On Tuesday, 15 March 1921, Emanuel Lasker and José R. Capablanca sat down at the table that had been used during the 1892 World Championship Match between Wilhelm Steinitz and Mikhail Chigorin. On the table was a new board and pieces created for the 1921 event. Just before the game, "Capablanca won the toss for first move."* This game was played at Havana's Union Club.
The Havana newspaper La Prensa declared Lasker a 4-1 favorite in the match, according to Hartwig Cassel, an American chess correspondent on the scene in Cuba. This match had been anticipated for more than a decade. Expectations were high.
The score below presents annotations compiled from British Chess Magazine, American Chess Bulletin, and the books on the match by the players.
Capablanca,Jose Raul -- Lasker,Emanuel [D63]
World Championship 12th Havana (1), 15.03.1921
[Capablanca/Lasker/Others]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Bg5
"...popularized by Pillsbury. Among a good many other experts, however, there seems to be a growing inclination to revert to the older method--so admirably handled by Zukertort--in which the QB is developed at b2. Probably, neither line is essentially and better that the other; though either may be better suited to a particular player. But the Pillsbury line of attack certainly seems to have lost much of its sting, the defence to it being so well understood nowadays; and it frequently follows, as in this game, the the bishop at g5 is soon exchanged, without having achieved anything" (George A. Thomas, British Chess Magazine).
Amos Burn, who wrote the chess column for The Field, also questions whether this move is as good as Zukertort's method. The American Chess Bulletin (April 1921) presented Burn's annotations on the first game, which are not extensive.
Zukertort won six games of six 1864-1883 when he played Bb2 in Queen's Gambit games, then he lost four straight in 1886-1887 beginning with game 1 in his World Championship match with Steinitz.
4...Be7 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.Rc1
Black to move
"Here again experts differ. ... The latest edition of the Handbuch marked Qc2 as best; but in the supplement since published that opinion is changed in favour of Rc1, on account of the Duras continuation (9.Qa4). That continuation depends, however, on Black's 7...b6, which is now commonly regarded as inferior" (Thomas).
7...b6
Modern practice prefers 7...c6 or 7...Re8 (Thomas).
8.cxd5 exd5 9.Bb5
"Not nearly so difficult to meet as 9.Qa4. ...Obviously, Black will not allow White to establish his Bishop at c6. The text move leads naturally to exchanges and equality" (Thomas).
"A new move which has no merit outside of its novelty. I played it for the first time against Teichmann in Berlin in 1913. The normal move is 9.Bd3; but 9.Qa4 may be best, after all" (Capablanca).
9. Qa4 Bb7 10.Ba6 Bxa6 11.Qxa6 c5 12.0-0 Re8 1-0 (65) Duras,O. -- Marshall,F., Breslau 1912
9...Bb7 10.Qa4
Black to move
10...a6
"10...c5 at once is the proper continuation" (Capablanca)
Thomas thought the text was "soundest", while 10...c5 "would allow White a wider choice of continuation."
11.Bxd7
"Not 11.Bc6 because 11...b5" (Lasker).
11...Nxd7 12.Bxe7 Qxe7
White to move
13.Qb3
"With the idea of preventing ...c7-c5, but still better would have been to castle" (Capablanca).
Thomas references the Marshall game given below and also Capablanca -- Teichmann (Berlin 1914), which does not appear in my databases. Likely the date given is an error. As Capablanca noted, he had played 9.Bb5 against Teichmann in Berlin 1913. This game deviated from that predecessor with Capablanca's 10.Qa4. Capablanca annotated the game for Chess Fundamentals (1921).
13.0-0 c5 14.dxc5 bxc5 (14...Nxc5) 15.Rfd1 d4 16.exd4 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Qg5+ 18.Kh1 Qf5 19.Qc6 Nf6 20.Ne2 cxd4 21.Nxd4 Qf4 22.Ne2 Qe5 23.Nc3 Qf5 24.Ne2 Qe5 25.Rg1 Qxb2 26.Nc3 Nh5 27.Qh6 g6 28.Ne4 Qg7 29.Qg5 h6 30.Qh4 Rac8 31.Rcd1 Rc6 ½-½ (31) Marshall,F. -- Capablanca,J., New York 1915.
13...Qd6
"Black could have played 13...c5 In the many complications arising from this move, I think, Black would have come out all right" (Thomas).
Variations from BCM after 13...c5:
14.Nxd5 (14.dxc5 Nxc5 Black has gained an important tempo compared to the Capablanca -- Teichmann game quoted above 15.Qc2 [15.Qd1 is better for White] 15...d4 16.Nxd4 Bxg2 17.Rg1 Rad8 18.Nf5 Qe4)
14...Qd6 15.Nf4 (15.Nc3 cxd4 16.Nxd4 Bxg2; 15.e4 Rfe8) 15...Bxf3 16.gxf3 (16.dxc5) 16...cxd4. (Thomas)
14.0-0 Rfd8 15.Rfd1 Rab8
White to move
16.Ne1
"The object was to draw the Knight away from the line of the Bishop, which would soon be open, as it actually occurred in the game" (Capablanca).
16...Nf6 17.Rc2 c5
"Having delayed c5 so long, it might perhaps be as well to hold it back another move or so in favour of 17...Bc8, threatening to open an attack on the White Queen, or alternately to use the Bishop at f5" (Thomas).
18.dxc5 bxc5
"Now an attack threatens with d5-d4 and Nf6-g4" (Lasker).
19.Ne2
"The best kind of defense. If Black attacks now, he himself is at a disadvantage" (Lasker).
Black to move
19...Ne4
"All the attacks beginning either with 19...Ng4; or 19...d4 would have failed" (Capablanca).
19...c4 might lead to some interesting play, but the "hole" at d4 would be too serious a drawback. 20.Qc3 Bc6 21.b3 Ne4 22.Qd4 cxb3 23.axb3 Rxb3 24.Rxc6 wins. (Thomas)
20.Qa3 Rbc8 21.Ng3 Nxg3 22.hxg3 Qb6
White to move
23.Rcd2
"23.Rdc1 would not have been better, because of the rejoiner 23...d4 etc." (Capablanca)
"If White plays 23.Nd3, Black answers 23 ... c4 and then follows d5-d4. 24.Qb4 would not work because of 24...Qxb4 25.Nxb4 a5; On the other hand, if 23.Rdc1 d4 24.Rxc5 Rxc5 25.Rxc5 and now 25...d3 (or 25...dxe3 whereupon White has weak pawns and has no advantage at all.) 26.Nxd3 Rxd3 27.Qxd3 Qxc5 28 .Qd7 Ba8 So White plays Rc2-d2 to make the d-pawn more difficult." (Lasker)
23...h6 24.Nf3 d4
"Virtually suggesting a draw. There does not seem much else to be done; though after the ensuing simplification, Black remains with a slightly inferior Pawn position" (Thomas)
25.exd4 Bxf3 26.Qxf3
26.dxc5 Bxd1 27.cxb6 Rxd2 28.b7 Rb8 29.Qc3 Rd7 30.Qc8+ Rd8 31.Qc6 Be2 and Black's three pieces will beat the Queen. (Thomas)
Black to move
26...Rxd4
"Easier was 26...cxd4 Now Black keeps weak pawns" (Lasker).
27.Rc2 Rxd1+ 28.Qxd1 Rd8
Lasker spoke after this move, "I presume you are playing for a win." Capablanca affirmed that he was.*
White to move
29.Qe2 Qd6 30.Kh2 Qd5 31.b3 Qf5 32.g4
Black to move
After four hours of play, Lasker sealed his move.
Tomorrow, this game will continue.
*"Lasker-Capablanca Match at Havana." American Chess Bulletin 18, no. 3 (March 1921), 45.
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