Janowski vs Capablanca
292
[Event "New York"] [Site "?"] [Round "0"] [White "Janowski"] [Black "Capablanca"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A46"] [Opening "Indian: 2.Nf3"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 Bf5 {Not a particularly effective move in this line. The control of e4 comes at a high price, if White responds correctly by capturing at d5 before developing his queen at b3.} 5. Qb3 { This is not as effective, since Black can respond symmetrically.} 5... Qb6 { A classic question confronts White early in the game? Will the doubled pawns resulting from the exchange of queens be weak, or is the open a-fileuseful?} 6. Qxb6 axb6 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Nxd5 cxd5 {Already we have an interesting endgame. Black has control of e4 and the a-file while White has targets at d5, b6, and b7. But the pawns are hard to get at.} 9. e3 Nc6 10. Bd2 Bd7 {A tremendously insightful move! Capablanca sees that he must turn his weak pawns into fighting pieces, and the idea is to play Na5 then b5-b4 which will constrict the White queenside. White should prevent this with 11.Bb5!} 11. Be2 e6 12. O-O {If White had played 11.Bb5, he would have been able to play 12.Ke2, keeping the king centralized in the endgame. As it turns out, the king becomes a target!} 12... Bd6 13. Rfc1 Ke7 14. Bc3 Rhc8 15. a3 {Better was 15.Nd2. Now there is an additional hole on the queenside, and the b4-square belongs to Black in any event.} 15... Na5 16. Nd2 {As Black increases his pressure on the queenside, Janowski correctly decides to react in the center. But Capablanca is aware of his opponent's plans.} 16... f5 {This slows down the advance e3-e4 for some time, and makes White waste a few moves in preparation.} 17. g3 b5 18. f3 Nc4 19. Bxc4 bxc4 20. e4 Kf7 {With e4-e5 coming, Black makes room for his bishop to retreat along the a3-f8 diagonal.} 21. e5 Be7 22. f4 b5 {The plan all along has been to advance this pawn, but now it takes on a new significance. White must keep an eye on the queenside, and his less mobile pieces are therefore ill-equipped to defend the king against a direct assault.} 23. Kf2 Ra4 24. Ke3 Rca8 {The threat of b5-b4 is renewed. Keep this position in mind as we continue. It is in stark contrast to the position we will see in seven more moves. But what is most important is that the White pieces can't defend the kingside!} 25. Rab1 h6 26. Nf3 g5 27. Ne1 Rg8 28. Kf3 gxf4 29. gxf4 Raa8 30. Ng2 Rg4 31. Rg1 Rag8 {Black's play requires no comment Capablanca saw that White's pieces were out of play and simply switched sides of the board. His greater mobility enabled him to achieve a winning position with great ease.} 32. Be1 {White tries to get his bishop involved in the defense. But we recall that this piece was dedicated to the protection of the queenside, guarding against b5-b4} 32... b4 33. axb4 {Now Black's fantasies involve Bd7-e4+. Not allowed by the rules, but Black finds away to work around the rules. 33.Bxb4 Bxb4 34.axb4 h5 35.h4 Rg3+ 36.Kf2 Rd3 37.Rgd1 Rgg3 was an unacceptable alternative.} 33... Ba4 34. Ra1 {Completely missing the point. 34.Rc1 was needed, but then after 34...Bb3 Black would have been able to invade on the a-file.} 34... Bc2 35. Bg3 Be4+ 36. Kf2 h5 37. Ra7 Bxg2 38. Rxg2 h4 { and the rest is simple:} 39. Bxh4 Rxg2+ 40. Kf3 Rxh2 41. Bxe7 { 41.Rxe7+ Kf8 42.Bf6 Rgh8! 43.Bxh8 Kxe7} 41... Rh3+ 42. Kf2 Rb3 43. Bg5+ Kg6 44. Re7 Rxb2+ 45. Kf3 Ra8 46. Rxe6+ Kh7 0-1
0-1
You are viewing a shared game, sign up now for a free account to copy this game to your own microbase, and store, analyse and share games.
1784
HITS
Players
WhiteJanowski
BlackCapablanca
Game
Moves46
OpeningA46 — Indian: 2.Nf3
Result0-1
Date
Tags
Tournament
TournamentNew York
Location?
Round0