his battery called the Alekhine's Gun, and that is a great concept for intensifying 03:49.450 --> 03:50.830 battery pressure. 03:50.830 --> 03:59.440 He first plays Rook C free this sosoli vacates c two Farooq So we have now this other one going to C 03:59.440 --> 04:02.860 two which thusly vacates C one for the Queen. 04:02.860 --> 04:06.250 And this is the Anakin's gun construction. 04:07.270 --> 04:13.900 So we've got a huge pressure building up on C six and do we even want to take on C six with the bishop? 04:13.900 --> 04:14.860 No. 04:14.860 --> 04:17.710 Guess what We play here for ten points. 04:18.640 --> 04:21.310 Which creates a huge threat. 04:22.250 --> 04:24.620 Which compromises Black's position. 04:26.550 --> 04:26.930 Okay. 04:26.940 --> 04:34.710 Bishop A for the front of B five now is compromising black Nimzowitsch play's B5 himself. 04:34.710 --> 04:41.520 So if Queenie ab5, we're just going to win material with Rook takes C seven hair and let's say nine, 04:41.770 --> 04:44.780 C two, we take on C two. 04:44.790 --> 04:46.980 Yeah, we just we've just won material. 04:47.280 --> 04:48.060 We want a piece. 04:48.060 --> 04:50.070 So B five. 04:50.070 --> 04:54.270 This is a rather desperate situation for Nimzowitsch completely tied up. 04:54.270 --> 05:00.390 Bishop takes P five, King E eight, and then Bishop A for renewing the idea of Bishop of the B five 05:00.390 --> 05:02.250 move supported by the Bishop. 05:02.580 --> 05:11.220 So we have King D eight trying to hold on to C seven and now Alekhine just plays a move showing that 05:11.460 --> 05:13.500 black is in a zugzwang basically. 05:13.950 --> 05:15.280 Can you see what it is there? 05:15.330 --> 05:19.020 Well, there's lots of good good moves here, but this is one of them. 05:21.330 --> 05:21.780 H4. 05:21.780 --> 05:23.760 Well done if you've considered this. 05:24.150 --> 05:27.570 So this simple move says, What are you doing here? 05:28.530 --> 05:30.120 End of game move 30. 05:31.860 --> 05:35.950 And it makes B5 a lot more effective to try and get more neglect of C seven. 05:36.000 --> 05:43.050 You know, we could have played B5 immediately, by the way, but this is a case where why not improve 05:43.050 --> 05:45.720 the position slightly by getting back to neglect? 05:46.050 --> 05:51.310 C seven Sure, we've got an advantage here anyway, but this is so much better. 05:51.330 --> 06:01.350 H for the king is going to have to move and then say King E eight B5 and look at C seven dropping off 06:01.710 --> 06:02.150 98. 06:02.160 --> 06:05.100 We're just going to take on C seven thanks to that Anakin's gun. 06:05.250 --> 06:13.470 So a classic, well celebrated alekhine game where Nimzowitsch, the great writer on positional chess, 06:13.470 --> 06:17.640 was completely dominated in this particular game. 06:17.640 --> 06:20.100 It happens. 06:20.910 --> 06:24.450 Nimzowitsch has beaten Alekhine on occasion, though it has to be noted. 06:24.720 --> 06:30.870 So unfortunately Nimzowitsch hasn't beaten Capablanca, but he has actually been alekhine. 06:32.760 --> 06:38.220 Nevertheless, Nimzowitsch set up the vocabulary for positional chess, so I think we can forgive him 06:38.220 --> 06:41.040 that he didn't have a plus score versus the world champions. 06:41.040 --> 06:47.580 He was just highly influential for positional thinking and influenced future world chess champions like 06:47.580 --> 06:49.170 Petrosian and Karpov. 06:49.650 --> 06:56.340 So och, this was a bad day for Nimzowitsch, but it's just showing this idea that the Alekhine's gun 06:56.340 --> 07:00.120 can be used for kind of positional zugzwang. 07:00.510 --> 07:03.220 It's an absolute classic to enjoy. 07:03.240 --> 07:06.420 I hope you've enjoyed this game so much.