ello eversbody!t Hola att? “We ares proup of chess fan who are producing chess mete We have several projects nd ideas. We have members ‘homall around the world, belonging to diferent cuties and speaking different langage al fw joined by cur ‘como love forches!” We hope ye will enc ur work “Somos un grupo de fates del ajedrer, que estamos tratando de producie meter de ajedrer, desarralando “aiferentes provers cies. Tenomes miembros de dferates parts del mundo, provenientes de diferentes ‘culturas bublande diferentes Ingen, unidor por micstra pasion por el ajedrez!” Esperamen que disfraten Jc ‘ots muestra de neste trabajo! yo are intersted in joining us or snd ay comment rop ts anemia thecseloverynl com alguien estes incresato en nie al grap pucn escribir Thesisslover Vs, ae O10 waar < Y ja 32 Wea! Everything had to be prepared before tak- ing the b-pawn on move 30. 32..,We2 33 Bf1 Dxta Black had lite choice. If 33..e8 34 Sc3 and White is perfectly placed. 34 Wxta Alekhine rejected 34 Axf4!? because of 34..Wxc4 35 bxc4 Bc8 36 Hel Qh6, but then White has 37 Dd5I. 34...Wb5 35 Wr! Keeping an eye on b3, d5 and £7. Also promising was 35 Wel, eg. 35.2b8 36 Hdl! with the idea 36..Wab3? 37 De G68 38 Hds+. 35...Hb8 36 Hb1 Wa6 37 Bd1?! Missing a chance with 37 b4! We4 38 Det LB 39 Dcb, eg, 39.6? 40 Wal! 2.46 41 De5! winning the exchange. 37...Wa3 38 Hb1 Wa2 39 Wd3 2d4 40 fl Wb2 41 De7+! An aggressive move provoking a series of tricky tactics. It is characteristic of Alekhine that he would rather return his pawn to gain an attack than simply try to exploit the mate- rial advantage. 41.218 Forced. If 41. Sear 4 42 DESH gxtd 43 We3t, or 41..G2h82! 42 Deb Mxf2+ 43 Hxl2 Welt 44 Wh2 Wrxc6 45 Bxt7 and Black’s king is as much of a problem as the b-pawn. 42 De6 Oxf2+ s sage “Y, ae yy fly VIII), Y 8 43 th2!? Playing against a dark-squared bishop most players would consider 43 @h1 the better king move but, as we shall see, Alekhine saw further, Also possible was 43 Exf2 Welt 44 Wel! Wreb 45 Hxf7t+ Sg8 46 HS when Alekhine considered White's winning chances prob- lematical, while Kasparov gave White a clear advantage. Pethaps they ate both ight. 43.,.Me8? This is the move 43 @h2 was designed against. Tougher is 43..b7 44 WB 2b6 45 18Alexander Alekhine: A Short Biography hi! when White is clearly better. One pos- sible line is a7 46 Wed HadS 47 Wh4t 2c5 48 Wea Wa2 49 Das! Ses 50 Dxs7. Alekhine thought 45 d8 was an instant win but Kasparov pointed out that Black has 45..We5+ 46 Gh Qxd8! 47 Wxb7 @c7 and Black draws, eg. 48 Sg1 Wd4+. The only winning attempt would be 46 g3 but after 46..He7 47 Dxt7 Wer 48 Wxe2 Hxe2+ 49 &h1 &g7 White will find it hard to make progress. 44 WE Now the point of choosing 43 @£h2 be- comes clear. If the king was on h1 Black could solve all his problems with 44. Het. 44,,.Be2 45 Ada! Neither black piece can capture as Alekhine brilliantly reroutes his knight. 45...Hd2 46 Ae6+ ke7 The king would prefer shelter, but 46.22.82? allowed 47 WaSt, 47 fa The threat now is Dd3, 47...8d4 48 hi! The king has performed its task on h2 and moves to create the threat of De2. 48.,.8a27! ‘This makes White’s task easier but Black’s exposed king would prove decisive even after the stronger 48..2h4. After 49 Wh7+ Alekhine had the answer to 49..Wd7 50 What Ge 51 Debt Le7 52 Wher Bd8 53 Dxd8 Wads 54 Wes+ We7 55 Whst kd7 56 Wesh7 He 57 Hatt cc7 58 Wh8 winning, while Kasparov supplied the refutation of 49..Be8 50 DeGit fees 51 Wee ds 52 Wrst dec7 53 Hert bo 54 What eecs 55 Hew @d5 56 Bat Bet 57 Wh7 SF 58 Eixd4 Hxdd 59 Wsxh7 and wins. 49 De2 Hai 50 W7+! Instead 50 Axd42? Hxfl+ 51 Bh2 Bett is only equal. 50.816 These was nothing better. If 50.08 51 Dsxd4 Exflt 52 bh2 Vgit 53 &g3 Be and now White has 54 S2g4 h5+ (if 54...2xd4 55 Wht, or 54..f5+ simply 55 Dxf5) 55 sbg5 Ber 56 Bh4 Bese 57 gs htt 58 Bh2 Bxd4 59 Whee and WeS+ wins the bishop. This tactic at the end of a long varia- tion may seem ‘lucky’, but with two exposed pieces facing a queen which has many checks such tricks ate almost inevitable. 51 Dxd4 Bxf1+ 52 Gh2 291+ 53 vg f2+ 54 2f3 Sxd4+ 55 wed Ed1 56 Was ‘This does not spoil anything, though 56 Weert S95 57 We2 was a quicker win. 56...ke7 57 g4 Wii, Y < Te 57...H5 Or 57..Helt+ 58 dexd4 Hdtt+ 59 dc5 Hxd5t 60 @xd5 and the outside passed pewa ensures White wins easily. 58 gxh5 f5+ 59 Sf3 Bd3+ 60 we2 He3+ 61 wed2 Hea 62 hxg6 1-0 19CHAPTER TWO Warming Up Alekhine had a passion for chess and for life, which is only rarely equalled in history. His close study of the game brought about the fall of probably the most gifted chess player in history, José Rail Capablanca. Alekhine’s style was aggressive and imaginative, bue always based on a deep study of the princi- ples of the game as established by Steinitz and later developed by Lasker, Tarrasch, Nimzowitsch and Ret. ‘There was no part of the game Alekhine did not understand, and he famously de- feated Capablanca as much in the endgame as in any other phase of the game in their 1927 match. Nevertheless, Alekhine is re- membered for his attacking style and his brilliant combinations. In this first chapter we will look at some simple combinations, such as the following: Enevoldsen-Alekhine Buenos Aires Olympiad 1939 Ninrgo-Indian Defence 1 d4 AG 2 c4 e6 3 Ac3 Lb4 4 We2 Dc6 5 D3 dé 6 Rd2 eS 7 dd Lxc3 8B &xe3 De7 9 Dna Wd7! With the idea of .. Ag6. 10 g3 White has no time for 10 e4 because 10..Weg4 wins 2 pawn. 10...Wg4! 11 Wb3 Dgé 12 £3 Wa7 13 Dg2 0-0 14 ed Wd8! 15 De3 Ad7 16 We2 a5 17 Sig2 Dc5 18 0-0 &d7 19 b3 b5! 20 Had1? ‘This allows Black to build a queenside at- tack. A better plan was 20 exb5 @xb5 21 Bidt. 20...b4 21 &d2 Wh8 22 Hb1 a4! 23 h4 De7 24 g4 axb3 25 axb3 Ha3 26 hS Wh6 27 wh2 BfaB 28 Mb2 6! 29 £4 exf4 30 ixf4 Hal 31 dxc6? This helps Black's pieces to flood into the attack. 31 g5 was a better alternative, 31...Axc6 32 Dds Wd8! 33 2e3 Wh4a+ 34 2h3 Deb 36 2xc5 dxc5 36 Wi2 'Y ja wwe Black’s pieces surround the white king so 20completely that there is no hope of survival The rook on a8 is closer to the action than it appears. Can you spot the most convincing finish? 36...2h1+! 36..Axgtt is slower but also good enough, but only with the same idea: 37 Bxgt Bhi! 38 Sxh1 Wsh3+ 39 Wh2 Wxpt and Black is winning easily. 37 &xh1 Wxh3+ 0-1 Whether White blocks the check or moves his king, ..a1+would be devastating. You often see combinations in real games where there is more than one way to the goal = probably as often as one in three games that is decided by a combination. Very rarely do these positions work well as exercises and we have therefore only rarely included them in this book. However, it is worth pointing out that Alekhine had a gift for always choos- ing the swiftest route to the goal in such situations. In the following position there is more than one win available, but as always Alekhine chooses the best. Grigoriev-Alekhine Moscow 1920 Ray Lopez 1 e4 e5 2 D3 Acé6 3 Abs DAge7 4 d4 exd4 5 Dxd4 g6 6 2g5 297 7 c3 h6 B &h4 0-0 9 0-0 Dxd4 10 cxd4 c6 11 L04 g5 12 £93 d5 13 exd5 Axd5 14 2e5 206 15 Ad2 16 16 293 Whe 17 Het EfeB 18 Dea? ‘The possibility of the bishop on g3 being tapped makes this too risky. 18 b3 was much safer. 18...£5 19 Ac? White could iry 19 Ad6, but after 19...f4 20 Dxe8 Hxe8 21 WhS Wa8 Black is still souch better. 19...847 20 2d6 Wxb2 21 Sxd5 Oxd5 22 Bb1 Wxd4 23 Bxb7 Wed! 24 £3 2da+ 25 ht Warming Up Ti. w \ N Mn Ze Damre a8 (xe z “ WY \ Oo PNY ON Black’s superbly placed pieces suggest there may be attacking possibilities. What is the strongest continuation? How does Black use the fact that White’s king does not have enough defenders? 25...2xf3! 0-1 White resigns as he has no good defence, eg, 26 HxeSt Bxe8 27 gxf3 Bett 28 Wel Wsf3 mate. Sometimes we have positions where we are winning whatever. We might have won an exchange and after normal play we will eventually gain 2 full point. However, even in these situations it is important to remain attentive to tactically possibilities, as Alekhine did in the following game. Von Bardeleben-Alekhine Diisseldorf 1908 Philidor Defence 1 e4 eS 2 Df3 dé 3 d4 Ad7 4 2c4 c6 5 dxe5 dxe5 6 Re3 2e7 7 Dc3 We7 Better is .DM6, ...0-0 and ...He8, 8 a4 Dc5 9 b4? De6 10 Hb1 Df6 11 0-0 0-0 12 He1 b5! 13 &2b3 a5 14 axb5 If 14 bxaS then 14,.Wsxa5 and Black will soon win a pawn, 14...axb4 15 b6 Wb7 16 De2 c5 17 c3! 2d7 Not 17...Axe4? 18 2d5. 18 cxb4 cxb4 19 Dg3 AcS 20 fod 21Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Doxed 21 Dxed Axed 22 Ld5 Rc6 23 Lxc6 Wxc6 24 WhS Dc3 25 Bb2 Ws! 26 Dt3 De2+ 27 Exe2 1627 Bhi Ags. 27.,.Wixe2 28 WxeS 2f6 29 Wc5 b3 30 fa Hfe8! 31 b7 &, es Y, Re ome RE a oe A Pog iL aa oe oO Owes nak Ys Se A ea A very sharp position has arisen, Both sides have dangerous passed pawns, How can Black immediately win the game? Don’t defend against White’s pawn, use Black’s. 31...Wxf1+! Eliminating one of the few barriers to the b3-pawn’s progress. The more normal 31..al 32 Bxal &xai 33 Wel b2 also wins, though less quickly. 32 &xf1 Hal+ 33 &c1 b2! 0-1 Black’s material advantage will be massive. Before we go on to the exercises let us look at a last example that really shows how Alekhine builds up an attacking position and then ends it all with @ tactical blow. Alekhine-Freiman Cologne 1911 Ruy Lope. 1 e4 e5 2 Df3 Ac6 3 Abs Ate 4 0-0 dé 5 Dc3 2d7 6 dd exd42! 7 Axd4 2e7 8 Axc6 2xc6 9 We2 0-0 10 2g5 KeB 11 fe hé Not 11..Axe4? 12 &xc6 winning a piece. 12 2f4 Ad7 13 2xc6 bxc6 14 We! 295 15 £93 White should not be greedy. If 15 Bxg5 Weg5 16 Wxc6? De5 and both the queen and @f3+ are threatened. 15...05? 16 Had1 {6 17 b3 DeS 18 We2 g6 19 Ads 297 20 Was! We8 21 WaS c6 22 De3 Eds 23 hd! g5? 24 ig3 Web 25 D'S O18 26 We3 16 27 14 Qg6 28 Axh6+! Axh6 29 15 We7 30 fxg6 2f8 31 Wod+ &g7 i A, ow @ eae # a a8 2, ns ae TR 2B pes! White has a completely dominant posi- tion, What is the most convincing finish? Use the g6-pawn before it disappears! 32 Bxd6! 1-0 Completely destroying Black’s position. If 32..Hixd6 then 33 Bxd6 Wxd6 34 We7+ and Wh7 mate. Now it is finally your tara to try to walle in Alekhine’s shoes... 22Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Dexe4 21 Axed Dxe4 22 2d5 Lc6 23 2xc6 Yxc6 24 WhS Ac3 25 Hb2 Wbs! 26 DT3 De2+ 27 Hxe2 1f27 Ghl Ags. 27...Wxe2 28 Wxe5 216 29 WeS b3 30 24 Efe8! 31 b7 FR “2 sas . aeag eng ae any TALE oe os We _ -— — ae A very sharp position has arisen, Both sides have dangerous passed pawns. How can Black immediately win the game? Don’t defend against White’s pawn, use Black’s. 31,..xf14! Eliminating one of the few barriers to the b3-pawn’s progress. ‘The more normal 31.Hal 32 Bxal @xal 33 Wel b2 also wins, though less quickly. 32 &xf1 Hat+ 33 &c1 b2! 0-1 Black’s material advantage will be massive. Before we go on to the exercises let us look at a last example that really shows how Alekhine builds up an attacking position and then ends it all with a tactical blow. Alekhine-Freiman Cologne 1911 Ruy Lope 1 e4 e5 2 Df3 Ac6 3 2b5 ATG 4 0-0 dé 5 c3 2d7 6 dd exd4?! 7 Dxd4 Le7 B Axc6 2xc6 9 We2 0-0 10 2g5 HeB 11 Efe1 he Not 11..Axe4? 12 &xc6 winning a piece. 12 Bf4 Dd7 13 Bxc6 bxc6 14 Wed! 2g5 15 293 White should not be greedy. If 15 &xg5 Wrxgs 16 Wesco? DeS and both the queen and @3+ are threatened, 15...c5? 16 Had1 2f6 17 b3 Ded 18 We2 g6 19 Ads &g7 20 Wa6! Wes 21 WaS c6 22 De3 Hd8 23 Lh4! g5? 24 Ag3 Web 25 DFS 28 26 We3 16 27 f4 Dg6 28 Axh6+! Sxh6 29 5 We7 30 fxg6 248 31 Wed+ &g7 oy GY ga wash ow mae alr anf a ae asa aa White has a completely dominant posi- tion. What is the most convincing finish? Use the g6-pawn before 1t disappears! 32 &xd6! 1-0 Completely destroying Black’s position. If 32..Hixd6 then 33 Exd6 Wado 34 Wert and Wh7 mate. Now itis finally yous turn to try to walk ia Alekhine’s shoes... 22Warming Up Combinations for Solving Puzzle 1 Alekhine-Vasic, Banja Luka (simul) 1931 Puzzle 3 Alekhine-Flohr, Bled 1931 Bm aoe Fakta YY Sem Uh ‘a ere Ae White to play, Material is level but Black’s king is trapped in the centre. How can White take advantage of this? The Alekbine Tip is on page 84 and the solution is on page 95. Puzzle 2 Alekhine-Evenson, Kiev 1918 White to play. Material is level but White’s king is much more secure than Black’s. How does White exploit this? The Alekbine Tip is on page 84 and the solution is on page 95. Puzzle 4 Fink-Alekhine, Pasadena 1932 A os e GY QIK ae White to play. White has an extra pawn but that is only one small part of his advantage. He has a huge lead ia development, the safer ing and a huge initiative. There are many ways to win but what is the fastest? The Alekebine Tip is on page 84 and the solution ds om page 95. Black 0 play. White has an extra pawn but that is the end of the good news. Black has a huge lead in development and immense pres- sure down the e-file. How can Black imme- diately end the game? The Alekbine Tip is on page 84 and the solution ison page 96. 23Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 5 Rosselli Del Turco-Alekhine, Semmering 1926 Black to play. Material. is level but Black’s pieces are much more active. If Black plays slowly this advantage may be only temporary. How does Alekhine force a winning posi- tion? ‘The AleRbine Tip is on page 84 and the solution is on page 96. Puzzle 6 Alekhine-Bruk, Plymouth 1938 be IN... . \\ White to play. Black’s opening has cleatly been a disaster. He has a bishop buried on h7 and a severely weakened kingside. How does White end the game? ‘The Alekhine Tip is on page 84 and the solution ison page 97. Puzzle 7 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Krakow 1941 | ee ae NY ‘yeas White to play. Material is level and Black has no significant pawn weaknesses. Only the position of the pieces gives White a tactical opportunity. What does Alekhine play? The Alekhine Tip is om page 84 and the solution is on page 97. Puzzle 8 Alekhine-Fahardo, Montevideo (simul) 1939 280 ae White to play. There is no doubt that the black king is in dire trouble. What is the quickest finish? ‘The Alekhine Tip is on page 84 and the solution is om page 97. 24Puzzle 9 Torres-Alekhine, Seville 1922 Warming Up Puzzle 11 Alekhine-Eliskases, Podebrady 1936 Black to play. White has a protected passed pawn which could prove dangerous eventu- ally. How does Black use his active pieces before that happens? The Alekhine Tip is on page 84 and the solution is on page 98. Puzzle 10 Speyer-Alekhine, Scheyeningen 1913 White to play. Black has a pawn for the ex- change and actively placed pieces. How does White exploit the hidden flaw in Black’s posi- tion? The Alekhine Tip is on page 85 and the solution is on page 99. Puzzle 12 Alekhine-Rubinstein, San Remo 1930 Y 2 j "a maat pata ao us a ha Ce a ig gi ee “gage es “aie é g Ses SS Ey tA GtG me Yi, _ tN VY RANT, AO ee Black to play. The knight on d3 is obviously the key to the position. It attacks White’s queen but is pinned to the black queen. How does Black solve this problem? The Alekhine Tip is on page 84 and the solution is on page 99. White to play. Sle are still in the opening phase of the game. Black’s knight is well placed on ed but White has a lead in devel- opment. Rough equality would be many players’ initial opinion, but it always pays to be vigilant. How can White win material? The Alekhine Tip is on page 85 and the solstion is on page 99. 25Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 13 Alekhine-Novotny, Prague 1943 Puzzle 15, Alekhine-Em.Lasker, Ziirich 1934 Gi Y m 20am” ai a a Aa Z Boe wh t White to play. Material is level and the posi- tion is very closed. One important imbalance is that White has an impressive space advan- tage How does White break through? The Alekhine Tip is on page 85 and the solution ds om page 100. Puzzle 14 Opocensky-Alekhine, Paris 1925 am tm fl £5 lo: ge BE nt ana Em OG Black to play. The black pawn on h3 should have encouraged White to play very carefully, but his last move was a blunder. How does Black take advantage? The Alekbine Tip is on page 85 and ihe solution is om page 100. White 10 play. White’s active pieces ave poised for an attack but two of them are under threat. How does White force the win? The Alekhine Tip is on page 85 and the solution is on page 101. Puzzle 16 Colle-Alekhine, San Remo 1930 Black to play. Can you spot both solutions? Material is level and the black bishop is under attack. A simple retreat may be enough to secure a better ending, but can Black do bet- tex? The Alekhine Tip is on page 85 and the solution is om page 101. 26CHAPTER THREE Moving On In the previous chapter we saw some simple one-move combinations, which were little mose than pattern recognition, In this chap- ter we will sce slightly more complex combi- nations. Often Alekhine finds a way to win a pawn or a piece, However, mate or threats of mate is often a part of the themes. In the following example it is all about finding the direct way to the black king. Alekhine-Taube Hamburg Olympiad 1930 Queen's Gambit Declined 1d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 23 ATG 4 295 Abd7 5 63 fe7 6 Ac3 0-0 7 We2 c6 8 a3 HeB 9 Bd1 a6 10 h3 h6 11 Lh4 dxod 12 Axc4 WaB 13 0-0 cB 14 £a2 cxd4 15 ixd4 b5 16 2b1 D8 17 Ded Dds 18 xe7 Hxe7 19 De5 He7 20 We2 Ab7 21 WhS Wb6 22 Hfd1 b4 23 axb4 Axb4 see following diagram White has built an impressive attack. Find a way to crown it. Don’t forget thete is a bishop lurking on bl. 24 DF6+! Opening up the king, The telatively simple 24 a7! forces mate, eg. 24.Axd7 (or 24...96 25 WE3) 25 Wxf7+ Gh8 26 Agot 2h7 27 DeSH hxeS 28 De7+ and mate next move. a mt A t ws 1 2 whe we me mah Wee ‘e \ WE Pe ws a \\ White’s control of the File certainly gives him a great game. What is the most convinc- ing finish? ‘The black king has only one de- fender, 30Moving On 22 Exg7+! ‘The best move. White removes the black King’s only source of support. Other ways to win include 22 2g5 and 22 Wh4, 22...exg7 23 WI7+ LhB 24 &g5! 1-0 Black can only avoid 2.6 mating by mov- ing his knight and losing the queen. Often combinations arise after one of the players has ovetlooked something. In the following game Alekhine sees the chance and squeezes more out of it than most would have. Again the theme is bank rank mate, Alekhine-Djeri Vienna (simul) 1936 Ruy Lopex 1 04 e5 2 D3 Dc6 3 Lb5 dé 4 d4 exd4 5 Axd4 £d7 6 Dc3 Df6 7 0-0 Le7 8 b3 0-0 9 2b2 He8 10 Hel £f8 11 h3 g6 12 &xc6 2xc6 13 Wt3 ig7 14 Dxc6 bxc6 15 e5 Hxe5 16 Hxe5 dxe5 17 Wxc6 Ebs. 18 841 We8 19 Abs Wb7? “yy, ZZ YG Y Ue nL Hh Black’s last move was a definite blunder. How does White take advantage? Notice that the b8 rook has too many responsibilities. 20 Hd8+! ‘Alekhine, as usual, has a sharp eye for back rank tricks, Even the simple 20 Wxb7 Exb7 21 Bds+ BW 22 Axe5 was good enough to force a winning ending, The game continuation is much quicker. 20...248 The rook could not capture without drop- ping the queen. 21 Wxf6 Bxd8 22 2xe5! 1-0 ‘There is no good answer to Wh8 mate. A good nose for mating combinations is a clear characteristic in Alekhine’s games. The following is no exception. What is worth noticing is how he always find the absolutely strongest continuation. Alekhine-Rozanov Moscow 1917 Danish Gambit 1 e4 e5 2 dé exd4 3 c3 dxc3 4 Dxc3 2c5 5 fd WE 6 Df3 De7 7 0-0 Dbc6 8 e5 Axed 9 Axed Wxe5 10 Hel Wad 11 We2 0-0 12 &g5 d5 13 243 DTS 14 Zad1 Wb4 15 Dxd5 Was 16 Wis Ada White’s queen is under threat but he has a useful lead in development. How did Alekhine break through? The way is to open. up the black king. 17 Qxh7+! Heading for a standard mating pattern, White’s combination also works with a dif ferent move order: 17 AfGH gxf6 18 &xh7H# Bxh7 19 Whst 97 20 Wher dp8 21 B66. Even the unimaginative 17 Wh5 is strong, eg, 17..£5 18 Be71, 17...2xh7 18 WhS+ g8 19 Di6+! 37Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack An Alekhine speciality. 19...gxf6 20 &xf6 1-0 Black’s resignation was correct since he is facing a forced mate. It was worth trying one more move, but after 20..e2H? Alekhine would certainly have played the only good move 21 @hi! (not 21 Bxe2?? Bxf2H or 21 BFP? DgsH 22 hxg3 WaGt and ...Wsf6). Let us take another example of destruc- tion of the king’s position. Alekhine-Pias Lisbon (exhibition game) 1941 Ruy Lopeg, 1 04 e5 2 D3 Ac6 3 2b5 a6 4 Bad AE 5 De3 bd 6 2b3 2e7 7 Add Dxed 8B dd Dxd4 9 Dxd4 exd4 10 Wxd4 DFE 11 0-0 0-0 12 Axe7+ Wxe7 13 2g5 cB 14 2xt6 Wxt6 15 Wxcd Wxb2 16 Bad bs 17 BZae1 WH 18 He3 2b7 19 Wxd7 Wc6 20 Wg4 2c8 21 We2 25 22 Het Sg6 23 h4 h5 24 94 hxg4 25 Wxg4 2h7 26 h5 Wh6 27 EFS g6 White bas an extremely active position but how does he end the game? In positions with major pieces an exposed king can be fatal 28 &xf7+! The black king is forced into the open. 28 EExf7! with similar ideas is just as good. 28...8xf7 29 Bxf7 &xf7 30 We6+! This forces the king to a dark square when a further queen check will win the b8 rook. 30...2g7 31 We5+ 447 32 We7+ Inviting the king further forward. 32.016 White now has various forced mates in the moves that follow, but Alekhine finally collects the queen instead. 33 We7+ @f5 34 We6+ &g5 35 We3+ SPxh5 36 Wh3+ 1-0 Alekhine has 2 love for chess beauty. He is known for even having invented a game of his own to show off regarding his combina- tional talent, He was found out when the ‘game’ was discovered as analysis in a previ- ously published game of his. In the following, game he shows that he had ‘eyes in the back of his head’ when it came to sacrifices, and that his bragging was not completely unjusti- fied, Alekhine-Rosset Geneva (blind simul) 1925 Four Knights Game 1 e4 e5 2 D3 Ac6 3 Ac3 AG 4 2b5 2b4 5 0-0 2xc3 6 bxc3 dé 7 d4 247 8 e1 exd4 9 cxd4 0-0 10 295 De7 11 2d3 Dg 12 5 h6 13 Ld2 dxeS 14 dxe5 Ads 15 e6 2c6 16 exf7+ Lxt7 17 Dd4 WG 18 He6 Wxd4 19 Exg6 De7 20 g3 Had8 21 Hb1 Dd5 ere -* rte “ eae Be “ae tee Black’s pieces are active but there is a flaw 32in his position. What did Alekhine find? 22 2xh6! Winning a key pawn and further exposing the king. The simple 22 Whs+ ¢2g8 (Black would have no chance of survival on the ¢- file) 23 &xh6 was also good. 22...867 ‘The idea is 22..xh6? 23 Bo6+ winning the queen, Moving On 23 Exg7+ Ld6 24 Hg6+ ec57! Tr doesn’t really matter but Black is a little reckless with his king. 24.6 would last longer, 25 Wd2 We3 26 2e3+ 1-0 Now let us turn to you, and your chance to walk in the footsteps of the first Russian World Champion 33Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 17 Alekhine-Verlinsky, Odessa (simul) 1918 Combinations for Solving Puzzle 19 Tselikov-Alekhine, Moscow 1915 z 1 er hee ae a" 4 ane Bat Mand + RD ce v ee ae White to play. White has a very strong posi- tion, but what is the most forcing way to finish the game? The Alekhine Tip is on page 85 and the solution is om page 102. Puzzle 18 Alekhine-Bania, Ostrava (simul) 1925 Black to play. Both kings ate exposed so rapid action is essential. What is the crushing move? The Alekbine Tip is on page 85 and the solution is on page 103. Puzzle 20 Kmoch-Alekhine, Amsterdam 1936, a a Vi, aa White to play. White’s pieces are far more active than their black counterparts. What is the quickest way to exploit this imbalance? The Alekhine ip is on page 85 and the solution is on page 102. 34 Black to play. Material is level and White has a potentially dangerous passed a-pawn, so Black should act immediately. What does he play? The Alekhine Tip is on page 85 and the solution is on page 103.Puzzle 21 Grau-Alekhine, San Remo 1930 Moving On Puzzle 23 Alekhine-Kahn, Scarborough 1926 Black to play. Black has an extra pawn but the opposite-coloured bishops would make converting this in an ending very difficult. How does Black win the game immediately? ‘The Alekbine Tip is on page 85 and the solution is on page 103. Puzzle 22 Alekhine-E.Steiner, KKemeri 1937 White t play. With an extra exchange and 2 monstrous pawn on dé White 1s certainly winning. What is the fastest finish? The Alekhine Tip is on page 85 and the solution is om page 104. Puzzle 24 Alekhine-Golmayo de la Torriente, Madrid 1922 Ye BE ea en: ie a's Vk “¢ ae Au Ne ROY ee OWS ORI S cm ‘ew ws ert White to play, Black’s queenside is undevel- oped but there doesn’t seem to be any im- mediate danger. What had Black overlooked? The Alekhine Tip is on page 85 and the solution is on page 104. White to play. White has queen against rook and knight but it looks difficult to exploit this material advantage. How did Alekhine in- stantly end the game? The Alekhine Tip is on page 85 and the solution is on page 104. 35Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 25 Florian-Alekhine, Prague 1943 Black fo play. Opposite side casting often leads to very sharp play. How does Black strike first? The Alekhine Tip is on page 85 and the solution is on page 105. Puzzle 26 Stahlberg-Alekhine, Hamburg Olympiad 1930 Black to play. White has been driven back into passivity but how does Black crack his defence? The Alekhine Tip is on page 86 and the solution is on page 105. Puzzle 27 Alekhine-Shenker, ‘Ziitich (blind simul) 1932 White to play. White's advantage is obvi- ously crushing but where is the mate? The Alekbine Tip is on page 86 and the solution és on page 106. Puzzle 28 Alekhine-Kusman, New York (simul) 1924 G a “ ro N \ 4, ape WS White to play. Black’s uncastled king is the natural focus of attention. How did Alekhine biilliantly finish the game? The Alekhine Tip is on page 86 and the solution is on page 106. 36Puzzle 29 Abrahamer-Alekhine, Ostrava (simul) 1925 Black to play, For the moment Black is a rook down. Has Alekhine blandered? The Alekhine Tip is on page 86 and the solution is on page 107. Puzzle 30 Canepa-Alekhine, Montevideo 1938 Ltt Fatah a « ‘acl Black, to play. Black’s queen and bishop are both under attack, How does Black refute White’s play? The Alekhine Tip is on page 86 and the solution is on page 107. Moving On Puzzle 31 Alekhine-Pedreira, Santa Crus (blind sinaul) 1945 Ss KS A ne \~ Wa SS \ e = Be be White 10 play. White is temporasily a piece behind but has the ‘automatic’ recapture 17 Exe4. Can he do better? The Alekhine Tip is on page 86 and the solution is om page 108. Puzzle 32 Alekhine-Devesa, Batcelona (simul) 1928 ag a 3S = 6 ie Y, PP ee ‘es White to play. Black’s two extra pawns seem to adequately compensate for the exchange. How does White prove that Black’s last move (48...WWixad) was a blunder? The Alekhine Tip is on page 86 and the solution dom page 108. 37Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 33 Alekhine-Euwe, World Championship match (14), Netherlands 1937 White to play. White has an extra pawn but his bishop is locked out of play and a rook under attack. How does Alekhine solve the problem? The Alekhine Vip is on page 86 and the solttion is on page 108. Puzzle 34 Joss-Alekhine, Ziirich 1934 Black to play. Black has only two pawns to compensate for his piece deficit and_his queen is under attack. How does Alelhine turn the tables? The Alekhine Tip is on page 86 and the solution is on page 109. Puzzle 35 Tarrasch-Alekhine, Pistyan 1922 ij Y e 3 wa Ane ne Black to play. Black has a tremendous posi- tion but how does he quickly ceush all resis- tance? The Alekhine Tip is on page 86 and the solution ds on page 109. Puzzle 36 Alekhine-Consultants, Antwerp 1923 White to play, White has organised his pieces and is ready for the final attack. But how? The Alekhine Tip is on page 86 and the solution is on page 110. 38Moving On Puzzle 37 Alekhine-De Kossio, San Sebastian 1944 Puzzle 39. Tarrasch-Alekhine, St Petersburg 1914 White to play. Tt is no secret that White has a massive kingside attack. How does he breach the defence? The Alekhine Tip is on page 86 and the solution is on page 110. Puzzle 38 Rey Ardid-Alekhine, Zaragoza 1922 Black to play. Black’s queen is under attack and exchanging on 4 only creates a fork. What is the solution? The Alekbine Tip is on page 86 and the solution is on page 111. Puzzle 40 Rubinstein-Alekhine, Semmering 1926 7, Jiype 1 OLS aw ae ota wae Black to play. A fairly innocent-looking po- sition. Developing a rook to d8 looks like a logical move but can Black do better? The Alekhine Tip is on page 86 and the solution ds on page 111. Black to play. Black can recaptute his piece on c3 butis there a better option? The Alekhine Tip is om page 86 and the solution is om page 111. 39Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 41 Puzzle 43 Alekhine-Reshevsky, Kemeri 1937 Alekhine-Hruli, Chicago (simul) 1933 White to play. The pin on the back rank is White to play. White certainly has the more very dangerous. How does White force the active position but Black appears to be solid win? in defence. How did Alekhine force the win? The Alekebine Tip is on page 87 and the solution The Alekhine Tip is on page 87 and the solution is on page 112. is on page 113. Puzzle 42 Puzzle 44 Alekhine-Strazdins, Riga (simul) 1935 Alekhine-Kohnlein, Diisseldorf (simul) 1908 x TSwon Re. U3 oe tit, oe mee le aaa aia Ge mee a ee Boece | eM ee ‘Beese Ua, 5 White to play. With zero development and White to play, Material is level but White an exposed king Black clearly will not last has a lead in development. How did he ex- long. Alekhine quickly ended his suffering. It ploit this in the best way? is one thing to win this position — but can The Alekhine Tip is on page 87 and the solution you find the direct mate? is om page 113. The Alekhine Tip is on page 87 and the solution is on page 112. 40Puzzle 45 Alekhine-Stolz, Nice (exhibition game) 1931 Moving On Puzzle 47 Alekhine-Colle, Paris 1925 White to play. Black is outnumbered on the kingside. How does White take advantage? The Alekhine Tip is on page 87 and the solution is on page 113. Puzzle 46 Alekhine-L.Rodriguez, Montevideo (sismul) 1927 White to play. The d-pawn appears to be vi tal and is under attack, What did Alekhine find? The Alekhine Tip is on page 87 and the solution is om page 114. Puzzle 48 Alekhine-Freeman, New York 1924 wha Y 7 2 White to play. White’s kingside pawn storm is far advanced but how does he conclude the attack? The Alekbine Tip is on page 87 and the solution is on page 114. White to play. White must find a strong move or else Black’s queenside pawns will prove decisive. What did Alekbine play? ‘The Alekehine Tip is on page 87 and the solution és on page 115. 41Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 49 Alekhine-Kakiato, Philadelphia (simul) 1924 Puzzle 51 Alekhine-Afric, Graz (simul) 1936 et et Bwoits ohne Aa om a_i eam “ae LL “ 8 \ w e Say LG ~ ‘NN Sra ‘ a WY 19 Dxg7! The pin on the long diagonal will prove too strong, Also good was 19 DbGH @h8 and now it seems White’s attack is over but 20 b4! Wxb4 21 abl Wa3 22 Sxc5 Wxc5 23 Bxb7 will win a pawn since Black cannot cover £7. White could also use similar ideas to the game with a different move order, eg. 19 b4! Web4 20 Dxg7, 19...2xg7 Black could try to trap the knight on g7 with 19..ce4 but 20 b4! will soon force the queen off the fifth rank since ...WbS is hit by a2-a4 and ..We5 meets 24, Thus 20..Wsb4 21 Dh5 and the weakness of Black's kingside is decisive. RS WAU aoeAlexander Alekhine: Master of Attack 20 Ada! ‘The strongest move. 20 b4! was also win- ning: 20..Wxb4 21 &d4 and Black cannot save the knight because 21...@cd7? loses the queen after 22 Wet, 20...De04 Immediately returning the piece, but if 20..@ed7 21 &c3! and after the queen moves White plays ixd7. 21 Wxed WS 22 Wxt5 exf5 23 Zact ‘The ending is easily won. 23...Hfe8 24 Hc7 Exe2 25 Exb7 &g6 26 2xf6 xf 27 Hd6+ 1-0 One line was 27..@g7 28 Ha6 and b2-b3 followed by 3£6xa7 will win a second pawn, ‘As we have talked about earlier, Alekhine was really good at removing the opponents? defending pieces. In the following example he has moe than one way to win, but once again goes for removal of defensive pieces through sactifices. Salas Romo-Alekhine Gijon 1944 Queen's Fianehetto Defence 1d4 D6 2 AZ b6 3 g3 Sb7 4 2g2 c5 5 c3 e6 6 0-0 e7 7 Dbd2 0-0 8 b3 oxd4 9 cxd4 b5 10 2b2 Wbh6 11 Ae5 2xg2 12 dxg2 Acé6 13 Adf3 Hack 14 3 Db4 15 g4 Wh7 16 g5 Ded 17 h4 16 18 gxf6 Axf6 19 a3 d6 20 Ag4 yw ote : as Se ES, a a a U) aan — ‘Two black pieces are under attack but the white king is very weak. What is the most forceful line? Notice that the long light di- agonal is occupied by many valuable pieces. 20...Exf3! Black plans to create a deadly discovered check on the long diagonal. The simple 20..g6! was also very strong, eg. 21 axb4 (or 21 #h3 Hc2) 21..Lixg4+ 22 Bh3 Was! and White cannot take the rook. 21 Wxi3 B18 Every likely queen move is ‘mined’ by a discovered check. 22 Dh6+ hs Capturing would have allowed Wet sav- ing the queen. 23 Whs Ada This wins simply and convincingly. There was a strong and elegant alternative in 23...D46H 24 Wi3 Dfa5! and the queen can- not escape. Tf 25 We3 Axh4! 26 Wh2 Asst 27 det De2 mate. 24 D¥7+ Exf7 25 £3 Taking the rook lost the queen in the usual fashion, 25...2f5 26 We8+ Ufs 27 Wxia+ 2xt8 28 fxed Wxed+ 29 bg3 Le7 30 2c3 Wxe3+ 31 Bf3 Qxh4+ 32 Gg2 We2+ 0-1 It is not for nothing that in this book we have chosen to call Alekhine the Master of Combinations. As we shall see in the follow- 60ing example he was always contemplating sacrifices and combinations, sometimes just for the sake of beauty and accuracy. His caleu- lation was of such a high level that he did not consider it taking risks to sactifice material in this way, but just a faster way to the goal. Alekhine-Novak Prague (simul) 1925 Modem Defence 1 d4 g6 2 e4 297 3 DF c5 4 c3 cxdd 5 oxd4 Qc6 6 d5 De5 7 Ac3 a6 8 At4 Dxf3+ 9 WxF3 e5 10 dxeG fxe6 11 0-0-0 De7 12 2d6 bS 13 eb a7 14 2d3 Acé6 15 Wg3 De7 16 h4 HS 17 h5 Lh6+ 18 seb1 AS, White’s advantage is overwhelming and Alekhine typically played the most dynamic continuation. What did he find? 19 hxg6! Further into the Maze Certamnly not the only way to go but the most enjoyable. 19...Dxg3 20 gxh7! White has two major threats: mating with BgGtand queening the h-pawn after 2x8. 20...247 ‘The king tries to save itself. If 20...Wg5 21 &xi8 and White will soon have a material advantage. 21 fxg3! Opening the Ffile is decisive. 21 Exhé! also worked. 21...92g7 22 Axf8+ Wxis 23 Haft! _ Even with only rook against queen White wins easily: Black’s queenside pieces are not contributing, 23...\Wh8 24 Yf6 d5 25 Hhxh6 1-0 Now it is your tum to follow us into the maze of Alekhine’s more complicated com- binations. 61Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Combinations for Solving Puzzle 99 Puzzle 101 Alekhine-Foltys, Podebrady 1936 Zarnudio-Alekhine, Buenos Aires 1926. YS) AE ee fi Oa as alt ‘, Vide GG Ta White to play. White can regain material Black to play. Black has the more active equality with 22 Bxb7. Is there anything bet- pieces but how does he use them? tex? The Alekhine Tip is on page 91 and the solution ‘The Alekbine Tip is on page 90 and the solution is on page 141. is on page 140. Puzzle 102 Puzzle 100 Griinfeld-Alekhine, Carlsbad 1923 ine-Van Mindeno, Netherlands 1933 ~Y = =e Deena : it Th. mo Ai a a ZZ ane & Black to play. Black has a pleasant space White 10 play. Alekhine has sactificed a advantage and a powerful knight. How did piece to build the attack along the h-file. Alekhine finish the game? How did he finish? The Alekhine Tip is on page 91 and the solution ‘The Alekhine Tip is ow pege 90 and the solution is ow page 142. ison page 141. 62Puzzle 103 Alekhine-Laube, Kosice 1925 Further into the Maze Puzzle 105 Alekhine-De Carvalho, Lisbon (simul) 1940 one aa White t play. White has a good, active po- sition but Black appears to be solid in de- fence. How did Alekhine crash through? The Alekhine Tip is on page 91 and the solution is on page 143. Puzzle 104 Alekhine-Flohr, Bern 1932 White to play. Black, has an extra pawa but the potential pin along the d-file looks dan- gerous. How docs White win? The Alekbine Tip is on page 91 and the solution is on page 143. White to play. A queen exchange is offered and the bishop is trapped on h6. How should White continue? The Alekhine Tip is on page 91 and the solution is on page 144, Puzzle 106 Consultants-Alekhine, Basel 1922 e PDE Te xn Black to play. Black’s minor pieces aze won- derfully placed but how does Alekhine take immediate advantage? The Alekhine Tip is om page 91 and the solution 1s on page 144. 63Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 107 Schwarzmann-Alekhine, Russia 1916 Puzzle 109 Alekhine-Potemkin, Paris (blind simul) 1925 / a Ma Foie Cae [a Be by Ww aa Ww’ rhe \ \N Sow Va! te Des LY)! Ly nl Black to play. Black has two extra pawns but a few potentially huge problems: his bishop is attacked and dominated, while his kung has back rank mate dangers to avoid. How did Alekhine solve all the problems? The Alekhine Tip ts on page 91 and the solution is on page 145. Puzzle 108 Davidson-Alekhine, Semmering 1926 aS a P a Oe “ae y rat i fy rs ‘Sea Black 1o play. Black’s attack is clearly dan- gerous but how does he force the win? The Alekhine ‘Tip is on page 91 and the solution is on page 145. ‘ei W ae White to play. The pin on the e-file means the knight is safe, but if White doesn’t act quickly Black will castle to safety. What did Alekhine play? The Alekhine Tip is on page 91 and the solution is on page 146. Puzzle 110 Alekhine-H.Carlsson, Orebro 1935 - yyy White to play, White is more active but his knight is attacked. Naturally, retreating is not Alekhine’s style, so what did he play? ‘The Alekbine Tip is on page 91 and the solution is on page 147. 64Further into the Maze Puzzle 111 Alekhine-Tartakower, Kecskemet 1927 Puzzle 113 Alekhine-Levenfish, St Petersburg 1912, White to pla. White has such a well- developed position that simply moving the queen gains an advantage, but Alekhine wants more. What did he play? “The Alekbine Tip is on page 91 and the solution is on page 147. Puzzle 112 Alekhine-Hrushka, Prague (simul) 1921 White to play. Black has an extra pawn, but Alekhine as usual hes tremendous activity. How does White force the win? The Alekhine Tip is on page 91 and the solution is on page 147. White to play. Two pieces are hanging with check, which seem to limit White’s options. What did Alekhine play? The Alekhine Tip is on page 91 and the solution is on page 148. Puzzle 114 Alekhine-Teichmann, match (4), Berlin 1921 a er White 10 play. Une bishops dominate the knights, but how does Alekhine break the defence? The Alekhine Tip is on page 91 and the solution is on page 149. 65Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 117 Alekhine-Schwartz, London (blind simul) 1926 Puzzle 115 Alekhine-Sterk, Budapest 1921 a a a "3 at gman am 7 o eee oe ace White to play. Black has an extra pawn and a seemingly dangerous pin. How does Alekhine demonstrate the truth of the posi- tion? =a iG Oa nm _ White to play. "The ‘stalemated’ knight means that White must win eventually, but how did Alekhine brilliantly complete the ‘The Alekhine Tip is on page 91 and the solution task? is on page 149. The Alekhine Tip is on page 92 and the solution is on page 150. Puzzle 116 Alekhine-Rubinstein, Carlsbad 1923 Puzzle 118 Alekhine-Friexa, Barcelona (simul) 1928 el ane foe ah TN, “a poemoa a White to play. Material is balanced and Black threatens the b-pawn, What did Alekhine play? The Alekbine Tip is on page 92 and the solution is on page 150. White to play. All White’s pieces are poised for the attack but two of them ate under attack. What is the most forceful continua- tion? The Alekhine Tip is on page 92 and the solution is on page 151. 66Further into the Maze Puzzle 119 Alekhine-NN, simultaneous display 1933 Puzzle 121 Alekhine-Anderson, Chicago (simul) 1933 ae sa et | tah we E Aiea ft a aS emt U7 3 White to play. White has sactificed two pawns to seach this position, How should he continue? ‘The Alekbine Tip is on page 92 and the solution is om page 152. Puzzle 120 Alekhine-Gonzalez, Madrid (simul) 1940 ‘a ata iam aa White to play, White has a dangerous attack but how does he finish? The Alekhine Tip is on page 92 and the solution is on page 153. White to play. White’s bishops make a fine impression. How does Alekhine force the win? ‘The Alekhine Tip is on page 92 and the solution is on page 152. 67CHAPTER SIX Chess Wizardry Finally we have attived to this, our favourite chapter of the book. In this chapter we shall see Alekhine come up with some more speculative and completely non-standard combinational ideas. ‘These sactifices do not always lead directly to a clear win, but still we have decided to include these games, as solv- ing strong continuations is just as helpful for the development of the chess player, as solv- ing winning continuations. The following example is just such one example: Mieses-Alekhine Scheveningen 1913 Centre Game 1 e4 05 2 d4 exd4 3 Wxd4 Ac6 4 Wes 2e7 5 &d2 Dt6 6 Dc3 0-0 7 0-0-0 d5 8 exd5 Dxd5 9 Wg3 &h4 10 WIS 2e6 11 Se3 Axc3 12 ExdB Dxa2+ 13 &b1 Baxd8 14 Ge2 Dab4 15 Dh3 Efe 16 @t4 215 17 Bel g6 18 g4 2e4 19 Wh3 216 20 2f3 Oxf3 21 Wxt3 DeS 22 We2 05 23 Hg1 o4 24 h4 Ad5 25 Axd5 Exd5 26 14 Da3 27 WB Black has rook and knight against a queen while two pieces are attacked. The situation appears desperate, so what has Alekhine prepared? An important thing is to keep cal- culating even if the checks run out. “ AY SANG “ \ NS; a \ w ie 27...2b5! Black invests even more material to keep the initiative. 28 cxd3 ‘This is the only good move. Weakening the long diagonal with 28 b3? is fatal after 28...a5! 29 cxd3 cxd3 30 Bel 23! (the net closes around the white king) 31 @d1 (the only try but now Black bas a study-like win) 31..Bal+ 32 Sct Bett 33 Hxet Hxct 34 Pxct d2+35 Bcd dxelN+. 28...8xb2+ 29 el oxd3! Black threatens ...Hic8+ followed by ..Hec2 and mate on the back rank. 30 wt The only good defence. Instead 30 Hg2 Bc 31 Gal transposes to a variation given 68in the notes to White’s next move. 30...0¢8 Sma s ie ath ae ea Mil . Jas Faas White misses the main threat and loses quickly. a) 31 Hfg2? also loses but it takes brilliant play from Black to show why: 31..Rb1+ 32 bd2 Bb3! (with the idea ...2e2+ then ... bt and now: al) 33 Bel gives Black a choice of pretty wins: 33...$2xh4H (the easier one to calculate is 33..Hct 34 Bxcl d2+ or 34 f2? Qxh44) 34 Hdl Bec3l! (creating the charm- ing threat of 35...ibi+36 Gd2 Sel mate) 35 Bf Bxi2 36 Bxf2 looks like a complete defence until you spot that the trick 36...{c2! saves the day. a2) 33 Bd &c3! (taking the d2-square away from the king is natural but it does seem strange to block the c8 rook; remarka- bly, Black can afford the time to relocate the bishop to b4) 34 cl Lb4 (now Black plans cither ..Bxcl+ then ..d2+ or the immediate 12) 35 &b2 We8! (the cl-square is now covered so the took switches sides) and White has no defence. If, for instance, 36 Hei d2i 37 Wxb3 Het+ and Black’s extra pawns will be decisive. b) 31 Wed! was the only defence, hitting the d-pawn, when Black must settle for a draw with, for example, 31..Zb1+ 32 &d2 Hb2+ 33 Gdl (but not 33 Vel? Hec2!), ‘The interesting thing is that Kasparov over oo \ od je = \ aan Ss S aa he EE SS Chess Wizardry looked this in his book on the World Cham- pions! 31...Hce2! 32 Ge1 Hb1+ 33 Wd1 &c3+ 0-1 Winning everything but missing 33..e2+ 34 Sft Exdi mate, Even Alekhine was hu- man, after all. Alekhine simply was the master of attack. The following example shows how naturally the attacking moves flowed from Alekhine’s hands. Alekhine-Stickgold Warsaw (simul) 1928 English Opening 1 c4 e& 2 Ac3 AE 3 e4 Qc5 4d3 dé 5 Be2 h6 6 Le3 Bb6 7 Af3 c6 8 0-0 0-0 9 Wd2 Abd7 10 Had1 He8 11 h3 Af8 12 We2 We7 13 Hfe1 Dg6 14 d4 Ba5 15 dxe5 dxe5 16 2d3 Dh5 17 a3 Oxc3 18 Wxe3 Dht4 19 21 Wie 20 Dh2 Le6 21 Ed6 a6 22 Hed1 Wg5 23 wh1 We7 24 Wad 16 25 c5 WT 26 Wd2 Hh7 27 h4 2b 28 Het a5 29 a4 Af8 30 g3 D4g6 Black has a solid defensive position and threatens the apawn, How did Alekhine seize the initiative? 31 &xh6!? An interesting way to shazpen the struggle. 31...gxh6 32 Ag4 White plans Wxh6+ and Astor. 69Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack 32...2e6! ‘The best defence: saving the f-pawn is es- sential. 33 Wxh6+ bg8 34 Sc4!? ‘This clever move prevents ...2xg4 and so prepares h4h5. Also promising was 34 Wh5? Bxed 35 Wxe4 with continuing pres- sure, 34,,,Wg7? ‘This loses by force to a very neat trick. Black had to try 34...51, e.g, 35 exfS Wsf5 36 Dc3 WET 37 -h5 Db8 and White has great pressure but no clear-cut win, 35 Who! The idea of Ab6+ is obvious, but White also plans the elegant Wt 35...Wh8? , a § Yi, Fi. Y Allowing a final blow but his position was already collapsing. 36 Exe6! WxhS 37 Hxe5+ dg7 38 BxhS Exed 39 De3 a8? Te was gone anyway. 40 Af5 mate The following combinations are deeply difficult, but also inspising, Good luck! 70Chess Wizardry Combinations for Solving Puzzle 122 Alekhine-Koltanowski, London 1932 Puzzle 124 Alekhine-Samisch, Berlin 1923 YEN 7) Aa Pera White to play and attack! White has some pressure but Black seems to be defending everything, What is the most forceful con- tinuation? The Alekhine Tip is on page 92 and the solution is on page 153. Puzzle 123, Alekhine-Tylor, Margate 1937 U EO tay White to play. Black is attempting to counter White’s g-file play by pinning the f pawn, How does White solve the problem? The Alekbine Tip is on page 92 and the solution is on page 154. White to play. White is building kingside pressure but his queen is under attack, What did Alekhine play? The Alekhine Tip is om page 92 and the solution is om page 155. Puzzle 125 Alega-Alekhine, Paris 1914 Black to play and attack! White is tying desperately to block the position. Black has only one tactical move available, but does it work? The Alekhine Tip is on page 92 and the solution is on page 155. PaidAlexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 126 Alekhine-Gofmeister, Petrograd (odds game) 1917 Puzzle 128 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Warsaw (exhibition game) 1941 White 10 play. An extsaordinarily difficule position. White is already a piece down and his queen appears to be trapped. How did Alekhine turn the tables? The Alekbine Tip is on page 92 and the solution is on page 156. Puzzle 127 Alekhine-Litov, Serpukhov (simul) 1915 A ¥ ge, ne Y fe WY ee White 1 play. Positions where both kings ate exposed are especially difficult to play. How does White strike first? The Alekhine Tip és on page 92 and the solution is on page 157. wo To ane a ne oe A oe White 10 ply. Two possible wins! Find both! Black’s uncastled king makes many attacking ideas possible. What is the strong- est? The Alekbine Tip is on page 92 and the solution is on page 158. 72CHAPTER SEVEN Beating Alekhine Chances ate, if you ate reading the book from cover to cover, trying to solve the exer- cises, that by the time you reach this page, you will be fed up with heating about Alckhine’s greatness. Whether this is the case or not, then you will probably enjoy this chance to outplay Alekhine in no less than 12 combinations. 73Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Combinations for Solving Puzzle 129 Keres-Alekhine, Margate 1937 Puzzle 131 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, St Petersburg 1913 =inee mi pes oe “se “ Vy oF Gist White to play. White is a pawn up with a good position. How did he finish the game? The Alelehine Tip is on page 92 and the solution is on page 139. Puzzle 130 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, World Championship match (13), Germany/Netherlands 1929 29 mse mt Beata z ce a ee Fel op Black to play. Alekhine’s last move was 31 B.xa4, What did he overlook? The Alekhine Tip is on page 92 and the solttion is on page 159. Black to play. Alekhine has an extra piece and hopes to break Black's attack by ex- changing queens. What has he missed? The Alekbine Tip is on page 93 and the solution 4 on page 160. Puzzle 132 Bogoljubow-Alekhine, World Championship match (18), Germany/Netherlands 1929 “fi ie . oo ms ia A me: _ i B o.0 pane . £00 cs oo White to play. The pinned bishop is clearly a problem for Alekhine. How did White decide the game? The Alekhine ip is on page 93 and the solution is on page 160. a CN 74Beating Alekhine Puzzle 133 Euwe-Alekhine, World Championship match (14), Netherlands 1935 YU,U. oan so a ty © Y Banos 7) VY fag i White to play. Alekhine has been lost for most of the game burt finally seems to have counterplay with the threat of .. htt, How did White end his hopes? The Alekhine Tip is on page 93 and the solution is on page 161. Puzzle 134 Rubinstein-Alekhine, Vienna 1922 ‘ee ie wii RRS White to play. White has an extra pawn but the attack on the light squares seems to give ‘Alekhine superb compensation. How did White refute Alekhine’s play? The Alekehine Tip is on page 93 and the solution is on page 162. Puzzle 135, V.Petrov-Alekhine, Margate 1938 a1a 6 , 8 fe ae Me on eee White to play. Slekhine’s king is either very active or very exposed. How did White show the truth? ‘The Alekine Tip is on page 93 and the solution is on page 162. Puzzle 136 Nimzowitsch-Alekhine, Semmering 1926 White to play. White's extea pawn is on the seventh rank, but perhaps Alekhine hoped the opposite bishops might save him if he reached an ending. How did White quickly win the game? The Alekhine Tip is on page 93 and the solution is on page 163. 75Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 137 Em.Lasker-Alekhine, St Petersburg 1914 Puzzle 139 Alekhine-Capablanca, St Petersburg 1913 a & ee Lo Ls i mia on ea White to play. Alekhine is an exchange up and attacking the queen. How did White turn the tables? ‘The Alekhine Tip is on page 93 and the solution is on page 163. Puzzle 138 Euwe-Alekhine, Ziirich 1934 White t0 play, White seems to be losing a piece because of the e-file pin, What had ‘Alekhine overlooked? The Alekhine Tip is on page 93 and the solution ison page 164. Black to play. A fairly simple-looking posi- tion. The queen is attacked and all White’s pieces are securely defended. What had Alekhine missed? The Alekhine Tip is on page 93 and the solution is on page 164. Puzzle 140 Alekhine-Yates, Carlsbad 1923 Black to play. Alekhine is attacking the bishop and defending h2 solidly. What trick had he missed? The Alekhine Tip is on page 93 and the solution is on page 165. 76CHAPTER EIGHT In this chapter we shall see how Alexander Alekhine, a tactical genius, was able to carry his vivid imagination into the endgame. As we can sec in this first example the tactics in the endgame are not necessarily less enter- taining than those in the middlegame. Actu- ally they are often more entertaining and have a kind of beauty through simplicity that middlegame positions can rarely achieve. Yates-Alekhine Kecskemet 1927 = cen @ tom awa moot Black 0 play In this position Black has numerous ways to gain the full point, but finds a spectacular way to do so. The h-pawn is one square from glory, but which piece can support it? The rook must defend the k-pawn and the knight is pinned. However the white king is short of squares. So Black came up with an imaginary solution, that might be just one of many wins, but is still very aesthetically pleasing. 75...@2h5! 0-1 Now 76..De4* is threatened and if 76 ‘Wao then 76..h14) mate! Therefore White decided to resign instead. Usually great endgame specialists like Rubinstein, Andersson, Karpov and others like to take away their opponent's counter- chances through long sequences of prophy- lactic moves. Alekhine was no less an expert on the endgame than his colleagues. How- ever, he would often use his tactical abilities to find surprising solutions to technical prob- lems, such as in the following position where quickly converts a winning endgame into a ull point with an attack against the king! Alekhine-Chajes Carlsbad 1923 White’s extra pawn is only a small part of his crushing advantage. The pin on the back rank is troubling and the white knight is far more active than its rival. Also Black’s king is 77Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack also a potential target. White to play 62 Bh1! ‘he most appealing solution. White ex- ploits the length and breadth of the board to break Black’s resistance 62...2d7 Black had to prepate an escape route for his king with 62..1d8 63 Hal Wa7, though after 64 Exadt @b8 65 Hxatdexa8 66 b5 he would still have to resign. 63 Hal! 1-0 That Alekhine had this great technique was no coincidence. Attacks may go wrong and a difficult position will have to be saved Or attacks may only lead to a full point by material gains. So, at some point in his career, Alekhine decided to study the endgame prin ciples and became a strong technical player. Here we shall see him outplay one of the strong players of the day almost effortless with a very dry technical style, until finally in the end, a tactical win is found. Znosko Borovsky-Alekhine St Petersburg 1914 Rag Lapeg 1 e4 eS 2 Df3 Ac6 3 2b a6 4 Bad do 5 d4 294 6 2xc6+ bxc6 7 dxed dxe5 8 We2 2d6 9 &e3 De7 10 h3 Lh5 11 Dbd2 0-0 12 94 296 13 h4 If White tries to attack with 13 Db4 Black has a clever answer in 13./Ad5!. After 14 Dsg6 Dxe3 15 Wxe3 fxg6 Black has pres- sure down the f-file. 13...f6 14 h5 217 15 Dh4 Wb8! 16 b3 Wal 17 £3 Btas The greedy 17...§l/c3 could backfire after 18 #2! Wxc2 19 Bhet Wh2 20 Act when taking the c2-pawn has only served to expose Black’s weak doubled pawns. 18 £2 Bcd 19 Bhdi Hae 20 Del ads 21 Qxc5 WrcS+ 22 Ded We3! 23 Haxd6 cxd6 24 Edt d5 25 Wrab d4 26 DefS @xfS 27 Defs Wxc2+ 28 Wer Wes 29 Ws? Tewas better to keep an eye on the a-pawn with 29 Waar. 29...2e6 30 Ag3 Ha8 31 Hd2 Wb4! 32 Hc2 05 33 Af c4! 34 bxe4 Bad 35 Wd2 WeS 36 g3 2xc4 37 Wel Ec3! 38 Hxe3 dxe3 39 De3 After 39 We3? the simple 39..Wxe3 would win eventually, but the 39... Wad! wins instantly. 39...2xa2 40 We2 2e6 41 Ad1 Wg1+ 42 ena It is obvious that White has no chance of survival. Black has a dangerous passed pawn and the white king is on the run. But still Black needs to finish his opponent off. What is the most direct way to do so? clever Pe .s a VU pars Trg 42...g5+! ‘The simple 42.. Welt 43 @h3 Wa2 would 78win more slowly. 43 hxg6 Declining the offer with 43 @h3 fails to the simple 43....c4. 43...n5! A brilliantly imaginative tactic. 44 De3 A desperate alternative to resignation, If 44. @xc3 then 44...Whi+ 45 #93 h4t 46 WA (the king escapes) 46..Wh2t (but the queen does not). 44 gxh5 allows 44..Wig5 Endgame Brilliance mate. 44...Wxe3 45 Wad Wi2+ 46 wh3 ha Black calls the bluff: there is no perpetual. 47 We8+ bg7 48 We7+ wxg6 49 Hes 2470-1 Having seen how it can be done we now move to 13 exercises, where you can try to compare your proficiency for tactics in the endgame with those of the 4th World Champion. 79Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Combinations for Solving Puzzle 141 Alekhine-Tartakower, Hamburg 1910 White to play. Material is level and Black has the better pawn structure, but tactics decide, Black’s previous move was a blunder. How does White exploit it? The Alekbine Tip is on page 93 and the solution is on page 166. Puzzle 142 Alekhine-Spielmann, New York 1927 White to play. White has an extra pawn on the seventh tank and Black can only play waiting moves with his rook. The position should be winning, but how does White prove this? The Alekbine Tip is on page 93 and the solution is on page 166. Puzzle 143 Alekhine-Euwe, World Championship match (3), Amsterdam 1937 White to play. Material is level and White controls the only open file. It is vital chat White strikes immediately, otherwise ..\d8 heading for c6 could cause problems. The Alekhine Tip is on page 93 and the solution is on page 167. Puzzle 144 Alekhine-Tartakower, San Remo 1930 A a mee iets A m White to play. Material is level and both sides have a passed pawn, For the moment neither passed pawn can advance but White’s is the more securely defended. How does White exploit this fact? The Alekhine Tip is on page 93 and the solution is on page 168. 80Puzzle 145 Alekhine-Grigoriev, Moscow Championship 1919 co i Bim Ae YW a - oats oa a ae White to play. Black has an extra pawn but is clearly under great pressure. In particular the rook on hf is out of the game. The Alekhine Tip és on page 93 and the solution is on page 169. Puzzle 146 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, World Championship match (5), Germany/Netherlands 1929 Y y Uy, Ae ce s White to play. Material is level but White’s pieces are clearly much more active. In par- ticular, the bishop on h7 makes no contribu- tion. How does White exploit this advantage? ‘The Alekhine Tip is om page 94 and the solution is on page 170. Endgame Brilliance Puzzle 147 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, World Championship match (4), Germany 1934 White to play. White is a pawn down and appears to be in trouble. His position does have some positive features though: both sooks are actively placed on open files and the £.pawn is passed. How should White best exploit these factors? The Alekhine Tip is on page 94 and the solution is on page 171. Puzzle 148 Alekhine-H.Johner, Ziirich 1934 White to play. White has an extra pawn but his bishop is obstructed by its own pawns. ‘The apawn is clearly a long-term threat. Should White push it immediately? ‘The Alekbine Tip is an page 94 and the solution is on page 171. 87Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 149 Alekhine-Tarrasch, Vienna 1922 Puzzle 151 Alekhine-Yates, Hamburg 1910 White to play. A very shasp position has de- veloped with both sides having dangerous pawns. How should White continue? The Alekehine Tip is on page 94 and the solution is on page 172. Puzzle 150 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, World Championship match (4), Germany 1934 White to play, Material is level and the g7 knight is under attack, White looks to be in trouble, but it usually pays to think positively. How should White continue? The Alekhine Tip is on page 94 and the soliton is on page 173. aH “= gimeli 730 a Be Oe» A a — “a Z, “2 . White to play, White has an extra pawn but rook endings ate notoriously drawish. Forc- ing a pawn ending is tempting, but is it a forced win? The Alekhine Tip is on page 94 and the solution is on page 174. Puzzle 152 lyin Zhenevsky-Alekhine, Russian Championship, Moscow 1920 Black to play and make a draw! Material is level but Black is clearly the one under pres- sure, If the black king moves then White will play @xh4 and win casily. Black must choose a queenside pawn move so that White runs cout of pawn moves first. ‘There is only one correct answer, Which move is it? The Alekhine Tip is on page 94 and the solution is om page 174. 82Endgame Brilliance Puzzle 153 Alekhine-Tartakower, Vienna 1922 White t0 play. This is avery difficult posi- tion, White is an exchange up but Black’s connected passed pawns are very threatening. How should White stop the pawns? ‘The Alekbine Tip is on page 94 and the solution is on page 175. 83CHAPTER NINE Alekhine Tips Puzzle 1) Alekhine-Vasic, Banja Luka (simul) 1931 The black king has no legal moves ~ one good check would be enough. Puzzle 2) Alekhine-Evenson, Kiev 1918 Black’s king already has too few defenders ~ eliminating one of them may be enough. Puzzle 3) Alekhine-Flohr, Bled 1931 Use the fact that the queens occupy the same diagonal. Black had to play 28...fxe5, though White is still much better after 29 Wee5. Puzzle 4) Fink-Alekhine, Pasadena 1932 Only White’s queen is saving him from instant disaster. Puzzle 5) Rosselli Del Turco-Alekhine, Semmering 1926 Black’s far advanced knights suggest a fork may be in the ar. Puzzle 6) Alekhine-Bruk, Plymouth 1938 Only the e6-pawn prevents White’s pieces from reaching the black king. Puzzle 7) Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Krakow 1941 Exploit the position of the rooks. Puzzle 8) Alekhine-Fahardo, Montevideo (simul) 1939 Remove one of the king’s defenders. Puzzle 9) Torres-Alekhine, Seville 1922 ‘The black bishop and the white king occupy the same diagonal. Puzzle 10) Speyer-Alekhine, Scheveningen 1913 Winning the queen is worth a large material investment. 84Alekhine Tips Puzzle 11) Alekhine-Eliskases, Podebrady 1936 Black’s queen is less secure than it appears. ‘The sensible 24...2e8 would have given Black some chances to save the game. Puzzle 12) Alekhine-Rubinstein, San Remo 1930 Analysing all checks and captures is an excellent habit. Puzzle 13) Alekhine-Novotny, Prague 1943 White has no significant pawn breaks. Puzzle 14) Opocensky-Alekhine, Paris 1925 In tactical positions always look for a way to use standard mating patterns. Puzzle 15) Alekhine-Em.Lasker, Ziitich 1934 If it’s mate then material counts for nothing. Puzzle 16) Colle-Alekhine, San Remo 1930 ‘There are many pieces lined up on the e-file. Puzzle 17) Alekhine-Verlinsky, Odessa (simul) 1918 tis a good idea to use every piece to attack, Puzzle 18) Alekhine-Bania, Ostrava (simul) 1925 Sometimes a ‘quiet’ move is needed to justify an initial sactifice. Puzzle 19) Tselikov-Alekhine, Moscow 1915 Sometimes obvious is best. Puzzle 20) Kmoch-Alekhine, Amsterdam 1936 ‘The knight on b6 is overworked. Puzzle 21) Grau-Alekhine, San Remo 1930 Note that White’s back rank must be defended. Puzzle 22) Alekhine-E.Steiner, Kemeti 1937 Black’s central pawns occupy the same colour as the bishop on e7 ~ it’s a bad bishop. Puzzle 23) Alekhine-Kahn, Scarborough 1926 ‘The ¢8 rook is trying to defend too many things Puzzle 24) Alekhine-Golmayo de la Tortiente, Madrid 1922 Black’s back rank is part of the problem. Black had to play 31...e31 and a tough fight is ahead. Puzzle 25) Florian-Alekhine, Prague 1943 ‘The bishop may be pinned but it still has influence. 85Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 26) Stahlberg-Alekhine, I1amburg Olympiad 1930 ‘There is no doubt about which square Black’s pieces are firing at. Puzzle 27) Alekhine-Shenker, Ziirich (blind simul) 1932 Simply use all the pieces. Puzzle 28) Alekhine-Kusman, New York (simul) 1924 Black’s last move (15...g6) created a weakness. Puzzle 29) Abrahamer-Alekhine, Ostrava (simul) 1925 ‘Trapping the knight on h8 would not be enough ~ Black must do more. Puzzle 30) Canepa-Alekhine, Montevideo 1938 Just because the queen is attacked doesn’t mean it has to move. Puzzle 31} Alekhine-Pedreira, Santa Crus (blind simul) 1945 ‘The black king has no moves. Puzzle 32) Alekhine-Devesa, Barcelona (simul) 1928 Perhaps the black king is not as safe as it seems, Puzzle 33) Alekhine-Euwe, World Championship match (14), Netherlands 193; ‘The 8 rook is overloaded. Puzzle 34) Joss-Alekhine, Ziitich 1934 Don’t just concentrate on the queenside. 37 Adf4 was essential. Puzzle 35) Tarrasch-Alekhine, Pistyan 1922 Crack open White’s king position Puzzle 36) Alekhine-Consultants, Antwerp 1923 Brute force messieurs! Puzzle 37) Alekhine-De Kossio, San Scbastian 1944 ‘Try to create one of the standard mating patterns. Puzzle 38) Rey Ardid-Alekhine, Zaragoza 1922 Create the possibility of a double attack. Puzzle 39) Tarrasch-Alekhine, St Petersburg 1914 ‘The king is more valuable than the queen. Puzzle 40) Rubinstein-Alekhine, Semmering 1926 Use the active knight. 86Alekhine Tips Puzzle 41) Alekhine-Reshevsky, Kemeri 1937 Analyse all checks and captures. Puzzle 42) Alekhine-Strazdins, Riga (simul) 1935 Clear a path for White's queen. Puzzle 43) Alekhine-Hruli, Chicago (simul) 1933 Remove a key defender. Puzzle 44) Aiekhine-Kohniein, Diisseldorf (simul) 1908 Always watch out for back rank tricks. Puzzle 45) Alekhine-Stolz, Nice (exhibition game) 1931 Open up Black's king position, Puzzle 46) Alekhine-L.Rodriguez, Montevideo (simul) 1927 Force open as many lines as possible. Puzzle 47) Alekhine-Colle, Paris 1925 Most tactics start with a check or a capture. Puzzle 48) Alekhine-Freeman, New York 1924 Ts the back rank really covered? Puzzle 49) Alekhine-Kakiato, Philadelphia (sirnul) 1924 Is Black’s queen securely defended? Puzzle 50) Alekhine-Desler, Hamburg Olympiad 1930 Break the pin without allowing Black a free move. Puzzle 51) Alekhine-Afric, Graz (simul) 1936 Use the knight’s power before it’s too late. Puzzle 52) Alekhine-V.Petrov, Warsaw Olympiad 1935 Never miss a back rank ttick, Puzzle 53) Alekhine-Tenner, Cologne 1911 Calculating 2 long variation is quite easy if almost all the moves are forced. Puzzle 54) Alekhine-Kostic, Bled 1931 White would like to exchange queens. Puzzle 55) Alekhine-Yates, Semmering 1926 Set up a discovered check. 87Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 56) Alekhine-J.Vazquez, Mexico City 1932 Instant action is essential, Puzzle 57) Alekhine-Dobrovic, Belgrade (simul) 1931 Note that the £7-pawn is pinned. Puzzle 58) Alekhine-Mikulka, Olomouc (simul) 1925 Find a couple of good pins. Puzzle 59) Alekhine-Saémisch, Bad Nauheim 1937 Both Black’s king and his rook are potential targets. Puzzle 60) Alekhine-Opocensky, Paris 1925 Black’s king has few useful defenders. Puzzle 61) Alekhine-Borochow, Hollywood (blindfold) 1932 If White plays a safe, quiet move then ...£25 is a good defensive option. Puzzle 62) Alekhine-Alexander, Nottingham 1936 Crack open the kingside. Puzzle 63) Alekhine-Verlinsky, Odessa 1918 ‘The back rank needs support. Puzzle 64) Alekhine-Apsheniek, Folkestone Olympiad 1933 ‘The weak point is £7. Puzzle 65) Mampel-Alekhine, Gijon 1945 ‘Always pay attention to chess geometry: the black queen and white king are on the same di- agonal. Puzzle 66) Tartakower-Alekhine, Nottingham 1936 Black’s knight is in the way. Puzzle 67) Alekhine-Kimura, Tokyo (blind simul) 1933 Keep moving forward. Puzzle 68) Alekhine-Asgeirsson, Reykjavik 1931 Sometimes only two pieces are enough to create a mate. Puzzle 69) Bogoljubow-Alekhine, World Championship match (17), Germany 1934 Always try to develop with gain of time. Puzzle 70) Potemkin-Alekhine, St Petersburg 1912 A bold imagination is required. 88Alekhine Tips Puzzle 71) Bluemich-Alekhine, Krakow 1941 Never completely ignore one side of the board. Puzzle 72) Alekhine-Supiko, Lisbon (blind simul) 1941 Both g7 and h7 can be the focus of the attack. Puzzle 73) Alekhine-Yates, London 1922 Only the g7-pawn is barting, White’s progress. Puzzle 74) Alekhine-Rozanov, Moscow 1908 Black has developed a single piece. Puzzle 75) Opocensky-Alekhine, Prague 1942 Sometimes a good positional move is also a fine tactical idea. Puzzle 76) H.Weil-Alekhine, Poland 1942 Rooks need open lines. Puzzle 77) Kmoch-Alekhine, Kecskemet 1927 At the end of a forcing sequence fine judgement is still required Puzzle 78) Alekhine-Gutkevich, Moscow (simul) 1910 ‘The main focus of the attack is g7. Puzzle 79} Alekhine-Olland, Stockholm 1912 Increase the pressure of the pin. Puzzle 80) Luibimov-Alekhine, Moscow 1919 Open up the king, Puzzle 81) Rodzinski-Alekhine, Paris 1913 Black needs a plan which breaks up White’s solid pawn structure. Puzzle 82) Sultan Khan-Alekhine, Folkestone Olympiad 1933 Never stop after the first trick, keep analysing. Puzzle 83) Alekhine-Brunner, Mexico City 1932 Decoy a defender. Puzzle 84) Alekhine-Feldt, ‘Texnopol (blind simul) 1916 Clear a path for the queen. Puzzle 85) Alekhine-Fletcher, London (simul) 1928 When two important pieces share a common diagonal pay close attention. 89Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 86) Alekhine-Zubarev, Moscow 1916 Destroy the black king’s shelter. Puzzle 87) Alekhine-H.Wolf, Pistyan 1922 Create a knight forking possibility. Puzzle 88) Alekhine-Selezniev, Pistyan 1922 The key is to harass the blockader. Puzzle 89) Alekhine-Zesati, Mexico City (simul) 1929 Start by exploiting a pin. Puzzle 90) Alekhine-Vidmar, New York 1927 ‘The hidden bishop on h2 attacks the knight. Puzzle 91) Alekhine-Asztalos, Kecskemet 1927 Eliminating the lone defender is just the start. Puzzle 92) Alekhine-Janowski, Scheveningen 1913 Always defend as actively as possible. Puzzle 93) Alekhine-Chajes, Carlsbad 1911 Sct up a permanent pin. Puzzle 94) Alekhine-Manko, correspondence game 1907 ‘The black king must be exposed. Puzzle 95) Alekhine-Kashdan, New York 1929 For the moment White lacks a good check. Puzzle 96) Alekhine-Drewitt, Portsmouth 1923 Black has little influence on the kingside. Puzzle 97) Alekhine-Feigin, Kemeri 1937 Set up a pin. Puzzle 98) Alekhine-Duras, St Petersburg 1913 Use a couple of pans. Puzzle 99) Alekhine-Foltys, Podebrady 1936 Black’s weak kingside suggests the king is a target. Puzzle 100) Alekhine-Van Mindeno, Netherlands 1933 When attacking the king try to cover the escape square. 90Alekhine Tips Puzzle 101) Zarnudio-Alekhine, Buenos Aires 1926 The bishop on £4 is both active and in the way. Puzzle 102) Griinfeld-Alekhine, Carlsbad 1923 In tactics it is useful to have a couple of targets ~ in this case possibly the king and the «2 knight. Puzzle 103) Alekhine-Laube, Kosice 1925 Use every piece in the attack. Puzzle 104) Alekhine-Flohr, Bern 1932 Force Black to misplace a key piece. Puzzle 105) Alekhine-De Carvalho, Lisbon (simul) 1940 Every piece must be used. Puzzle 106) Consultants-Alekhine, Basel 1922 Undermine the white knight. Puzzle 107) Schwarzmann-Alekhine, Russia 1916 Don’t just defend, counter-attack. Puzzle 108) Davidson-Alekhine, Semmering 1926 You will need to calculate a faitly long forcing line to justify your choice. Puzzle 109) Alekhine-Potemkin, Paris (blind simul) 1925 ‘The motif is the knight fork on c7. Puzzle 110) Alekhine-H.Carlsson, Orebro 1935 After the initial punches a quiet move is required. Puzzle 111) Alekhine-Tartakower, Kecskemet 1927 ‘The line-up on the d-file is one small past of the idea. Puzzle 112) Alekhine-Hrushka, Prague (simul) 1921 Every piece will be needed in the attack. Puzzle 113) Alekhine-Levenfish, St Petersburg 1912 Don’t be afraid to make major sacrifices. Puzzle 114) Alekhine-Teichmann, match (4), Berlin 1921 ‘The white queen and the black king share a common diagonal. Puzzle 115) Alekhine-Sterk, Budapest 1921 Try to create an active way to break the pin. aAlexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 116) Alekhine-Rubinstein, Carlsbad 1923 Does White’s queen really belong on the queenside? Puzzle 117) Alekhine-Schwartz, London (blind simul) 1926 Both white rooks create powerful pins. Puzzle 118) Alekhine-Friexa, Barcelona (simul) 1928 Discovered check is often a powerful threat. Puzzle 119) Alekhine-NN, simultaneous display 1933 One forcing line is enough. Puzzle 120) Alekhine-Gonzalez, Madrid (simul) 1940 A simple forced line is needed. Puzzle 121) Alekhine-Anderson, Chicago (simul) 1933 Expose the king. Puzzle 122) Alekhine-Koltanowski, London 1932 ‘The £6-pawn is a major target. Puzzle 123) Alekhine-Tylor, Margate 1937 White’s first move may seem obvious but don’t miss Black’s defensive try. Puzzle 124) Alekhine-Samisch, Berlin 1923 Boldness sometimes pays off. Puzzle 125) Alega-Alekhine, Paris 1914 ‘The second move is the key. Puzzle 126) Alekhine-Gofmeister, Petrograd (odds game) 1917 ‘Multiple sactifices are required. Puzzle 127) Alekhine-Litov, Serpukhov (sinvul) 1915 ‘The first move may not seem too difficult to find, but make sure you considet every defence. Puzzle 128) Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Warsaw (exhibition game) 1941 Find a way to get the queen into the game. Puzzle 129) Keres-Alekhine, Margate 1937 Find a back rank trick. Puzzle 130) Alekhine-Bogoljubow, World Ch’ship match (13), Germany/Netherlands 1929 White’s back rank is weak. aeAlekhine Tips Puzzle 131) Alekhine-Bogoljubow, St Petersburg 1913 White’s king has no moves. Puzzle 132) Bogoljubow-Alekhine, World Ch’ship match (18), Germany/Netherlands 1929 Don’t setile for a good move, find a win. Black had to unpin with 36...08b8, though his positin remains difficult. Puzzle 133) Euwe-Alekhine, World Championship match (14), Netherlands 1935 Fotce Black’s king to a bad square. Puzzle 134) Rubinstein-Alekhine, Vienna 1922 Exploit a deadly pin. Puzzle 135) V.Petrov-Alekhine, Margate 1938 Play for mate! Black had to leave the c6-square for the king and play 30...cd8, though White is still better. Puzzle 136) Nimzowitsch-Alekhine, Semmering 1926 Don’t be materialistic. Puzzle 137) Em.Lasker-Alekhine, St Petersburg 1914 If you spot all Black’s threats you will see White has no choice. Puzzle 138) Euwe-Alekhine, Ziirich 1934 A ‘pinned’ piece can move if it hits something bigger than what is behind it Puzzle 139} Alekhine-Capablanca, St Petersbuzg 1913 Use the idea of creating a passed pawn. Puzzle 140) Alekhine-Yates, Carlsbad 1923 Keep analysing checks and captures. Puzzle 141) Alekhine-Tartakower, Hamburg 1910 Examine all checks and captures Puzzle 142) Alekhine-Spielmann, New York 1927 White must find a way to use his king, Puzzle 143) Alekhine-Euwe, World Championship match (3), Amsterdam 1937 White’s queenside pawns are more mobile than they look. Puzzle 144) Alekhine-Tartakower, San Remo 1930 Black’s king may appear to be active, but perhaps it’s exposed. Puzzle 145) Alekhine-Grigoriev, Moscow Championship 1919 Exploit the power of the doubled rooks 93Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 146) Alekhine-Bogoljubow, World Ch. match (5), Germany/Netherlands 1929 ‘The rook on b8 is covering both the b7-pawn and the rook on d8. Puzzle 147) Alekhine-Bogoljubow, World Championship match (4), Germany 1934 ‘The answer may not be as simple as you think ~ consider long and carefully. Puzzle 148) Alekhine-H.Johner, Ziitich 1934 You cannot win if the bishop does not play. Puzzle 149) Alekhine-Tarrasch, Vienna 1922 In pawn races every moment counts Puzzle 150) Alekhine-Bogoljubow, World Championship match (4), Germany 1934 ‘The e-pawn may look weak but it is passed. Puzzle 151) Alekhine-Yates, Hamburg 1910 Fighting for and against zugzwang is vital in most pawn endings. Puzzle 152) llyin Zhenevsky-Alekhine, Russian Championship, Moscow 1920 Don’t guess. It is easy to identify every candidate move. Calculate to the end Puzzle 153) Alekhine-Tartakower, Vienna 1922 Ifa black pawn must reach the seventh rank should White allow ...c2 or ...f2? 94CHAPTER TEN Solutions to Puzzles Puzzle 1 Wd5+ he8 8 Wxed Dc6 9 fxeS We7 10 Alekhine-Vasic, Banja Luka (simul) 1931 @¥3 d6 11 2g5 We6 12 0-0-0 dxe5 13 French Defence @xe5 hé 1 e4 06 2 d4 d5 3 Ac3 2b4 4 243 &xc3+ 5 bxc3 h6 6 &a3 Dd7 7 We2 dxe4 8 &xe4 Dgfé 9 2d3 bé tae a 14 Wxc6+! 1-0 ‘The knight was the only thing preventing mate, ie. 14..bxc6 (or 14..Wxe6) 15 Has mate. 10 Wxe6+! 1-0 White sets up a classic double bishop Puzzle 3 mate. If 10...fse6 then 11 &.g6 mate, Alekhine-Flohr, Bled 1931 Queen's Gambit Accepted Puzzle 2 Alekhine-Evenson, Kiev 1918 1 d4.d5 2 c4 dxc4 3 D3 DE 4 3 06 5 Vienna Game &xc4 c5 6 0-0 DAc6 7 We2 a6 8 Edi bS 9 dxc5 We7 10 £d3 &xc5 11 a4 b4? 12 1 e4 e5 2 Dc3 A 3 Lcd Bb4 4 #4 Abd2 0-0 13 Ab3 Le7 14 e4 Ad7 15 2x3 5 dxc3 Dxe4 6 Lxf7+ Oxf? 7 e3 AdeS 16 AxeS Axed 17 Hact Whs 95Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack 18 2c5! 2xc5 19 DxcS Wh6 20 Whs Qd7 Maintaining the strong knight on ¢5 by 20...£6 is more logical. 21 Be2 g6 Avoiding weakening the kingside with 21... Axc5 was Alekhine’s suggestion. 22 Wg5 Dxe5 23 Exc5 ab 24 h4 Bab 25 £3! £6 26 We3 Had8 27 Hxd8 Exd8 28 5! £5? y ee ae ic: i, a ; a < yf ‘& 29 Ec8! 1-0 Before 28 ¢5 this could have been met by ..Wd6, Now the black queen has no way to defend the rook, and after 29..Wxe3 White has the zwischenzug 30 Exd8+ before recap- turing the queen. Puzzle 4 Fink-Alekhine, Pasadena 1932 Ponziani Opening 1 ef e5 2 Df3 Ac6 3 c3 d5 4 Wad ATE 5 DxeS 2d6 6 Dxc6 bxc6 7 e5 Axe5 8 d4 2d6 9 Wxc6+ 2d7 10 Wa6 0-0 11 202 He8 12 Dd2 Hbs 13 a4 We7 14 on see following diagram 14,..8b5! 0-1 Avoiding ..Wxe2 mate will cost White his queen. Puzzle 5 Roselli Del Turco-Alekhine, Semmering 1926 Sicilian Defence 1 04 c5 2 Ac3 Ac6 3 g3 g6 4 Ag2 2g7 5 Dge2 dé 6 d3 2d7 7 2e3 We8 8 h3 Hb8 9 a4 Dd4 10 Wel a6 11 Ata eG 12 Dfe2 De7 13 214 We7 14 g4 Dec6 15 Qd1 Db4 16 Ded 16...Ddxe2+! Removing the only defender of d3. As Fritz points out, Black can insert ..e5 ot ...g5 and only then play the combination, How- ever, the winning idea is the same and these extra moves gains Black nothing, 17 bd2 White must give up the rook since 17 @xc2 Dxd3+ wins the queen, 17...Axa1 18 Yxal bS Black's material advantage gives him an 96easy win, 19 a5 Ac6 20 Wa2 Yxad+ 21 Wxad Gxa5 22 Axd6 HeB 23 e5 Ac6 24 &xc6+ Exc6 25 Ac3 Db7 26 Ded DAxd6 27 Dxd6+ ke7 28 £4 £6 29 £5 2h 30 Des exfS 31 exiG+ G47 32 g5 fxed 33 h4 Bd6 34 Ag4 218 35 hS gxh5 0-1 Puzzle 6 Alekhine-Bruk, Plymouth 1938 Caro-Kann Defence 1 e4 c6 2 Ac3 d5 3 D3 dxed ‘The theoretical move 3...2¢4 is safer. 4 Dxe4 2F5 5 Ag3 2g6? 5 .dg4 is still OK. 6 h4 h6 7 Ded Lh7 8 WhS g6 9 Sc4 e6 10 We2 Dt6? y oe i ae oa tut att a he ZN M, : a's — x Ee ae a a V1 Dxf71 1-0 Destroying the c6-pawn’s only defender, Black resigns since he must lose too much material. Capturing the knight with 11..8xf7 is met by 12 WxeG+ @g7 13 WET mate. Sy ot \) Puzzle 7 Alekhine-Bogoljubow, Kzakow 1941 Catalan Opening 1 d4 e6 2 c4 ATG 3 AF3 dd 4.g3 2e75 2g2 0-0 6 0-0 Dbd7 7 We2 dxcd 8 Dbd2 c5 9 Dxe4 cxd4 10 Dxd4 Db6 11 Dxb6 Wxb6 12 Le3 c5 13 DS Oxe3 14 Dxe3 Ad7 15 Wh3 &b5 16 Bet Solutions to Puzzles Had8 17 Dc4 Wa 18 a4 Bc6 19 Axc6 Wxe6 20 De3 Wd7 21 ted KeB 22 Bd1 We7 23 Edc1 Hxc4 24 Wxe4 h6 25 ad Hd8 26 Wc7 &f8 27 g2 ve8 28 Wed Wad6 29 Wb5+ Wd7 30 Wh3 Hc8 31 Act Wd5+ 32 £3 G18 33 Wa3+ hg8 AS az 4 N a me 34 Db6! Ext Black must give up his queen. The alterna- tive 34..axb6 35 Exc8+ @h7 36 axb6 costs him the exchange and a pawn. 35 Axd5 Axd5 36 e4 If all the pawns were on one side of the board Black might have had a chance to cre- ate a fortress. However, in the game position the queenside pawns are an easy target so White wins comfortably. 36...Hc2+ 37 Gh3 Df6 38 Wie g5 39 Wd3 Hc6 40 Wd4 &g7 41 Wxa7 hd 42 Wxb7 2c2 43 g4 Ah7 44 Wh3 hxg4+ 45 fxg4 He2 46 Wd3 Bi2 47 Wa4a+ Ete 48 a6 Df8 49 a7 Dgé 50 Wxt6+ 1-0 Puzzle 8 Alekhine-Fahardo, Montevideo (simul) 1939 Ningo-lndian Defence 1 d4 AFG 2 c4 e6 3 Ac3 Lb4 4 We2 Dc6 5 OF3 0-0 6 2g5 dé 7 ©3 HeB 8 a3 Axe3+ 9 bxc3 h6 10 Ghd e5 11 B62 We7 12 0-0 b6 13 Ad2 g5 14 293 exd4 15 2f3 2b7 16 cxd4 g4 17 Adi Abs 18 &h4 h5 19 WAS Dbd7 20 &c2 Lhs 21 Wg5 Wis 22 13 Wg7 23 fxg4 Wxgd 97Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack 24 @xg5 &g7 25 gxh5 Dxh5 26 Hts f6 27 Qh4 Lh6 28 g4 Ag7 29 Hf2 Exes 30 Sf1 Ee6 31 Ag3 Haes 32 Exf6+! Such moves are often found by ‘f only...” thoughts. If only the £6-pawn wasn’t there I could play g4-g5 mate. 32...Dxf6 33 g5 mate Puzzle 9 Torres-Alekhine, Seville 1922 Ruy Lopez, 1 e4 eS 2 Df3 Ac6 3 Abd a6 4 a4 AG 5 0-0 dé 6 2xc6+ bxc6 7 d4 Axed 8 Hel f5 9 dxe5 d5 10 Ada ch 11 c3 0-0 12 4? Now the knight on e4 remains on its dominant post. Instead White could have kept a small edge with 12 £3 Ags 13 @hi. 12...We8 13 &e3 2b6 14 Ad2 Qb7 15 23 dB 16 We2 cS 17 Ab3 cA! 18 Dba Not 18 &xb6? cxb3. 18...c5 19 Ae2 We6 20 Zad1 h6 21 Uitt &h8 22 &h1 Wg6 23 Deg WhS 24 Dh3 d4! 25 cxd4 cxd4 26 &xd4 Qxd4 27 Exd4 Hxd4 28 Axd4 2). a Dogg a ae om) Till BAe a ened 28...Wxh3!! ‘A spectacular way to open the long diago- nal. 29 gxh3 ‘The only way to play on was to ignore the queen but then the extra piece is decisive. 29...f2+ Double check. 30 g1 Dxh3 mate —s J j ‘ao Z A beautiful mating pattern which is well worth remembering, 98Puzzle 10 Speyer-Alekhine, Scheveningen 1913 Philidor Defence 1 04 e5 2 D3 d6 3 d4 Af6 4 De3 Abd7 5 2c4 Be7 6 0-0 0-07 Le3 c6 8 dxe5 dxe5 9 a3 b5 10 &b3 We7 11 Ad2 Acs 12 Hel £94 13 3 2e6 14 We2 a5 15 Wr2 Dfd7 16 De2 a4 17 Axe6 Axes 18 Wg3 2c5 19 Afi Whe 20 Wi2 Aaa 21 Hed1 Axc2 22 Sxc5 AxcS 23 Hact Dd4 24 Dxd4 exd4 25 Wxdd Lfds 26 W2 Hxd1 27 Hxd1 b4 28 Ee1 bxa3 29 bxa3 Za5 30 Dd2 Zb5 31 Acd Wds 32 De3 Ad3 33 Hd1 Bb3 34 Ded 34...2b1! Aa energetic way to break the pin. 35 Exb1 White has no choice. 35...Dxf2 36 &xt2 Wd4+ 37 dg3 g5 Avoiding the back rank mate. 38 Hel f5 39 h4 gxh4+ 40 &xh4 Wre+ 0-1 White resigns since his rook will soon be lost to a check either on h6 of g5. Puzzle 11 Alekhine-Eliskases, Podebrady 1936 Ray Lopex 1 e4 e5 2 Df3 Ac6 3 &b5 a6 4 Lad AE 50-0 2e7 6 He1 b5 7 2b3 d6 8 c3 Dad 9 Sc2 cB 10 d3 Dc6 11 Abd2 0-0 12 Solutions to Puzzles Df He8 13 De3 d5? 14 exd5 Axd5 15 @Dxd5 Wxd5 16 da! exd4 17 &e4 Wd7 The careless 17..Wd6? allows White to develop with tempo by 18 24, 18 cxd4 216 19 295! Uxed This exchange sacrifice is probably the best try since 19...@xd4 allows 20 £65! when Black must give up the exchange anyway with 20..He6, because 20...xel+ loses to 21 Wxet Wao 22 West Wes 23 Bxh7. Tf 19..2xg5 20 Dxg5 g6 (20...h6 doesn’t force a retreat: 21 Wh5! and White is much better) 21 dxc5 White is a clear pawn ahead. 20 Exe4 &xd4 21 Axd4 Dxd4 22 Bhs! 2b7 23 Bh4 WHS ‘The only move. If 23..h6? White breaks through immediately with 24 &xho! Des 25 Lxg7! Sxg7 26 We5+ mating. 24 203! Hd8?? A definite blunder. 25 Exd4! 1-0 Suddenly Black’s queen and weak back rank ate simultaneously under attack. Black resigned since he will, at best, be a rook down. Puzzle 12 Alekhine-Rubinstein, San Remo 1930 Queen's Gambit Declined 14 d5 2 Df3 D6 3 c4 e6 4 2g5 DAbd7 5 e3 Re7 6 Dc3 0-0 7 Hel Hes 8 We2 a6 9 oxd5 exd5 10 2d3 c6 11 0-0 Ded oeAlexander Alekhine: Master of Attack 12 2f4 15? 13 Axd5! 2d6 Black must play on a pawn down since 13..cxd5? 14 @.c7 traps the queen. This is a standard trick to watch for in many Queen’s Gambit-type positions. 14 Bxd6 Dxd6 15 Dts D6 16 Wh3+ @h8 17 Eid We7 18 Aes Le6 19 &c4 fixed 20 Hxed We7 21 Bc2 He7 22 Hde1 Wae8 23 h3 g5 24 Dd5 Axd5 26 Wxdd Wd8 26 Dxc6 bxc6 27 Exc6 Ded 28 WxfS HfB 29 He ExfS 30 Exd8+ @g7 31 £3 Ale 32 e4 Had 33 a3 Ub5 34 b4 a5 35 Hc5 Keb7 36 bxaS Bxc5 37 dxc5 He7 38 a6 &f7 39 Hb8 te6 40 Bb6+ web 41 Hb7 Hc6 42 a7 Lab 43 c6 DeB 44 Be7+ St4 45 Exe8 Exa7 46 #2 1.0 Puzzle 13 Alekhine-Novotny, Prague 1943 Rag Lopeg 1 ef e5 2 D3 Acé 3 Ab5 a6 4 2a4 do 5 0-0 Af6 6 c3 g4 7 h3 2h5 8 d3 b5 9 &b3 Le7 10 2g5 DaS 11 Lc2 c5 12 Dbd2 0-0 13 Hel We7 14 Af DeB 15 2xe7 Wxe7 16 Ae3 AIG 17 g4 Ag6 18 Dh4 Dc6 19 DhfS Was 20 Wi3 DeB 21 h4 Qxf5 22 exfS5 Ec8 23 g5 Wh8 24 2b3 De7 25 a4 b4 26 a5 {6 27 206 Hb8 28 g6 h6 29 Wh DgB 30 c4 DAc7 31 217 We7 32 £3 tds 33 Sf2 Wie 34 Hg Hd7 35 g2 De8 36 Hag! Kbb7 37 Dd5 Dc7 38 DAe3 Wd 39 Wg4 Ba7 40 Whs WS 41 Se2 Whs 42 b3 Wis 43 sbd2 Wh 44 Dg4 WHE 45 Sxg8 dxg8 oY ol = x ane ® fi a any ze! ae ae ee “ee a7 a oe — oe eal 46 Axh6+! The only way to crack Black’s defences. 46...gxh6 47 g7 Exg7 Black has no choice: if the queen moves away then Wich6 and Wh$t will soon lead to mate. 48 Exg7+ Wxg7 49 8xg7+ @xg7 50 Wo6+ 218 51 Wxf6+ 1-0 Black resigns since the queen can capture almost every black pawn. Puzzle 14 Opocensky-Alekhine, Paris 1925 French Defence 1 04 06 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 exd5 4 D13 Sd6 5 2d3 294 6 0-0 De7 7 295 16 8 Lhd Dbe6 9 c3 h5 10 Dbd2 g5 11 &g3 h4 12 Gxd6 Wxd6 13 Ze1 0-0-0 14 b4 HdeS 15 We2 Wt4 16 Re2 2xf3 17 Axf3 h3 18 We1 Wg4 19 Wr Af5 20 Haet Hxe2 21 OxfS+ WxfS 22 Wxe2 Ads 23 93 a6 24 a4 eb8 25 weh1? HeB! 0-1 White had no option but to resign. If 26 Wal Wx 27 Wxf3 Bxel mate, or 26 ‘Wre8 Waxf3+ and mate on g2. Black’s combi- nation exploited two standard patterns: the back rank mate and the ‘abandoned fi- anchetto’ mate, 100Solutions to Puzzles Puzzle 15 Alekhine-Em.Lasker, Ziirich 1934 Queen's Gambit Declined 1 d4.d5 2 c4 eG 3 Ac3 AKG 4 DFS Le7 5 £95 Dbd7 6 e3 0-0 7 Ecl c6 8 Ad3 dxc4 9 2xc4 @d5 10 Bxe7 Wxe7 11 Ded ASG 12 Dg3 e5 13 0-0 exd4 14 D5! Wd8 15 D3xd4 De5 16 Bb3 2x5 17 Dxt5 Wb6? Stepping too far from het own king, Safer was 17...96 ejecting the well-placed knight. 18 Wd6! Ded7! It is essential to support f6. If 18..Dg6? then 19 DbGH gxh6 20 Wis Was 21 We3 and White is much better. 19 Sfd1 Had8 20 Wig3 g6 21 Wg5! dhs 22 Dd6 &g7 23 e4! Ags 24 Hd3 16? ‘Trying to force the queen back is tempting but weakens the king’s position too much. ‘The other queen nudge also fails: 24...6? 25 DS+ Lh7 26 ADxh6! (utilising the possible pin on the h-file) 26.66 27 APS! fxgs 28 Hh3+ Dh6 29 Hxh6 mate. Black had to hang grimly on with 24..Daf6 although White is still much better, 25 DB+ EhB see following diagram 26 Wxg6ll 1-0 Mate on g7 is threatened and if 26...hxe6 27 Sih3+DhG 28 Exh6 mate. Colle-Alekhine, San Remo 1930 Calle Opening 1 d4 Af6 2 Dt3 d5 3 e3 215 4 243 eG 5 2xf5 exf5 6 0-0 Abd7 7 c4 dxe4 8 Wad £d6 9 Abd2 0-0 10 Axc4 Ab6 11 Axb6 axb6 12 Wc2 Wd7 13 De5 Web 14 Aca 2e7 15 2d2 Bid8 16 a4 De4 17 Hfdi 4 18 Se1 fxe3 19 Dxe3 c6 20 Aca Ea6 21 b4 h6 22 Ha3 bS 23 axbS cxb5 24 Hxa6 bxa6 25 DeS 216 26 Wed fxe5 27 14 Vi, V5) Y Vik | 18 Gwe a oe Zi U7 oe Mae 27...2xd4+! 27..ixd4 with similar ideas would also be good enough to win eventually, but is not as forcing, 28 Bxd4 Exd4 0-1 White must resign since 29 Whd4 is an- swered by 29...!Wxel mate. 101Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Puzzle 17 Alekhine-Verlinsky, Odessa (simul) 1918 Sicilian Defence 1 ed cB 2 D3 Dc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Anda 26 5 Ac3 AE 6 Be2 Lb4 7 0-0 2xc3 8 bxc3 xed 9 Axo6 dxc6 10 2d3 DFG 11 a3 b6 12 Wt3 Wd5 13 Wg3 Qb7 14 c4 Wd4 15 c3 Wxc3 16 Ad6 0-0-0 17 c5 bxc5 18 2b8 WaS 19 &e5 Dd7 20 2xg7 Hdg8 21 Hab1 £6 22 2c4 Dts aAZE UST, J ONE ri ragee a came ‘s a ame 23 Bxb7! Now the undeveloped rook on fi will join the game with gain of time. 23...Sxb7 24 Hb1+ 1-0 Black resigns since he must block with the queen. If 24..€2c8 then 25 Wh8+ ded7 26 Hb7+ rapidly leads to mate. Puzzle 18 Alekhine-Bania, Ostrava (sinaul) 1925 King’s Indian Defence 1 d4 O46 2 c4 g6 3 Dc3 2g7 404 dé 5 4. 0-0 6 D3 b6 7 Ld3 294 8 h3 Lxf3 9 Wxf3 DAc6 10 Be3 eS 11 dxeS dxe5 12 0-0-0 We7 13 a3 Ad4 14 &xd4 exd4 15 De2 cB 16 g4 h6 17 h4 Dh7 18 5 Efe8 19 Ag3 2f8 20 Ede1 Hab8 21 h5 Wh7 22 Ae4 &g7 23 hxg6 fxg6 see following diagram 24 Exh6! ‘The natural move to open up the black king. See “9 e se a 24...Sexh6 25 Hh1+ bg7 26 Wh3! ‘This is the key move. When analysing 2 possible rook sacrifice many players would consider only checks and captures to follow. Alekhine realises that Black has no defence to this simple doubling on the h-file. 26...seg8 The knight had no useful move and if 26...@h8 then 27 Df6 He7 28 Bxg6 wins. It is impressive that every white piece adds to the pressure on h7. 27 26+ 27 Instead 27...Axf6 28 Wh8+ quickly leads to mate. 28 &xg6+ 10 Aa ‘This flashy move forces resignation. ‘The simple 28 Wxh7+was just as good. 102Puzzle 19 Tselikov-Alekhine, Moscow 1915 Torre Attack 1 d4 ATG 2 D3 e6 3 2g5 h6 4 Lxfé Wxf6 5 e4 g6 6 Dc3 We7 7 2d3 dé 8 We2 297 9 e5 d5 10 0-0 a6 11 Adi cB 12 c3 Dc6 13 Hel bS 14 We3 h5 15 ®e1 Lh6 16 f4 g5 17 g3 h4 18 Wa hxg3 19 hxg3 gxf4 20 gxf4 &b7 21 Ag2 sbd7 22 Dde3 Hag8 23 Hfet cxd4 24 cxd4 Dxd4 25 De2 Dc 26 Ad4 Axd4 27 Wxd4 Wh4 28 Wes 28... Bxg2+! ‘This move leaves the white king exposed to so many black pieces that many experi- enced players would be tempted to play #xg2+ without calculating a single variauon. 29 &xg2 d4+! 0-1 Bringing the previously passive bishop into the game is certainly best, but White’s king position is so hopeless that 29...2g8+ and 29...\Wg4+ both work as well. Mate fol- lows, eg. 30 Het Byst 31 63 Watt 32 shed Bort 33 bet Wert 34 Bat Wa2 mate. Puzzle 20 Kmoch-Alekhine, Amsterdam 1936 Ol Benoni Defence 14 c5 2 d5 e5 3 e4 dé 4 2d3 De7 5 De2 Dg6 6 0-0 a6 7 a4 Be7 8 a3 0-0 9 Ded Hd7 10 &d2 b6 11 c3 EbB 12 b4 Solutions to Puzzles 16 13 bxc5 bxc5 14 Eb1 2d7 15 We2 We7 16 Wa2 AhS 17 g3 &h3 18 Hxbs Bxb8 19 Eb1 Exb1+ 20 axb1 2g4 21 Sf1 DFG 22 Dg hS 23 Wh3 Wes 24 Gel h4 25 Ld3 Ld7 26 £3 Dns 27 De2 hxg3 28 hxg3 2e8 29 bd1 &f8 30 g4 Dhf4 31 Axt4 exf4 32 bc2 Was 33 Db6 De5 34 LxaG Dxf3 35 Lxf4 2g5 36 293 Ad2 37 Wh2 Dxe4 38 Le1 AE 39 &e2 We7 40 d1 S« A 40...Dxd5! 0-1 Decoying the knight from the vital a- pawn. If 41 Axd5 Bxa4t 42 We2 is obvi- ously hopeless, but it is a good habit always to look for the best moves: 42...1We4l quickly leads to mate. White resigned, perhaps overlooking the only reasonable move 41 $.d2!, defending against ..De3+, though White will certainly lose eventually after 41..Axb6 42 BxgS Wygs 43 Wxb6 Sxa4t with two extra pawns. Puzzle 21 Grau-Alekhine, San Remo 1930 English Opening 1 c4 D6 2 a3 cB 3 e3 5 4 da exd4 5 exd4 cxd4 6 AF3 DAc6 7 Axd4 cb 8 Db3 Bb6 9 Dc3 0-0 10 e2 dé 11 0-0 Se6 12 Ads Bxd5 13 cxd5 De7 14 23 Wd7 15 295 WHS 16 2xf6 Wxf6 17 Ad2 Hac8 18 Wb3 DAfS 19 Wd3 YWxb2 20 WxtS Wxd2 21 Wd7 Hfds 22 Wxb7 He7 103Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack 23 Wa6 Ke2 24 hi g6 25 Wad Hdcs 26 Gadi Het 27 Wd7 Wa 28 Wbs Hxd1 29 Bxd1 &xf2 30 We2 Wh4 31 Was Eds 32 Wb7 £93 33 h3 Wad 34 Wh2 Hes 35 b1 He3 36 Wh8+ &g7 37 Ef 37... Bxf3! Black forces open the seventh rank. 38 gxf3 1638 Bxf3 Wat. 38...We2 0-1 ‘There is no way to avoid ..Wh2 mate. Puzzle 22 Alekhine-E.Steiner, Kemeri 1937 Torre Attack 1 d4 Af6 2 DT3 e6 3 &g5 c5 4 c3 h6 & Axf6 Wxt6 6 e4 Wd8 7 d5 We7 8 Dad a6 9 cd bB 10 Ye3 e5 11 a4 bxad 12 Wxad &e7 13 Bd1 0-0? 14 dé! The fork forces Black’s reply. 14,..0xd6 15 DAS! 1-0 Winning the bishop. It is very rare to trap a piece in the middle of the board. Puzzle 23 Alekhine-Kahn, Scarborough 1926 Queen's Indian Defence 1 dé AFG 2 c4 e6 3 Dc3 b6 4 We2 2b7 5 ed &b4 6 Ld3 2xc3+ 7 bxc3 c5 8 d5 5 9 £4 d6 10 fxe5 dxe5 11 Af3 Dbd7 12 0-0 0-0 13 2g5 h6 14 &xf6 Wxf6 15 Qd4 Wgd 16 DS g6 17 DAd6 Habs 18 Wad We3+ 19 &h1 Wxd3 20 Wxd7 Bbds 21 We7 Bxd6 22 Wxd6 Wxed 23 We7 a6 24 dé Wa8 25 Wxed Axcd 26 Efe1 206 27 We We8 28 Radi Wd7 29 Hd2 He8 30 g1 Gh7 31 h3 wgB 32 Bed Was 33 Ixe6! White exploits the fact that the 8 rook must cover the queen. Also winning was 33 d7 38 and then 34 Hxe6 as in the game. 33...fxe6 34 Wxg6+ GhS 35 Wxh6+ sbg8 36 Ba3! 1-0 ‘The rook joins the attack on g3. Puzzle 24 Alekhine-Golmayo de la Torriente, Madkid 1922 Old Indian Defence 1041 d4 246 2 04 dé 3 AT3 Dbd7 4 Ac3 e5 5 g3 2e7 6 tg2 0-0 7 0-0 He8 8 b3 c6 9 We2 AFB 10 e4 exd4 11 Dxd4 We7 12 b2 a5 13 h3 Dc5 14 Hael 2d7 15 14 De6 16 DFS Dc5 17 De3 He7 18 g4 ZaeB 19 DFS 2xf5 20 gxf5 b5 21 exbS oxbS 22 e5 Acd7 23 Wi2 dxe5 24 Axb5 Wb8 25 Da7 ext4 26 Ac6 Bxe1 27 DxbB Hle2 28 Dxd7 Dxd7 29 Wxta Uxb2 30 £66 205+ 31 wh1 Be7? a s an si . oe 32 £6! gxf6 32..Dxf6 33 Wt exploits the back rank. 33 2xd7 Exd7 34 Wgd+ 1-0 The double attack may be obvious now, but it required great tactical vision to spot it before 32 £6. Puzzle 25 Florian-Alekhine, Prague 1943 Philidor Defence 1 e4 e5 2 Af3 dé 3 d4 DAd7 4c4 g65 2g5 16 6 &e3 Dh 7 h3 D7 8 Ac3 2g7 9 Wd2 DB 10 0-0-0 b6 11 c5 Des 12 dxeS fxe5 13 &b5+ 2d7 14 Was 0-0 15 c6 2cB 16 h4 h6 17 204 Dcd Not 17..Df4? 18 Sxf4 exf4 19 e5! power- fally exploiting two pins. 18 Wd2 2e6 19 2d5 Axd5 20 exd5 ed! 21 &xc5 bxcS 22 Dxe4 Hb8 23 cB De5! 24 Axed Lxe5 25 We2 WE 26 hS 95 27 Hhe1? Simply defending the fpawn with 27 Solutions to Puzzles Hdfl was better. 27..Wxf2 28 Wg6+ 2g7 29 He2 Wra+ 30 Rdd2 30...2xb2! Winning 2 vital pawn, 31 Wea White could not capture with 31 @#xb2 because of the forcing line 31,.Wb4* 32 Gel Wrc3t 33 We2 33 Ec? allows 33.Hf1+ mat- ing) 33..Watt+ 34 Woi Heit 35 Bal Bxdi+ 36 @xdi Web1+ and White is crushed. 31...8b4 32 Wxt4 Eixt4 33 Hd3 Bbo4 34 Gc2 Bfd4 35 Hf3 Seb 36 Hxed? A panic reaction in a bad position. 36...dxe5 0-1 Puzzle 26 Stahlberg-Alekhine, Hamburg Olympiad 1930 Ninzo-Indian Defence 1 d4 DFG 2 c4 e6 3 Dc3 Sb4 4 Wh3 c5 5 dxc5 Dc6 6 Af3 Dea 7 Ad2 Axcd 8 We2 15 9 a3 Bxc3 10 2xc3 0-0 11 b4 Ded 12 e3 b6 13 &d3 If 13 &b2 Qb7 14 2d3 Alekhine pointed out the clever resource 14... We7I, planning 15 Sixed fret 16 Wxe4 Dsbd! 17 Wxb7 Daz when Black is much better, 13...Qxc3 14 Wxe3 &b7 15 0-0 De7 16 Re2 Wes 17 Hfd1 Hd8 18 a4 f4! 19 ab fxe3 20 Wxe3 DIS 21 We3 db 22 axb6 axb6 23 Ae e5 24 Bay Add 25 We3 105Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Hd7 26 Ha2 Edf7 27 £3 Bfa 28 £43 Whs 29 2f1 Wg5! 30 Hf2 h6! 31 Sh1 31.,.Exf3! 0-1 Black exploits the hidden weakness of White's back rank. If 32 Exf3 Wrxe3 or 32 Wags Bxf2 and the mate threat denies White the time he needs to save his queen. Puzzle 27 Alekhine-Shenker, Ziitich (blind simul) 1932 Budapest Gambit 1 d4 D6 2 c4 05 3 dxed Ags 4 AI Dc6 5 e3 Ab4+ 6 Ad2 We7 7 Dc3 xc3 8 Axc3 Dgxe5 9 Axe5 Axed 10 Wd4 16 11 c5 0-0 12 0-0-0 a5 13 g4 Sh8 14 g5 DIB 15 gxf xfs 16 Was Hf8 17 Se2 Dg5 18 Hhg1 De6 19 Aca 6 20 WeS B47 21 &xe6 dxe6 22 Bxg7! Quite easy but still fun to play. 22...2xg7 23 Wxg7+ Now 23 Ha8tis just as good. 23...lixg7 24 Ed8 mate Puzzle 28 Alekhine-Kusman, New York (simul) 1924 Tarrasch Defence 1 d4 d5 2 Af3 Af 3 c4 e6 4 Ac3 cB 5 cxd5 exd5 6 2g5 fe6 7 Sxf6 Wxfé 8 e4 dxe4 9 2b5+ 2d7 10 Dxed Wib6 11 Lixd7+ Qxd7 12 0-0 cxd4 13 Dxd4 Eds 14 DIB De5 15 We2 g6? _Eon_ ftG tet 2 UA Ne o fo yl Be 16 Wbs+!! A chess player's natural respect for the queen’s value makes such moves easy to miss. 16...Ad7 ‘The best defence. If 16..Wxb5 then 17 N66 is a pretty mate. 17 Bfet! Ir is unusual to have the chance to threaten two double-check mates. 17.4 17..ReT 18 Dedgt #8 19 Bxe7 would last only a couple of moves longer. 18 Di6+ SFB 19 Axd7+ ‘The clever 19 He8+ Hxe8 20 Axd7+ wins the queen, but the game continuation is even better. 19...xd7 20 We5! 1-0 106Solutions to Puzzles , Ay nyu “od Cone AOR BOE Wy Y White threatens three different mates. Un- surprisingly, Black can’t cover them all. Puzzle 29 Abrahamer-Alekhine, Ostrava (simul) 1925 Ginoco Piano 1 e4 eS 2 Df3 Dc6 3 Bcd Lc5 4 d3 dé 5 0-0 f5 6 “Ac3 ATE 7 AgS f4 8 D7 We7 9 AxhB £94 10 Wd2 Dda 11 keh1 11... D431 Cracking open White's king position, 12 gxf3? Now the king has no chance of survival. The queen had to allow a discovered attack after 12 Wal (12 We2 reaches the same posi- tion) 12..Dxb2 13 Wet Axfl 14 Weel, but following 14...2h5 Black will soon win the trapped knight to achieve a material and po- sitional advantage. 12...2xf3+ 13 &g1 Dd5! An excellent move but the simple 13..Wd7) also did the job. 14 De2 Wha BT VST AN ein Ui, Ji Betta oy Z White has no method of defending the g2- square. 15 2xd5 Wg4+ 16 Dg3 Wh3 0-1 Puzzle 30 Canepa-Alekhine, Montevideo 1938 French Defence 1 ef 06 2 d4 d5 3 eB c5 4 Wg4 Aco 5 43 Dge7 6 c3 DS 7 Ad3 exd4 8 0-0 2d7 9 Hei dxc3 10 Dxc3 g6 11 &g5 fe7 12 Wa Acd4 13 216 Dxf3+ 14 gxf3 B98 15 wh &c6 16 &xf5 gxf5 17 fixe7 Uxe7 18 Be2 d4 19 Oxd4 Wha 20 Eg1 Hxgi+ 21 3xg1 0-0-0 22 a1 Wrb2 23 Wd2 107Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack 23.,..Uxdd! 24 Hxdd ‘The best try. Clearly 24 Hxb2 Bxf4 is hopeless, while if 24 Wxdd then 24.,.2xf3+ 25 Soi Welt and White must resign. 24...Wxf2! 0-1 ‘Threatening mate on fl as well as .SAxf3h, This is much better than the clumsy 24. 2xf3+ 25 Wixt3 Wadd when Black has to win along queen ending, Puzzle 31 Alekhine-Pedreira, Santa Crus (blind simul) 1945 Ray Loper (y transposition) 104 05 2d4 dé 3 Df3 Dc6 4 Rb5 2d7 5 c3 D6 6 Lxc6 Bxcé 7 Wd3 exd4 8B Dxd4 Wd7 9 2g5 2e7 10 0-0-0 0-0 11 5 Hfe8 12 Bhe1 £d8 13 f4 a6 14 Wh3 @h8 15 e5 Dg8 16 Hed 2xe4? = ps on ad @ aa0 aw y 17 Dxd6! Not so difficult when you know it is a puzzle, but would you see it in a game? 17.815 Black must simply play on a pawn down, since 17...Wxh3? 18 x67 is mate. 18 Axt5 We6 19 2xd8 Zaxd8 20 b3 g6 21 Bxd8 Bxd8 22 Wha Wd7 23 De3 Wd4 24 &b1 Be8 25 Wi2 De7 26 Hd1 ‘WeS 27 Dg4 Wxt2 28 Axi2 Acé 29 Der b6 30 Hd3 dg7 31 Be3 De7 32 Bxc7 Qd5 33 Bb7 a5 34 g3 He6 35 c4 Ke7 36 Bb8 1-0 Puzzle 32 Alekhine-Devesa, Barcelona (simul) 1928, Evans Gambit 1 ef 5 2 13 Acé 3 Hed Heb 4 b4 Sxb4 5 0-0 D6 6 d4 dé 7 c3 Bad 8 dxe5 dxe5 9 Wb3 0-0 10 2a3 Axed 11 2x8 WxfB 12 Dbd2 Axd2 13 Axd2 RbE 14 Rd5 Dad 15 We2 06 16 213 £5 17 Db3 Ac4 18 ad aB 19 Hfel Le6 20 2d4 2xd4 21 exd4 e4 22 Le2 Ad 23 We5 Ld5 24 £3 WdB 25 fxed xed 26 We2 Wi6 27 Had1 Wt7 28 Ee Wie 29 Wb2 Ads 30 213 247 31 Bc5 Bab 32 We3 h6 33 h3 wh7 34 wh1 2g6 35 Bced Ded 36 Axed fxe4 37 Wet Ha8 38 Bf1 Wd6 39 We3 bé 40 h4 Shs 41 h5 Ah7 42 Bf2 &g8 43 Be2 2d5 44 Wigs WI6 45 Hb2 Hg8 46 Exb6 Wh1+ 47 Gh2 Wd1 48 We3 Wxad? 49 Eixd5! 1-0 Black resigns since 49..cxd5 is mated by 50 Exh6t. Easy to calculate but only if you considered 49 Eixd5 as a possibility. Puzzle 33 Alekhine-Euwe, World Championship match (14), Netherlands 1937 Catalan Opening 1 d4 D6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 d5 4 AF3 dxc4 5 108Wad+ Dbd7 6 Wxed c5 7 &g2 D6 8 Wa3 cxd4 9 0-0 fe7 10 Axd4 0-0 11 Dc3 eS 12 DS Sb4 13 We2 Lxc3 14 bxc3 Oxf5 15 Wxf5 Wc7 16 2h6 Abd7 17 Wg5 De8 18 Zab1 Ac5 19 Wg4 Has 20 295 Hd6 21 Wed b6 22 £4 ltg6 23 Hbd1 e4 24 2h4 b5 25 Wh4 a5 26 Was £5 27 2d8 Wa7 28 &h1 Ba6 29 Has De6 30 Hid1 Dxds 31 Bxds WT 32 H1d5 Hc6 33 Exbs We? mg aes Se Y oltetes aii were ws 2 y Ws ert age - ee 34 Bxf5! Not only winning another pawn, but also fatally weakening the e4-pawn. ‘The bishop will now rejoin the game decisively. 34...Het6 ‘The tactical justification of White’s play is 34..0xf5 35 Bxe8t f7 36 We7+ Bp6 37 2xe4 and White wins. Also strong is 36 HLES+ s2g6 37 Eixf5 since if 37...2xf5 the calm 38 Wel is devastating, 35 EBxf6 gxf6 36 Gd4 Wxe2 37 Wb3+ @h8 38 Sxe4 Wd2 39 Wo1 Wxc3 40 We Wxel+ 41 Exel Dd6 42 Ac6 Lbs 43 He6 Bb1+ 44 bg2 Bb2+ 45 wh3 D5 46 Exf6 Ae7 47 2e4 &g7 48 He6 wt7 49 Bh6 Bxa2 50 Exh7+ Sf6 51 Ehe+ Sf7 52 Ba6 1-0 Puzzle 34. Joss-Alekhine, Ziirich 1934 Care-Kann Defence 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 404 AG 5 Solutions to Puzzles De3 e6 6 cxdS Axd5 7 D3 Ab4 8B Adz ADc6 9 a3 Le7 10 Ad3 216 11 Wad AbE 12 Wc2 h6 13 0-0-0 a6 14 2e3 fd7 15 Ded Le7 16 Lb1 AdS 17 Het 0-0 18 94 Hc8 19 We2 Dab 20 Exc &xcB 21 95 Dxe3 22 Wxe3 h5 23 Dg3 We 24 b4 2xb4 25 axb4 Wxb4+ 26 c2 2d7 27 &d1 Ac4 28 Axc4 Wxc4 29 Des Wad+ 30 ed2 Wa2+ 31 wel 2b5 32 Wd2 Wa3 33 De2 XcB 34 £3 Wal+ 35 Wadi Wa2 36 Dd3 He2 37 Ader? oo wit _ mite WY YE a ane maya a: 37...Hxet! Clearing a path to the kingside since 38 Wc obviously allows mate in one. 38 Dxc1 Wg2 White’s extra rook cannot escape. 39 De2 Wxh1+ 40 ed2 Wxd1+ 0-1 ‘The pawn ending is trivially won. Puzzle 35 Tarrasch-Alekhine, Pistyan 1922 Blumenfeld Gambit 1 d4 D6 2 DB e6 3 c4 cB 4. d5 bS 5 dxe6 fxe6 6 cxb5 d5 7 e3 &d6 8 Ac3 0-0 9 &e2 &b7 10 b3 Dbd7 11 Lb2 We7 12 0-0 Had8 13 Wc2 e5 14 Life e4 15 Dd2 Deb 16 Ad1 Diga 17 Sxg4 Dxg4 18 Df1 WgS 19 h3 Ane 20 wh1 {5 21 Dn2 d4 22 2c1 d3 23 Wea+ BWhB 24 Lb2 Ag3+ 25 &g1 1f25 fxg3? Wxp3 hits h2 and el, 25...2d5 26 Wad De2+ 27 &h1 Ht7 28 109Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Wa6 hS 29 b6 Ag3+ 30 wg1 axb6 31 Wxb6 De2+ 32 Sh1 Ag3+ 33 ogi d2 34 Hf1 Dxf1 35 Axti 26 36 Lh1 36...0xh3! Now the f3-square will be available. 37 gxh3 Ef3 38 Dg3 h4 Equally strong was 38...2xg3 since after 39 fxg3 Eixg3 White has no defence; if 40 D2 di W+! will soon divert the knight. 39 26 A sign of desperation, but there was noth- ing significantly better. 39...Wxf6 40 Dxe4 Hxh3+ 0-1 Puzzle 36 Alekhine-Consultants, Antwerp 1923, Rey Leper 1 ef 05 2 D3 Ac6 3 Lb5 a6 4 Lad ATE 5 Dc3 &e7 6 0-0 bb 7 2b3 dé 8 a4 ba 9 Dd5 0-0 10 d4 2g4 11 c3 bxe3 12 bxe3 xe4 13 Het DPE 14 h3 OhS 15 Axf6+ 2x6 16 dS Wd7 17 a5 BadB 18 Wd3 Db8 19 a3 HfeB 20 Led 2g6 21 &xg6 hxg6 22 d5 e4 23 Bxed Bxed 24 Wxed 2xc3 25 Yel xaS 26 &b2 Be8 27 Wh4 6 28 Ad4 Ht7 29 ied Hes 30 De6 Bhd ‘The Black players probably avoided 30...Hxd5 because of 31 xg7, but then the calm 31..Wa8 is still very unclear. 31 Wed We7 32 Wd3 2b6 33 Lea Wa7 34 g4 Bhs 35 Ht Hes a a. .s a: at ae an Bt. Pe “a” 36 &xf6! An inspired sacrifice. 36...gxt6 ‘The alternative 36...Hxe6 was no better. After the forcing 37 dxeGt Wxe6 38 a4 he8 39 Bxb6 cxb6 White wins with 40 Het, eg. 40..Wd7 41 Was+ @h7 42 g5I ‘Wsh3 43 Be8 mating quickly. 37 Axt6+! oxt6 Tf 37..e7 38 Wrg6 is still mating 38 We3+! 1-0 There is no avoiding Wg7 mate. Puzzle 37 Alekhine-De Kossio, San Sebastian 1944. Vienna Game 1 e4 05 2 Ac3 Lc5 3 Led De7 4 d3 Dbe6 5 Wh5 0-0 6 2g5 Wes 7 AF3 Ags 8 Ads &bE 1109 Afe+! Black must capture but after 9...gxf6 10 2xf6 1-0 White has two mating plans: Wh6-g7 \g5 and Wxh7 mate. Black has no sensible defence. mate, or Puzzle 38 Rey Ardid-Alekhine, Zaragoza 1922 Griinfeld Defence 1 d4 Df6 2 c4 g6 3 Ac3 d5 4 AF3 Qg7 5 214 0-0 6 e3 dxc4 7 Axc4 a6 8 a4 c5 9 0-0 cxd4 10 Dxd4 Wad 11 DEB Dc6 12 ef 294 13 B02 Yj), tall 13...DxeAl A neat trick that wins a pawn. 14 Dxe4 Wis! "The double attack ensures that Black wins back the piece with an excellent position. In such tactics it a good idea to watch out for ‘desperados’, but in this example White has nothing to attack. 15 2.93 Wxe4 16 Ze1 Wb4 17 We2 Zacd 0-4 Puzzle 39 Tarrasch-Alekhine, St Petersburg 1914 Reagozin Defence 1 d4 e6 2 e4 dd 3 Dc3 D6 4 &g5 ba 5 exdS Wxd5 6 2xf6 2xc3+ 7 bxc3 gxf6 8 D3 b6 9 g3 &b7 10 Sg2 Wea+ Solutions to Puzzles 11 Sd2 Wy6 12 Dh4 Whe+ 13 £4 Aco 14 We2 0-0-0 15 &c1 &b8 16 &b2 Dab 17 &xb7 Dxb7 18 Had1 8d5 19 c4 Had 20 Ag2 Hd8 21 De3 Ws 22 c5 bxcS 23 d5 c4 24 Axcd Wb4+ 25 dat We3+ 26 Db2 Ed6 27 Wea 27...Hda6! The mate threat will force White to sur- render his queen, while if 28 Wsxc3?? Bxa2t 29 &b1 Hal mate. 28 dxe6 ‘This changes little. 28...fxe6 29 b1 Hxa2 30 Wxa2 Hxa2 31 kxa2 Wxe2 The queen and pawns easily overpower the rooks. 32 Bel Wd2 33 tb1 DAd6 34 Bc2 Wha 35 Hd1 DbsS 36 Hd8+ b7 37 Kcd2 eS 38 fxeS fxe5 39 del Add 40 Bd3 Wet 41 Hd1 Wea 42 Hd3 Whi+ 43 Bat Wxh2 44 &b1 Yxg3 45 Hd3 We1+ 46 a2 h6 47 Be8 Wa5+ 48 &b1 We1+ 49 sba2 Wed 50 Hc3 Abs 51 cd Wh4 0-1 Puzzle 40 Rubinstein-Alekhine, Semmezing 1926 Queen's Indian Defence 1 d4 D6 2 c4 e6 3 DF3 b6 4 g3 2b7 5 2g2 2b4+ 6 Abd2 0-0 7 0-0 d5 8 a3 &e7 9 b4 c5 10 bxc5 bxe5 11 dxe5 xc 12 &b2 Dbd7 13 Des Axes 14 &xe5 DAg4 15 &c3 Hb8 16 Bb1 d4 17 111Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Exb7 Exb7 18 &xb7 18...Dxf2! Prising open the king’s position, The sim- ple 18..dxc3 was also good: after the forced line 19 Det Dxfat 20 Df2 Qxf2e 21 dex!2 Wh6t 22 c5 Wxb7 Black is much better. 19 dexf2 The natural try, but the incredible 19 2.a5! was the best defence. Even so, Alekhine pointed out the winning line 19..Dxd1 20 Lxd8 d3+ 21 €3 Dxe3, though White can at least struggle on with 22 @g5. 19...dxe3+ 20 e3 cxd2 Black has a material and positional advan- tage. 21 Se2 Wh8 22 2f3 Hd8 23 Wh1 Wade 24 a4 (5 25 Hd1 &b4 26 We2 Wc5 27 Sf2 a5 28 Re2 g5 29 2d3 £4 0-1 a ae fw Fagg i There is no hope. If 30 @xh7+ @h8 31 Wed Wxe3+ 32 Hp? Had, Puzzle 41 Alekhine-Reshevsky, Kemeri 1937 Allekhine's Defence 1 e4 DIG 2 05 Ads 3 D3 dé 4 da 24 5 c4 Db6 6 Se2 dxeb 7 Axed Lxe2 8 Wxe2 Wxdd 9 0-0 D847 10 Dxd7 Axd7 11 Dc3 c6 12 Se3 Wed 13 Hadi e6 14 WH 0-0-0 15 2xa7 Wad 16 2d4 WES 17 Wg3 05 18 23 Ab4 19 Dad Bas 20 £4 &c7 21 b3 16 22 fxeS Web 23 h3 Lhgs 24 2d4 Axe’ 25 We3 Dd7 26 cb EgeB 27 b4 Dbs 28 Db6+ 2xb6 29 cxb6 Wxa2 30 Wg3 Hd7 31 205 White could grab a pawn with 31 &xf6! since 31...gxf6? allows 32 Hxd7 dxd7 33 Wert Be6 34 Het. 31,..W47 32 Hal Wg6 33 Wh2 Hed 34 Has Bd2? ‘This allows a quick finish, but the position was desperate anyway. 35 Bxb8+! ‘An easy move to miss since it seems un- natural to give up such a deadly pin. 35...oxb8 36 Wxe5+! 1-0 If Black captures then 37 Efgt leads to mate. If not, he is mated all the same. Puzzle 42 Alekhine-Strazdins, Riga (simul) 1935 Caro-Kann Defence 1 e4 c6 2 c4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 d4 D6 5 112Dc3 Acé6 6 2g5 dxc4 7 d5 Aed B ATS @d3+ 9 2xd3 exd3 10 Wxd3 a6 11 0-0 e6 12 Had1 exd5 13 Axfé Wxfe 14 Dxd5 Was Ly, 'Y 15 D641 1-0 The fastest way to force mate. If 15..Yixf6 16 Hfett and either Wa7 mate or ‘We mate will follow next move. Puzzle 43 Alekhine-Hruli, Chicago (simul) 1933 Queen's Gambit Accepted 1d4.d5 2 c4 e6 3 Dc3 dxcd 4 D3 DG 5 2g5 Be7 6 e3 0-0 7 Axc4 Abd7 8 0-0 b6 9 We2 2b7 10 e4 He8 11 Bfd1 c6 12 e5 Dd5 13 Ded Axgd 14 DAfxgS DAB 15 Whs He7 ‘Y z Y G, NS >| “ 16 &xd5! Fighting for control of the f6-square. Solutions to Puzzles 16...cxd5 Neither of the other recaptures would sig- nificantly change the course of the game. 17 Dt6+! 1-0 This standard attacking plan should be familiar by now. If 17...gxf6 18 exf6 hits the took planning Wh6-g7 mate, or 17..@h8 18 Dexh7 and mate shortly. Puzzle 44 Alekhine-Kohnlein, Diisseldor (simul) 1908 Calle Opening 1 d4 d5 2 D3 06 3 e3 D6 4 243 Dbd7 5 Dbd2 Ld6 6 e4 dxe4 7 Dxe4 Axed 8 xed 0-0 9 &g5 We8 10 0-0 f5 11 2d 5 12 dxeS Axe5 13 He1 WhS 14 Axes Wxg5 15 204+ &hs 16 Wxd6! Weakening Black’s control of 8 on the vi- tal back rank. ‘This is far better than 16 Dev Bxf7 17 &xf7 which only wins an exchange. 16...Wxg2+ As good as anything else but still hopeless. ‘The idea is 16...cxd6 17 DEH. 17 &xg2 1-0 White will be a piece ahead. Puzzle 45 Alekhine-Stolz, Nice (exhibition game) 1931 Queen's Indian Defence 1 d4 D6 2 c4 e6 3 Af3 b6 4 g3 2b7 5 113Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack 2g2 Le7 6 0-0 0-0 7 b3 We8 8 Ac3 d5 9 cxd5 Dxd5 10 2b2 cB 11 Bet Axc3 12 &xc3 Bd8 13 Wd2 2d5 14 Wa Wo7 15 dxc5 bxc5 16 e4 2c6 17 Ded Se8 18 gd Dab En Yi, Mage REIS \ i LUV, YAS 19 &xg7! 1-0 Completely destroying Black’s king posi- tion, Black resigned since if 19..@xg7 20 Wot deg8 (if 20.028 21 Df Lxfs 22 Wes mate) 21 e5 and White cleverly uses the posi- tion of Black’s queen to strengthen the at- tack, If the queen moves then 22 @f6+ ends the game, Both 19 Dk6+ and 19 We5 are also good but not nearly as strong as 19 &xp7. Note that all White’s best possibilities occur on the dark squares: the focal point of the attack is generally g7. Puzzle 46 Alekhine-L.Rodriguez, Montevideo (simul) 1927 Queen's Gambit Declined 1 d4 e6 2 c4.d5 3 DF3 Ad7 4 Ac3 Agté 5B cxd5 exd5 6 24 2b4 7 e3 0-0 8 &d3 He8 9 0-0 c6 10 Hcl AfB 11 Aes ABd7 12 h3 DxeS 13 Lxe5 2d7 14 £4 S06 15 W3 Le7 16 94 28 17 £5 Ac8 18 g5 Bd7 19 244 Db6 20 Bc2 2d6 21 Bg2 exf4 22 Yxt4 We7 23 Ad1 cd 24 16 Was 25 &ixh7+! 1-0 Luring the black king to h7 enables White to force both his rooks into game. Black resigns since 25..xh7 26 g6t will soon lead to mate, e.g, 26.28 (or 26...f%26 27 Whar gh 28 f+ 8 29 Wh) 27 gxfP LxT 28 Exe7+ cbs 29 Who. Puzzle 47 Alekhine-Colle, Paris 1925 Chigorin Defence 1 d4 d5 2 c4 Ac6 3 3 Ag4 4 Waa Axf3 5 exf3 e6 6 Ac3 &b4 7 a3 Axc3+ 8 bxe3 Dge7 9 Bb1 Kb8 10 cxd5 WxdS 11 2d3 0-0 12 0-0 Wd6 13 We2 Dg6 14 f4 Dee7 15 g3 fd8 16 Ndi b6 17 a4 Dds 18 Od2 05 19 15 exfS 20 Oxf5 exd4 21 cxd4 Ade7 22 2b4 We 23 fxe7 Wxe7 24 Bbe1 Hdd 25 ted Hd7 26 d5 Wi 27 Bel Hbds 28 Yc6 Wg5 29 Bxg6!! An inspired exchange which cteates tre- mendous tactical possibilities. 29...hxg6 29...Wxg6?? 30 Wid7! is easy. The tough- est defence was 29...fxg6! and after 30 WeGt BET (forced, since 30...828 loses to 31 Hed! eg, 31.Hxd5 32 Het Hes 33 Hed) 31 Bc8l Hxc8 32 Wec8t His 33 Bes Wee 34 Hxfs+ WefB 35 We6 Black must try to defend an inferior queen ending, 11430 Wixd7!! A fantastic move, which exploits the fact that the queen on g5 prevents the king from escaping, 30...Hxd7 31 He8+ th7 32 Heck Lasl? Black’s best practical try, hoping for 33 Bexd8? Welt 34 dg? 95. 33 Hexd8! 1-0 Puzzle 48 Alekhine-Freeman, New York 1924 Danish Gambit 1 e4 e5 2 d4 exd4 3 c3 d5 4 exd5 Wxd5 5 cxd4 2b4+ 6 Ac3 Ac6 7 Dt3 Ate 8 Re2 0-0 9 0-0 &xc3 10 bxc3 b6 11 c4 Wd8 12 dS De7 13 Ad4 2b7 14 Bb2 c6 15 2f3 cxd5 16 Ze1 He8 17 Wel Ebs 18 Wg5 Dg6 19 DB Bxe1+ 20 Exet dxe4 21 Oxb7 Exb7 22 2xf6 Wxf6 12 Y = ais mia) ina al RS ~S mas ae! -_ ae \N _ Solutions to Puzzles 23 He8t! The obvious move to start with, but White’s next move is the key. 23...0f8 24 Dn6+!! Beautifully diverting Black's queen. 24...Wxh6 25 Exf8+! exf8 26 Wd8 mate An elegant combination. Puzzle 49 Alekhine-Kakiato, Philadelphia (simul) 1924 French Defence 1 e4 e6 2 d4 dB 3 Ac3 DE 4 exd5 exd5 5 2g5 Le6 6 Ad3 Ad6 7 Dge2 Abd7 8 Ata c6 9 Axe fxe6 10 We2 We7 11 0-0 0-0-0 12 Hae1 Bhe8 13 14 h6 14 Sha 95 15 293 gxf4 16 2xf4 05 17 dxed Dxed 18 215+ Dtd7 19 Whs wW7? As the d7 knight is pinned Black cannot recapture on eS without losing his queen. 20...Wxh5 21 2xd7+ A simple discovered check regains the queen and retains the extza piece. 21...2xd7 22 Exh HfB 23 2xd6 1-0 Puzzle 50 Alekhine-Desler, Hamburg Olympiad 1930 Sicilian Defence 1 04 c5 2 D3 Dc6 3 d4 oxd4 4 Axd4 46 5 De3 dé 6 Le2 g6 7 0-0 2g7 8 Db3 0-0 9 #4 2d7 10 2f3 Bc8 11 &h1 eaeAlexander Alekhine: Master of Attack a6 12 a4 ad 13 e5 De8 14 Dxad Wxad 15 Qxb7 Ke? 16 2f3 2b5? 17 ba! White escapes the pin, but now the c3 knught is hanging, White had an imaginative alternative in 17 Dd5!? Axfl 18 b4 trapping the queen, and after 18.Wxd5 19 @xd5 Black has only rook and knight against queen and pawn, However, the game continuation is even more convincing, 17...Wxb4 18 Dd5! Black is given no time to save his bishop. 18...We5 19 axb5 1-0 Puzzle 51 Alekhine-Afric, Graz (simul) 1936 Philidor Defence 1 e4 e5 2 D3 d6 3 da exd4 4 Wxd4 ADc6 5 Abd Ld7 6 Axc6 Axc6 7 Ac3 DG 8 Lg5 2e7 9 0-0-0 td7 10 Ehet1 b6 11 Dd5 Bxd5 12 exd5 0-0-0 13 Wed Dg8 14 WaG+ kbs 15 Ad4 Sxg5+ 16 £4 &xf4+ 17 Sb1 c5 18 Dc6+ ba 19 Hea He8 20 Exf4 f6 21 Bad oF 22 Wxb6 Axd5 23 Hxd5 Ehes see following diagram 24 Exd6! Forcing a winning ending. The simple 24 Hxa7t is much weaker since after 24..Bixa7 25 Dxa7 Wra7 26 Wxdo Was White still has some work to do in order to win. Ayo Z ta a 24...Fixc6 The only way to play on. If 24..Wxd6 White has a choice of mates in twos, so why not be flashy? 25 Wxa7+ Hxa7 26 Hxa7 mate. 25 Bxd7 Exb6 26 Haxa7+ 1-0 White wins far too many pawas to give Black any hope. Puzzle 52 Alekhine-V Petrov, Warsaw Olympiad 1935 French Defence 1 04 06 2 d4-d5 3 Ac3 ATG 4 Sg5 dxed 5 Dxe4 Le7 6 Axi Lxf6 7 Di3 Ad7 8 3 We7 9 Wc2 c5 10 dxc5 Axc5 11 Sb5+ 2d7 12 &xd7+ Dxd7 13 0-0-0 0-0-0 14 Wad 2b8 15 Wb5 Abe 16 Bxd8+ Bxd8 17 Bd1 Bxd1+ 18 exd1 @d5 19 g3 Dc7 20 Wd3 h6?! 21 Axté Wxte? y Ws iw A hae ae Vii, a6 6 8 nh J oe “ace 11622 Des! A deadly fork is threatened and Black cannot capture without allowing mate. 22...We7 ‘There was no better option. 23 Axf7! Using the same resource two moves in a row. 23...Dd5 24 DeS This excellent outpost and the extra pawn mean that White will win. 24...a6 25 Wd4 Wes 26 ed2 WhS 27 c4 ATG 28 Wha a8 29 h4 Wes 30 Wad Wad 31 a3 Wb3 32 Dd3 Wad 33 13 Wes 34 De5 We7 35 b4 a5 36 b5 b6 37 g4 bE 38 g5 hxg5 39 hxgS De 40 Dd7+ a7 41 a4 Ad6 42 cB bxc5 43 Wxc5+ Wxc5 44 Axed e5 45 g6 1-0 Puzzle 53 Alekhine-Tenner, Cologne 1911 King’s Gambit 1 e4 5 2 £4 2c5 3 AF3 d6 4 Ac3 A 5 Re4 Ac6 6 d3 2g4 7 Dad exf4 8 Axc5 dxc5 9 &xf4 DhS 10 2e3 Des? Solutions to Puzzles White’s task is easier if 12..218 13 &xcS+ 13 &xc5+ S16 14 0-0+ 14 Bfl+is similar. 14...cexe5 ‘This walks straight into mate but there was no way to avoid it indefinitely. If 14.25 15 Be3+ Gh4 16 HA! and 22 mate will soon follow. 15 Ef5 mate Puzzle 54 Alekhine-Kostic, Bled 1931 Colle Opening 1 d4:d5 2 D3 ATG 3 03 15 4 2d3 eG 5 2xf5 exfS 6 Wd3 We8 7 0-0 2d6 8 b3 0-0 9 c4 c6 10 Ac3 b6 11 cxd5 Dxd5 12 Dxd5 oxd5 13 2b2 g6 14 Efct Was 15 Wc3 Hd8 16 DeS Ad7 17 b4 Ate 18 Wb3 b5 19 Icé Wh7 20 Hact a5 21 &a3 Hac8 22 bxaS b4 23 a6 WaB 24 We2 Exc6 25 Axc6 Hd7 ‘There was nothing better. 25..Ec8?? al- lowed 26 DeH, and 25..bxa3 26 Dxd8 Weds 27 We8! wins easily. 26 2xb4 Hxaé C4 Seria a wee oe _ it waa waa ms ‘er mer car Oe. A Y,, Wb Pe eRe oe Ee a nama mitt eee lo nm - oe _ = a* alee 11 Dxes! ‘A beautiful queen sactifice more typical of the days of Paul Morphy. 11...8xd1 Black no longer has a good alternative. 12 2xt7+ ke7 The king is forced on a fatal march. 27 Dbs! ‘The fork forces Black’s reply. 27...2xb8 28 We8+ Wxc8 29 Exc8+ &g7 30 218+! Forcing the black king as fat from the passed a-pawn as possible, 30...22h8 117Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Not 30...2g8?? 31 Qh6t and mates, 31 Hxb8 h5 32 2d6+ Gh7 33 B05 DgB 34 h4 £6 35 24 a mae eo Wi, Joes ‘aa re. mo N \ No m10% Soa a wa bi, Ja, U. WIN “Ss Vi SS = Y Wi Ss We oe ‘The ending is hopeless for Black. 35...Ha7 36 Mb5 Ah6 37 a4 D7 38 a5 Dd8 39 LbB Hd7 40 a6 Acé 41 Hbe @xb8 42 Exb8 &h6 43 Eb7 Ed6 44 a7 Ha6 45 £4 Ha2 46 Sf1 g5 47 g3 1-0 Black’s king cannot escape from its box, while White’s marches to b8 via bl. Puzzle 55 Alekhine-Yates, Semmering 1926 English Opening 1 cA eB 2 Ac3 Ac6 3 AF3 AFG 4 da exd4 5 Axd4 £b4 6 2g5 0-0 A common line in modern play is 6...h6 7 Bb4 xc3+8 bxc3 De5 when Black has the option of breaking the pin with .. Ag6. 7 Hcl He8 8 e3 dé 9 e2 Ded 10 0-0 8xc3 11 Exe3 Dg6? This allows White to force doubled f pawns. Black should first have played 11...h6. 12 Db5! Qd7 13 Axf6 gxf6 14 2d3 Gh8 15 Ad4 Ags 16 Whs Wis 17 14 Ze8 18 HIS Hg7 19 DA Axf5 20 2xf5 We7 21 &c2 Heg8 22 g3 Wd7 23 Hf2 We7 24 tef1 BdB 25 Bd2 b6 26 Was Egg8 27 WS a5 28 de1 Wes 29 Whs We7 30 &d1 Bg7 31 Scl AS 32 25 HeB 33 g4 Dg6 34 a3 Wd8 35 2c2 Wes 36 &b1 De7 37 h3 Dgé 38 Whe Was 39 a2 De7 40 Lal Dg6 41 2a4 Begs 42 2d1 We7 43 2c2 HB 44 Bd5 Dgé 45 HfS He8 46 g5 fxg5 47 Uxgs Wie 48 Eh5 Wg8 49 da2 Dts 50 We Dd7 51 Wd4 16 52 O15 WS 53 Eh6 Lge7 54 Bh5 Ac5 55 He2 Hig7 56 Hg2! Ree7 Not 56..2ixg2? 57 Hxh7+ 8 58 Bast Deb 59 Wxgrt 57 Hg4 a4 58 Hh6 Hgi7 59 Hgg6 Db3 60 We3 d5 61 cxd5 Ke 62 e4 Wed ane i sR ie = Sg ly Wy, y 63 Hxh7+! The king is exposed for the final attack. 63...coxh7 63...Eixh7 64 WxiGt is easy. 64 xi6+ It is a sensible habit to use all checks, though 64 Wg3 was just as quick. 64...2g7 If 64..@2h$ then 65 Hh6 double check, followed by mate on h8. 65 Ugé+ oF8 Or 65..@h7 66 Bg4+ and mate next move. 66 Wh8+ ve7 67 Ze6+ ad7 68 Wxes mate Puzzle 56 Alekhine-J. Vazquez, Mexico City 1932 Queen's Gambit Declined 1 d4 d5 2 cd c6 3 Af3 e6 4 Dc3 AE 5 &g5 Dbd7 6 e4 dxe4 7 Dxe4 Be7 8 De3 0-0 9 We2 c5 10 0-0-0 bé 11 h4 118We7 12 d5 exd5 13 cxd5 a6 14 £d3 h6 15 Sh7+ @h8 16 Ded £d6 17 2f5 Axed 18 xed De5 19 DxeS Axe5 20 d6 Gxd6 21 WxaB 2xf5 22 WHE ag6 23 h5 &h7 24 Sxh6 Le5 25 295 £5 26 he £4 27 Wd5 £3 28 hxg7+ Wxg7 29 Exh7+! The only move to avoid defeat but also good enough to win. 29...2xh7 29..Wxh7? is easy after 30 WxeS+, 30 Eh1+@g6 31 2h6 A good move but perhaps opening the g- file with 31 gxf3l was even stronger, e.g, 31..2xb2t 32 &b1 Wed 33 West with a winning attack. 31.2444?! A tougher defence was 31...2xb2+ 32 bi Wes. 32 Aixf4 Ext4 33 gxt3 Waa? Solutions to Puzzles ‘This allows a forced mate but there was no real hope. If 33..WF 34 Bett £6 35 WaGt dees 36 Met. 34 Wg8+ 2f6 35 Eh6+ de7 36 He6+ 10 Black had seen enough. The finish could have been 36.27 37 We&t Gc7 38 Best 27 39 We8+ a7 40 Eic7 mate. Puzzle 57 Alekhine-Dobrovic, Belgrade (simul) 1931 French Defence 1 e4 06 2 d4 dd 3 Ad2 c5 4 c3 Ac6 5 dxc5 &xc5 6 2d3 Af6 7 We2 e5 8 Agf3 0-0 9 h3 He8 10 0-0 h6 11 exd5 Axd5 12 Ded &b6 13 Hd1 We7 14 4 Adb4 15 05 £a5 16 cd We7 17 a3 Da6 18 b4 2c7 19 Ad6 &xd6 20 cxd6 Wd7 21 b5 Ad4 22 Axd4 exd4 23 Wh Abs 24 Gxhé! Winning a useful pawn. 24... ‘The best defence. If 24..gxh6 25 WG SPh8 (or 25.818 26 Wh7! mating) 26 &xf7 hits the rook while threatening mate. 25 Wxi5 &xf5 26 2g5 ‘The d4-pawn is doomed so White will be two pawns up with an easy win. 26...d3 27 2e7 Ad7 28 &xd3 Axd3 29 Exd3 6 30 f4 Hac8 31 Hdd1 eS 32 Bact Hec8 33 Exc5 Exe5 34 a4 b6 35 Ad4 Ec3 36 a5 He5 37 axb6 axb6 38 119Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack Rb4 #7 39 t2 Ad5 40 94 Dcd 41 Eb1 Ded+ 42 ke3 Axd6 43 Oxd6 Hxd6 44 ed we7 45 Hal &t7 46 Ea7+ &g6 47 Bc7 Be6+ 48 G13 Bd6 49 Re6 Bd3+ 50 seg2 Bada 51 deg3 1-0 Puzzle 58 Alekhine-Mikulka, Olomouc (simul) 1925 King’s Gambit 1 ed eB 2 £4 exf4 3 D3 g5 4 da h6 5 De3 Rg7 6 Bcd Dc6 7 Dds dé 8B c3 Dge7 9 0-0 Axd5 10 2xd5 De7 11 &b3 Dg6 12 g3 fxg3 13 Dxg5 0-0 14 Wh5 gxh2+ 15 @h1 hxg5 16 Wxg6 Wes 17 &xg5 2e6 7 ee a wx ceca Y x ase aes? 2 stg ‘_ “a ‘g 18 Exf7! Qxf7? Perhaps Black forgot that this did not threaten the queen. He had to play 18...ixf7 19 Bxe6 (intending El) 19.48, but at the very least White has a winning ending. 19 816 1-0 Both black bishops are pinned. However, Black could have limped on in a lost position with 19. Wxett 20 Wxet 2xf6, so 19 Bhot was more efficient, The point is that after 19..Wxed+ 20 Wxed Qxh6 White has 21 Ac2 and Black must give up the b6 bishop to avoid mate, Puzzle 59 Alekhine-Samisch, Bad Nauheim 1937 Ruy Lopex 1 e4 e5 2 Df3 Dc6 3 Lb5 a6 4 Lad AE 5 0-0 2e7 6 We2 bS 7 2b3 dé 8 c3 0-0 9 a4 294 10 h3 2h5 11 g4 Xg6 12 d3 Dab 13 Bc2 Dd7 14 b4 Db7 15 Dad c6 16 2b3 Db6 17 a5 Dd7 18 Le3 wh 19 4 D6 20 exbS axb5 21 Axbs Wd7 22 a6 Dd8 23 De3 Axg4 24 bS Axe3 25 fxe3 cxb5 26 2d5 De6 27 SxaB Bxa8 28 Wh2 Dc7 29 og2 16 30 Wh3 eB 31 a7 g6 32 Had &g7 33 Zfal 2f7 34 Ads Axd5 35 exd5 Le8 36 e4 £5 37 ZaG g5 38 Wc3 g4 be, Ug mae 3 piateie tite mcr Ne i “~ 39 Axe5!! "The black king is the initial target. 39...dxe5 40 Wxe5+ dg8 If 40,..02f8 then 41 Whet G47 42 Hho is decisive, while 40.27 will meet a similar answer to the game. 41 dé! Now Wd5+ winning the rook is also a threat. Black has no defence. 41.598 42 dxe7 Ye2+ 43 dh Wi2 44 Wxf5 1-0 Puzzle 60 Alekhine-Opocensky, Paris 1925 Siav Defence 1 d4 d5 2 c4.c6 3 cd ANG 4 3 25 5 cxd5 Dxd5 6 Lcd e6 7 Dge2 DAd7 8 e4 Axc3 9 DAxc3 2g6 10 0-0 Wh4 11 d5 exd5 12 g3 Wi 13 exd5 &c5 14 e1+ {8B 15 2l4 D6 16 &b3 h5 17 h4 kgs 12018 dxc6 bxc6 19 Hcl 2d4 20 Ded Sxe4 21 Hxed c5 22 We2 g6 23 295 Was 24 Ws ws 25 Bxd4! Eliminating a key defender is a common attacking ploy. 25...0xd4 26 Hc6! Now the threat is HagGt. 26...2h7 There is nothing better. If 26.Eh7 27 ZixgGt Bg7 28 Wexh5! Bxg6 29 Wxeot We7 30 Sxf+ SB 31 Bc wins, while on 26..;€2g7 Alekhine pointed out the winning line 27 Hixg6H @xp6 28 Wrot Gh7 29 Lxf7 Hg8 30 Wit Phs 31 Bfor. 27 Oxt7 By this stage there ate several equally ef- fective moves, e.g. 27 £6 or 27 Bc7. 27...4c8 28 Exg6 1-0 Puzzle 61 Alekhine-Borochow, Hollywood (blindfold) 1932 Ragy Lopex 1 e4 e5 2 DF3 Dc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Lad ATE 5 0-0 Axed 6 d4 bS 7 &b3 d5 8 Axed @xeS 9 dxe5 Le6 10 a4 Acd 11 Dd2 &e7 12 Ye2 c6 13 c3 DAxb3 14 Axb3 bxa4 15 Dd4 2d7 16 e6 fxe6 17 Bxad We8 18 Het &f7 19 DFS Re8 20 Wh5+ &g8 21 DAxg7 Hf8 22 Hg4 Ph8 23 Be3 5 Solutions to Puzzles 24 De6! 1-0 Disappoiatingly, Black resigns. The plan was 24..8xe6 25 Wxh7! exh7 26 Bh3t 2h4 27 Bhxh4 mate. Instead 24 Bh3? 265 would have given Black chances to defend. Puzzle 62 Alekhine-Alexander, Nottingham 1936 Bogo-Indian Defence 1 d4 DIG 2 c4 eG 3 DFS Lb4+ 4 Dbd2 b6 5 g3 Rb7 6 &g2 0-0 7 0-0 &xd2 8 Wxd2 d6 9 b3 Abd7 10 Sb2 Eb8 11 Had1 Ded 12 We3 15 13 d5 exdd 14 exd5 Adf6 15 Ah4 Wd7 16 Bh3 g6 ‘The d-pawn is poisoned. If 16..\xd5? 17 Weel, or 16...Axd5? 17 Exd5! (17 £3 is also good) 17...Axd5 18 Wed, 17 £3 AcB 18 Wg5 Wg7 19 b4 Acd7 20 24 Dxe4 21 Wel Des eo 7 AF a} Y/,... “eg A, 68 a al ee 121Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack 22 Oxf! A perfectly calculated blow. 22...d¢h8 There is nothing better. If 22..gxf5? 23 @sf5 encourages a queen move, but both wlg6 and ...WET lose to knight forks, while 23...Wh8 is mated by 24 Dhot Sg7 25 Wes, 23 S06 Ba6 24 Mel Ae5 25 £4! Dds 26 Exd3 &xd3 27 g4 1-0 Puzzle 63 Alekhine-Verlinsky, Odessa 1918 Danish Gambit 1 04 e5 2 d4 exd4 3 c3 dxc3 4 Axc3 DAc6 5 2cd dé 6 Af3 DATE 7 Wh3 Wa7 8 Dg5 De5 9 Lb5 c6 10 f4 cxbS 11 fxe5 dxe5 12 £63 2d6 13 Axb5 0-0 14 Hd1 DeB 15 0-0 We7 16 Axd6 Axd6 17 Wad Bd8 18 Axi7 £94 19 Exd6 BeB 20 295 We7 21 Wb3 Le2 22 Dxed+ Lh8 23 Het Bs Se a 8 2 Vs eee 24 Wd1!! This extraordinary move is easy for a computer but very difficult for a human even to consider. The idea is clear enough: if Black takes the queen then so can White. 24 DpGt would probably be good enough to win eventually but is much weaker than 24 Wadi. 24...Wa5 There is nothing better. However Black plays White will remain a piece up. 25 Wxe2 Wxed 26 dS 1-0 Puzzle 64 Alekhine-Apsheniek, Folkestone Olympiad 1933 Semi Slav Defence 1 d4 ATG 2 c4 c6 3 Af3 dd 4 e3 e6 5 2d3 a6 6 Abd2 dxo4 7 Axed b5 8 Aces h6 9 a4 &b7 10 Ld2 Abd7 11 We2 Hes 12 2g6!! A pleasingly direct approach: 12...0xe5 If 12...fxg6 13 Wxg6+ &e7 White has a happy choice between the simple 14 27 and the aggressive 14 &b4+c5 15 dxc5. 13 Dxe5 He7 Black has found a way to support £7 but there is a flaw... 14 2a5! Breaking Black’s resistance. 14...fxg6 15 Wxg6+ we7 122White has a multitude of wins. Uncharac- teristically, Alekhine chooses the simplest... 16 O17 We8 17 Dxh8 He8 18 Lb4+ 5 19 &xe5+ Exc5 20 dxc5 2e4 21 Wxe8+ DxeB 22 13 &d3 23 axb5 1-0 Puzzle 65 Mampel-Alekhine, Gijon 1945 Ray Lopex, 1 e4 e5 2 23 Ac6 3 Lb5 25 4 c3 WHE 5 0-0 Dge7 6 d3 h6 7 £e3 Lb6 8 d4 0-0 9 d5 Ad8 10 Le2 dé 11 Abd2 Age 12 Ded Lxe3 13 fxe3 We7 14 Acd2 5 15 exfS 2xf5 16 Wel 06 17 o4 Df7 18 Wg3 Zac8 19 Hact Ath 20 h4 We7 21 hS De7 22 e4 2d7 23 b3 Eta 24 ad Wad 25 Wel Af7 26 Dh2 We5+ 27 eh1 cxd5 28 Exf4 ext4 29 exdS Dxd5 30 2f3 De3 31 Lxb7 Be8 32 W2 Ded 33 Sed Ef8 34 Ket Rc6 35 Lxc6 Wxc6 36 We2 ts 37 Ad RS E_E_Eg Ll. Gay nw ny a Vy, a Y Cane an Ay 7 oe 37...2xg2! Exposing the white king is the natural wy but Black’s next move is the key. 38 Wxg2 £3! Creating the threat of a deadly discovered check if the queen moves. 39 Dxf3 ‘This loses but so does everything else ‘Trying to blockade the pawn with 39 We2 fails to 39...d3. A logical try is 39 We2, but after 39,.£2+ 40 Hed Black plays 40..Bg5! Solutions to Puzzles and there is no good defence to ...Bg1 mate 39...Axf3 40 Ag3 Eta! ee NEF rN NY \ WS’ WY WS AP SN Wi Ww’ Ws Ws AWW Heading for h4, 41 Bed Exe4 0-1 1642 Wxf3 Bh4+ 43 22 Hh2+ wins. Puzzle 66 Tartakower-Alekhine, Nottingham 1936 Queen's Passm Opening 1 d4 DEG 2 g3 c5 3 D3 d5 4 Bg2 cxdd 5 0-0 294 6 Axd4 e5 7 Af3 Acé 8 h3 245 9 04 d4 10 Wb3 Wc7 11 3 Re7 12 exd4 exd4 13 2f4 Wc8 14 Hdl 0-0 15 Dxd4 Rxh3 16 Axcé bxc6 17 Lxh3 Wxh3 18 WHS DAg4 19 Ac3 £5 20 Wg2 WhS 21 Het Bc5 22 Ad1 gS 23 Le5 Had8 24 &c3 Hxd1 25 Haxd1 2xf2+ 26 bf1 Axel 27 Exel £4 28 gxf4 Exfa+ 29 eg1 : a Moe mae ae eae ai a ai 123Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack 29...Dh2! Neatly clearing the way for ...tg+ while threatening a fork on £3. White has no good reply. 30 Be3 If 30 Wsh2 Heat 31 Bhi Hh4 will be similat to the game, and 30 He8t G7 31 He3 makes no significant difference, 30...8f1+ This is the simplest but 30...€3+ was also strong. 31 Wxt1 Axfl 32 Sxf1 Wi7+! 33 eg2 Wxed ‘The queen and pawns combine to win easily. 34 Ze7 Wd5+ 35 dh3 h5 0-1 Puzzle 67 Alekhine-Kimura, Tokyo (blind simul) 1933 Ray Lope, 1 04 e5 2 AF3 Dc 3 Lb5 a6 4 Sxc6 bxc6 5 d4 exd4 6 Wxd4 d6 7 0-0 £e6 8 Ac3 AG 9 295 Re7 10 Wad Qd7 11 Had1 0-0 12 e5 De8 13 &xe7 Wxe7 14 exd6 cxd6 15 Hfe1 Wd8 16 Dd4 Wc7 17 Be7 DG 18 DfS Wd8 19 Xxd6 Res u_wiE iP mera i7t D & po oi I “ ce fo NY " ao SS \' ws \ . ~ . 20 Deat All White’s pieces are being used as ag- gressively as possible, 20...Exe7 ‘This is the toughest defence but 20... Dxedl? was a brilliant practical try. White keeps a huge advantage with the calm 21 Weel, but the seemingly devastating 21 Hdxd7? allows a miraculous defence: 21. Wd Tl! 22 Bxd7 D3! EX ee With mate and the queen threatened it seems White will even lose, but.. 23 how Ph8 GF 23..gxh6? 24 West saves the queen and wins) 24 Dxf7+ Sg8 25 Dbor with a very unusual perpetual check draw. 21 Axf6+ Lhs 21...gxf62? is mated after 22 Wet. 22 Dxe7 Wxe7 23 Wed White couldn’t take the piece because of the back rank, but this forces a winning end- ing, 23...Wxe4 24 Dxe4 Le6 25 b3 g6 26 DcB £15 27 Exc6 HeB 28 3 He2 29 Hxa6 Lxe2 30 Ded Le6 31 h4 weg7 32 h2 Gh6 33 &g3 Ld7 34 a4 15 35 Ags He3 36 Ha7 Bd3 37 a5 wh5 38 Dxh7 1-0 Puzzle 68 Alekhine-Asgeirsson, Reykjavik 1931 French Defence 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 c3 AKG 4 2g5 Le7 5 Qx6 2xf6 6 DF3 0-0 7 Bd3 He8 8 05 2e7 9 h4 c5 10 Bxh7+ &xh7 11 Ag5+ 2g8 12 WhS &xg5 13 hxgS FS 14 g6 e7 15 gxf7 EfB 16 0-0-0 a6 17 dxc5 @d7 18 Bxd5 Wad 19 Wgd5+ wxf7 20 Hh7 Eg8 21 2d4 Wxcd 124— I . PW (Ht NN SN 22 Sxd7+! The point of this move only becomes clear later. 22...2xd7 23 Dea! Once the queen moves White plans Dd6+ followed by a deadly check on {4 50... 23...Wb4 24 Dd6+ SB z ap a7 W a a, ayy JG, RH Ae Tt seems White has run out of checks. 25 Wre+! White’s rook sactifice removed the knight which covered £6. 25...gxf6 26 Ef7 mate Puzzle 69 Bogoljubow-Alekhine, World Championship match (17), Germany 1934 Queen's Gambit Accepted 1 d4 d5 2 c4 dxc4 3 D3 DG 4 Ac3 a6 Solutions to Puzzles 5 e4 bS 6 e5 Add 7 Ags e6 8 Wi3 Wd7 9 Dxd5 exd5 10 a3 Ac6 11 2e3 Ads 12 Re2 WHS 13 Wg3 h6 14 Dh3 c6 15 4 We2 16 Wa 16...2xa3! ‘A tactic which uses the rook on a1 as a target, ic. 17 bxa3 We3t The same trick would also work after inserting 16...&xh3 17 gxh3. 170-0 The most sensible way to play on. The most interesting line is 17 Bxa3 Wxb2 18 a5 Db7 which is a very unusual way to trap a rook. 17...2xb2 18 Hae1 25 Most players are happy with a passed pawn, Alekhine has a passed queenside, 19 g4 204 20 15 Db7 21 Dla 0-0-0 22 Wg3 g5 23 fxg6 fxg6 24 @d1 Wc3 25 De6 Hde8 26 Hf He7 27 Lef1 Zhe8 28 Af DdB 29 Wi2 Wa3 30 23 Lxf3 31 Wxf3 g5 32 De2 He6 33 HS Wd3 34 h4 Hg6 35 h5 Hge6 36 Wi2 c5 37 Bt3 We2 38 Wel Dc6 39 H1f2 Wea 40 Ag3 Wxg4 41 dg2 2xd4 0-1 Puzzle 70 Potemkin-Alekhine, St Petersburg 1912 Sicilian Defence 1 e4 c5 2 g3 g6 3 2g2 2g7 4 De2 Acé 5 03 D6 6 Dad d5 7 exd5 Dxd5 8 Ac2 0-0 9 d4 exd4 10 cxd4 294 11 13 215 126Alexander Alekhine: Master of Attack 12 De3 Wad+ 13 S12 Adb4 14 Axf5 Wxf5 15 g4 Dd3+ 16 bg3 16...Axd4!! A stunning queen sacrifice. 17 gxf5? White could avoid the masterpiece with 17 Dxd4 West 18 14 Wad4 but Black still wins. 17... DXf5+ 0-1 White should have played out the mate: 18 Bot h5t (18.De2+ 19 Bed eSt 20 gs 16 mate is a move slower but also fun) 19 skg5 Bh6 mate, or 18 Ph3 AL with a rare and beautiful two-knight mate. Puzzle 71 Bluemich-Alekhine, I

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