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D.
Janowski (2675) - F.J. Marshall (2564)
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*************************
This is a very nice move, and if
Janowski were smart, he would
look for a way to equalize -
or risk
getting a very bad game.
[ Black could also play:
10...Qf6!?;
{Diagram?}
or even 10...dxc4;
"=" {Diagram?}
with an equal game. ]
11.e4!?,
{Diagram?}
Typical Janowski ... "full steam
ahead, and damn the torpedoes."
That sort of thing. But maybe he
should (already) be looking for a drawing line.
*******
[ Maybe
>/=
11.cxd5!?,
"=" {Diagram?}
looking for equality?
(Then e4 would even give
White a slight initiative.);
***
Probably the best line was:
>/=
11.Nd2! Qh4!?; 12.h3!? dxc4;
13.Nxc4 Nxc4;
14.Bxc4 a6;
"=" {Diagram?}
with a fairly balanced position. ]
*******
Now Black wins the Bishop-pair.
(Something that must have bugged
Janowski ... he supposedly loved
having the two B's.)
White will
then advance his KP which threatens
Black's King, forcing Marshall to
swap
off one of his Bishops.
11...dxc4;
12.Bxc4 Nxc4; 13.Qxc4 Qc7;
Black defends the c5-square.
[ Maybe 13...cxd4; was also possible? ]
14.Qd3 Bd7;
15.e5!? Be7; 16.Ng5!?,
(White has a small threat in this
position!)
In searching through the database,
I discovered Janowski had a lot of
success with an attack based on
Bishops of opposite color. But maybe
Bishop-to-g5 was a little more
promising here.
[ Maybe 16.Bg5!?, "+/=" instead. ]
16...Bxg5;
17.Bxg5 Rfc8; 18.Qg3,
This threatens Bf6 winning.
*******
Now White tries to generate some
attacking chances based on the
presence
of opposite-colored
Bishops. (These types of positions
tend be either terribly
dull
... or
extremely sharp. Often times one
player can attack a certain color
square that his opponent cannot
really defend.)
*******
[ Or 18.Rab1 h6; "=" ]
18...Kh8;
{Box?}
{See the diagram just below.}
Black has easily parried the threat.
Now Tarrasch points out that White
should probably play Rfc1. But by
continuing to try so hard to win, he
is only setting himself up for a loss.
*************************
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*************************
But I think the great German teacher
and writer, (Tarrasch); is really missing
the point.
A draw here is as good as a
loss as far as Janowski was concerned.
(He bragged before this game he would
put down the young, upstart American.)
'!' - GM Andrew Soltis.
(I don't understand this, this move
is completely forced!)
*******
[ Black should not allow:
</=
18...cxd4?; 19.Bf6! g6 [];
20.cxd4!,
This is (probably) best.
( Or 20.Qh4!? Qc5; 21.Rad1!, "+/=" )
20...Qb8;
21.Qh4 Rc4; 22.Rac1! Rxc1; 23.Rxc1 Qf8;
24.Rc5!,
'±' ("+/") {Diagram?}
with a continuing attack.
(Although Black has some drawing
chances ... due to the presence
of the opposite-colored Bishops.)
]
*******
19.Rfe1,
White plans to try and bring this
Rook over to the King-side ...
to strengthen his already flagging
assault.
[ Maybe 19.Rfd1!?, {Diagram?} is a little better? ]
19...cxd4; 20.cxd4 Qc3!;
This is NOT the move most players
or computers pick here, but it is
almost certainly the best move.
Black insures domination of the c-file,
and also offers an exchange of the
Queens - after which, it would be
practically impossible for White to win.
[ Most boxes like:
20...Bc6!?;
"~" {Diagram?}
The position is rather
unclear. ]
21.Qf4,
White had to try something like
this here.
Tarrasch once said of Janowski -
that he understood HOW to attack
as well as any man
that ever lived.
It was just that he did not always
understand WHEN he should go
on the
offensive. (A truly penetrating
and perceptive comment.)
[ </= 21.Re3 ???, 21...Qxa1+; and mates. ]
21...Kg8;
This looks simple enough, but
it was not the only move for Black.
[ Was the move:
21...Be8!?;
{Diagram?}
worth a try? (In order to try not to
lose another tempo - as
compared
to what happened in the game.) ]
22.Rab1 b6;
('!')
{Diagram?}
The simplest ... and also the best,
at least in this position.
[ Black could have also played:
22...Bc6!?;
{Diagram?}
with a reasonable position.
]
23.h4!?,
White continues with his all-out
hostile efforts on the King-side.
*******
[ Tarrasch points out that R-K3 is
a bad idea here for White. I.e.,
</=
23.Re3? Qc1+;
24.Re1, {Diagram?}
This is forced.
( Of course not: 24.Rxc1?? Rxc1+; 25.Re1 Rxe1#. )
24...Qxf4;
"=" {Diagram?}
and Black has absolutely nothing
to fear in this position.
( Maybe >/= 24...Qxa3!?; "=/+" );
***
A move like:
23.Ra1,
"~" {Diagram?}
is just an admission that White's
attack is over ... and definitely was
not the great Janowski's style. ]
*******
23...Qxa3;
"The execution of White's attacking
plans forces him to allow the massacre
of his Q-side, so that Marshall obtains
two passed Pawns there."
- GM Siegbert Tarrasch.
[ Interesting was: 23...Qd3!? ]
24.h5 h6;
This is a wise precaution.
(And practically forced.)
'!' - GM Andrew Soltis.
*******
[ To show how easily Black gets
into trouble here, I offer a line
that was played by one of my
Internet students in 1996:
24...Rc2?!;
25.h6 g6!?; 26.Qh4,
{Diagram?}
This is the correct way to pursue
the attack here.
( After 26.Qf6!? Qf8;
"~" {Diagram?} it is not clear that the first
player
has accomplished anything. )
26...Rac8??;
27.Be7! Qd3?!; 28.Qf6,
("+/-") {Diagram?}
and Black cannot prevent mate.
***
The funny thing was that this
particular student's rating was
over 1800 USCF.
(And he had
used a lot of time to find his
moves in this line.) ]
*******
25.Bh4,
White really has no choice, the
sacrifice on h6 would be
completely unsound at this point.
[ After the moves:
</=
25.Bxh6? gxh6; 26.Qxh6 Qf8;
27.Qg5+ Qg7;
28.Qf4 Bc6; 29.g3 Bd5;
"/+" ("-/+") {Diagram?}
White's game is nearly resignable.
]
25...Rc3!,
The correct move says Tarrasch,
who also points out that Marshall
had to prevent Re3.
**************
[ Black can easily fall under an
attack if he is careless:
</=
25...Be8!?;
('?!')
26.Re3 Qa2; 27.Rbb3 Qa1+!?;
28.Kh2 a5?;
{Diagram?}
Thinking about promoting a Pawn.
( Probably better is: >/=
28...Rc1!; "/+" {Diagram?}
& Black is clearly for choice. )
29.Rg3,
'±' ("+/")
{Diagram?}
and White's King-side assault
has reached frightening proportions.
*******
After the moves:
</=
25...Qc3!?; 26.Re3! Qc2!;
27.Rbe1! a5!?;
28.Bf6!!;
"/\" {Diag?}
White's attack really heats up. ]
White now tries to maneuver his
Rook over to the King-side. But it
is difficult, as he has
to get his
Queen out of the way first, and
has other problems to deal with
as well.
26.Qg4 Rac8;
27.Kh2!, {See the diagram, just
below.}
Avoiding an exchange of Rooks
on the c1-square.
*************************
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The game is building to a crisis point,
White will shed Pawns without any
care - concentrating all of his energies
on attacking his opponent's King!
*******
[
If 27.Bf6!?, then simply
27...Qf8;
"/+" {Diagram?}
(Black is clearly much better.);
***
But NOT:
</=
27.Re3? Rxe3; 28.fxe3 Rc1+;
29.Rxc1,
29...Qxc1+; 30.Kh2 Kf8!;
"/+" {Diagram?}
after which Black - effectively -
has a won game.
***
Also NOT satisfactory for White was the following continuation:
27.Ra1!? Qf8; {Box?}
{Diagram?}
Black must guard against the
possibility of White playing Bf6.
(Which would win if Black removes
his Queen form the a3-f8 diagonal.)
28.Rxa7 R8c7; 29.Rea1!? b5;
"=" {Diagram?}
Black has complete equality ...
and more importantly, White's King-side
attack has fizzled.
{Editorial comment: REMEMBER ... a draw
did NOT help Janowski ...
only a win
would enable him to have a chance of catching Marshall here.} ]
*******
27...Qf8;
This is a really good move, (!) Black
helps defend his King (g7)
and also
gets the Queen out of the way.
(In some lines, White had the threat
of Ra1 followed by Rxa7.)
But I was still surprised to see that
Soltis lavished so much praise on
basically a fairly obvious (and
relatively forced) move.
{And failed to really appreciate some
of the more subtle plays by Black.}
'!' - GM Andrew Soltis.
[ </= 27...Bc6?; 28.Ra1, "+/=" ]
28.Re4 Bc6!?;
This looks both reasonable and
also promising.
(Black plans on
bringing his Bishop to the nearly impregnable d5-square.)
But
several writers have pointed out
that Bishop-to-Rook's-Five!! ...
(immediately), was an improvement, (and a fairly significant one, at that);
over the game.
Soltis condemns this move, (...Bc6) but his analysis of this game is very
poor
and can therefore be ignored.
(I also must make a point here, that
I hate the "super-modern" school
of annotation.
What I mean is when
a player misses an exclam move, he
is automatically rewarded
with a
full question mark. See the book, "
G.K. on 'My Great Predecessors,' "
by
GM G. Kasparov for hundreds of
examples of this kind of approach
to older
chess games.)
*******
[
A much better move would
have been: >/=
28...Ba4!; {Diagram?}
and Black has a large advantage.
- GM Siegbert Tarrasch.
]
*******
29.Rf4 Kh7;
This was forced, White now
threatened Bf6, followed by
f3,
and 'stacking up' on the
g-file. (Q-to-g3 and R-g4.)
[ The continuation of:
29...Bd5;
30.Ra1 a5;
"/+" {Diagram?}
is not quite as
accurate ... the second player will be required to play
...Kh7;
(or
even ...Kh8); sooner or later. (To
avoid the risk of losing.) ]
30.f3,
{Diagram?}
Janowski definitely gets high marks
here for his enthusiasm and his
persistence.
"In order to play Qg3 and Rg4." - Siegbert Tarrasch.
[ Or 30.Ra1!? a5; {Diagram?} is practically winning for Black. ]
30...Bd5; 31.Qg3 Bc4;
32.Ra1 a5; 33.Rg4,
White is trying to get something
going.
[ The continuation of: 33.Rb1?! b5;
34.Ra1? a4; "/+" {Diagram?}
is a complete waste of time
for David Janowsky. ]
33...Bd3!,
The Bishop is most useful on this
diagonal here ... as an obvious and
added defense to the beleaguered
Black Monarch.
'!' - Georg Marco. '!' - GM Andrew Soltis.
34.Bf6,
('!')
{See the diagram just below.}
"White has finally obtained the
desired attacking position." - GM Siegbert Tarrasch.
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He goes on to comment that the
move Bf6 is the only way of really
continuing the attack,
but it does
present real and definite danger (!)
to Frank J. Marshall. (our hero)
'!' - GM Andrew Soltis.
The position after Bf6 is one the
computers completely fail to appreciate.
White's ONLY hope is to attack -
passive and routine play will simply
lose.
And even advanced students fail
to grasp the amount of danger that is
presented to the Black King.
(This is
one of those ... very rare ... positions
where I can defeat most of my students ...
... NO MATTER WHICH COLOR
PIECES {or which side} ... I play!)
[ 34.Rf4!?, - Olomouc. ]
34...gxf6!;
Marshall takes up the gauntlet.
[ Maybe playable was:
34...g6!?;
"=/+" {Dm?}
but Marshall's method is better.
]
35.exf6,
This is forced ... but now White
threatens Rg7+ and Qf4 winning
in some lines.
[ 35.Re1?? Bf5; "-/+" ]
35...Rd8!; (Maybe - '!!')
{Diagram?}
An extremely good defensive
maneuver Black will meet Rg7+,
...Kh8; Qf4, with ...Qd6; pinning
White's Queen to his King and
forcing the exchange.
'!' - GM
Siegbert
Tarrasch.
'!' - G. Marco.
'!' - GM Andrew Soltis.
[ Possible was: 35...e5!?; "=/+" ]
36.Re1 Kh8; 37.Re5!?,
{Diagram?}
"Up to this point, Janowski has
conducted the attack under adverse
conditions
with the greatest skill, ... "
- Siegbert Tarrasch.
(The book of the tournament.)
He goes on to say that Janowski
should have played Q-B4! While this
might have been true,
(It is definitely
a better/trickier try by White.); it would
NOT have changed the end result ...
not one iota. (I think Soltis simply
mimics Tarrasch here.)
*******
[ One author gives the following
continuation:
>/=
37.Qf4 Rd5; 38.Re5 Rxe5;
39.Qxe5! Rb3!; 40.Qe3, {Diagram?}
This is probably best. ('!')
( Or 40.Rg7!? Rb5; 41.Qf4 Rxh5+; 42.Kg1 Bg6; "+/-" )
40...Bf5!;
41.Qxb3 Bxg4; 42.fxg4!? Qd6+; 43.g3
Qxd4; "-/+" {Diag?}
and Black should win. - GM
Siegbert Tarrasch.
(He claims that White has some
{slight} drawing chances here, but
a computer
analysis reveals that
White's game is lost, and completely
without hope.) ]
*******
37...Bf5;
38.Rg7 Rxd4; {See
the diagram ... just below.}
"This repulses the attack by White,
as Janowsky's Queen now has no
avenue
to attack KR6." - Tarrasch. (Schach Zeitung.)
*************************
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The defense is still not easy. I have
tried this position on a few of my
lower-rated students,
and most
greatly under-estimate the number
of threats to the Black King here.
39.Rb5,
{Diagram?}
"White has no real means of
continuing the attack, in fact he
can hardly move any of his pieces!
All the more astonishing is the
ingenuity which Janowski displays
in creating something out of
nothing
and in placing obstacles in his
opponent's path." - Siegbert Tarrasch.
(The Reinfeld Book of this tourney.)
[ He could also try
39.Re1!?,
{Diagram?}
but the position looks very bad
for White - at least to me.
{A.J.G.} ]
39...Rcc4!;
This is excellent, and the move
...Rc6; was (also) good enough
to win.
(But it is not better than the
text as two other authors claim.
The computers
see very little difference
between the two lines. In fact, the
great Siegbert
Tarrasch awards this
move an exclam!)
'!' - GM Siegbert Tarrasch.
'!' - George Marco.
'!' - GM Andrew Soltis.
[ After the moves:
39...Rc6!?; 40.f4 Rcd6;
41.Re5 Rd2;
"-/+" {Diag?}
Black is also (obviously) winning.
]
40.Qe5,
"White must prepare a flight square
for his King, and this is about the
only move
available for that purpose." - GM Siegbert
Tarrasch. (The Reinfeld book.)
*******
[ Possible was: 40.Kg1!?,
{Diagram?}
and now ...Rc1+; followed by
...R/c1-c4 is just a repetition of moves.
(But Black probably
has an improvement over this!);
***
One student grabbed the pawn
here, but after the moves:
</=
40.Rxb6?? Rh4+;
41.Kg1?! Qc5+; 42.Kf1 Rh1+; 43.Ke2 Rc2#.
was quick to admit he had made
a terrible error. ]
*******
40...Qd6;
41.g4 Qxe5+; 42.Rxe5 Bxg4!; {Diagram?}
"The strongest continuation," says
Tarrasch, as it forces an exchange
of Rooks.
(It is also correct according
to the formula that Capablanca would
later devise for
'won' positions, i.e.
that the defender should not be afraid
to simplify and even give
back material.
One Pawn is often sufficient to gain
a victory!)
'!' - GM Andrew Soltis.
[ After the moves:
42...Bd3!?;
43.Rxf7 a4?; ('??')
{Diagram?}
(This is a natural-looking move,
yet it is also a mistake, ...
but I do it
to demonstrate the VERY REAL
DANGER that Marshall faced,
and
how one mis-step could have cost
him the game.)
( Best is probably: >/=
43...Rc8; "/+" (Maybe "-/+")
{Diagram?}
and Black should {eventually}
win this game. )
44.Rf8+ Kh7;
45.Rxe6 Rc2+; 46.Kg3 Re2; 47.Rxb6!,
"+/-" {Diag?}
... it is WHITE
who is winning
this position!!! (White's threat is
simply
R/b6-to-b8, with a mate
to follow. It is difficult to see how
Black can now
prevent this.) ]
43.fxg4,
In his notes - which were later put
in the magazine, "The American
Chess Bulletin,"
Janowski AND
Marshall stated they felt taking with
the pawn ... and keeping Black's
King boxed in ... was the only real
hope for White.
It
is a very simple idea ... when you are ahead in material, you want
(and need) to
exchange pieces. Here Janowski MUST try to keep the Rooks on the
board.
[ After the moves: </=
43.Rxg4?! Rxg4; 44.fxg4 Rxg4;
("-/+") {Diag?}
Black is simply winning.
(If Rb5, then simply ...Rb4.) ]
Now we are in two-Rook or a double-Rook ending. These endings are
EXTREMELY
complex ... even the world's very best players, {"Super GM's") ... have gone sadly
astray
in this difficult type of end-game.
Marshall now shows that he has
evolved a fairly simple and effective plan ...
... to win the game.
43...Rc2+!;
All my students want to grab the
pawn here, but this is better.
(Benko gives ...Rd2+ here, but that is really only a transposition.)
*******
[ After the moves: 43...Rxg4!?;
44.Rxf7 Rg8!;
"/+" {Diagram?}
Black is still clearly better.
(And possibly still winning.) ]
*******
44.Kg3 [],
{Diagram?}
This is obviously forced,
yet the
great Siegbert Tarrasch awards the
move an exclam.
This might seem
a bit of a paradox until you realize
he is simply praising Janowsky's
will and his ability to continue this
magnificent struggle.
'!' - GM Siegbert Tarrasch. (and ... '!' - GM Andrew Soltis.)
"White's Rook is stalemated and the
hostile RP cannot be stopped. One
would think that White
is just on the
point of resigning, but Janowski still
continues to find something. Now he
is going
to (try and) force checkmate ... with his King!"
- GM Siegbert Tarrasch.
(The Reinfeld book again.)
**************
[ Of course not: </=
44.Kg1??
Rd1+; 45.Re1 Rxe1#. {Diagram?}
(A relatively simple
mate.)
***
Also very bad is: </= 44.Kh3?? Rd3+;
45.Kh4 Rh2#. {Diagram?}
(Yet another "edge-of-the-board" mate!)
]
**************
44...Rd3+;
45.Kf4 Rc4+?!; (Probably - '?')
{See the diagram below.}
This move is given without any
comment by Reinfeld ... or anyone
else, for that matter.
But the move -
while still winning - is NOT the best
move here!
In Marshall's defense, he may have
been a little short of time here.
(The
local newspaper column reported he
used a lot of time "extricating himself"
from Janowsky's attack.)