He followed up this move with an eleventh move that many commentators have regarded as a mistake. But Capablanca stated that Lasker got the game he wanted. Cyrus Lakdawala suggested that Lasker was playing "deliberately inaccurate moves" out of desperation. The resulting game stands as a great example of how Capablanca exploited the immobility of Lasker's forces.
Fred Reinfeld, in The Immortal Games of Capablanca (1942), claimed, game eleven was "the decisive contest of the match" (102).
Coming on the heels of the previous game, it convinced Lasker that he could no longer hope to over take his adversary. One senses very quickly the older man's listless attitude and the challenger's confident and optimistic spirit. (102)This post is number 19 in a centennial series on the match. It contains the moves up to the adjournment. Tomorrow's post will have the conclusion to the game. As with game ten, this game has been annotated by many commentators. I highlight Capablanca's instructive approach in A Primer of Chess (1935) with most of the briefer annotations from his book on the match (1921) and Lasker's relatively light annotations in Mein Wettkampf mit Capablanca (1922).
Capablanca,José Raúl -- Lasker,Emanuel [D66]
World Championship 11th Havana (11), 13.04.1921
[Capablanca/Lasker/Lakdawala]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.e3 Be7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.Rc1 Re8
"At the present time considered inferior to 7...c6" (Capablanca 1935, 217). Lasker would play this move two more times in subsequent games, but this was the first time.
White to move
8.Qc2 c6
"Difficult defense" (Lasker, 24).
9.Bd3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nd5 11.Bxe7 Rxe7
"This was probably the idea behind 7...Re8. It is evident from the development that Black had planned to play very much the kind of game that he obtained. The whole thing reminds one of Steinitz" (Capablanca 1935, 217).
This is the move that most commentators regard as a mistake. 11...Qxe7 should lead to equality. However, equalizing in a game differs from equalizing in a match from two games down. Lasker likely took chances in hopes that he could steer Capablanca astray, as Lakdawala suggests in his instructive Capablanca: Move by Move (2012).
"Difficult defense" (Lasker, 24).
9.Bd3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nd5 11.Bxe7 Rxe7
"This was probably the idea behind 7...Re8. It is evident from the development that Black had planned to play very much the kind of game that he obtained. The whole thing reminds one of Steinitz" (Capablanca 1935, 217).
This is the move that most commentators regard as a mistake. 11...Qxe7 should lead to equality. However, equalizing in a game differs from equalizing in a match from two games down. Lasker likely took chances in hopes that he could steer Capablanca astray, as Lakdawala suggests in his instructive Capablanca: Move by Move (2012).
White to move
12.0-0 Nf8 13.Rfd1 Bd7
"I do not consider the system of defense adopted by Dr Lasker in this game to be any good" (Capablanca 1921, 24).
14.e4 Nb6
"14...Nxc3 would have simplified matters somewhat, but it would have left Black in a very awkward position. The text move, by driving back the bishop, gains time for the defense" (Capablanca 1921, 24)
15.Bf1 Rc8
"Black here and further prevents the breakthrough with d4-d5" (Lasker, 25).
16.b4
"To prevent ...c6-c5, either now or at a later stage. There is no Black Bishop and White's whole plan is based on that fact. He will attempt, in due time, to place a Knight at d6, supported by his pawn at e5. If this can be done without weakening the position somewhere else, Black's game will then be lost" (Capablanca 1921, 24).
16...Be8
"I do not consider the system of defense adopted by Dr Lasker in this game to be any good" (Capablanca 1921, 24).
14.e4 Nb6
"14...Nxc3 would have simplified matters somewhat, but it would have left Black in a very awkward position. The text move, by driving back the bishop, gains time for the defense" (Capablanca 1921, 24)
15.Bf1 Rc8
"Black here and further prevents the breakthrough with d4-d5" (Lasker, 25).
16.b4
"To prevent ...c6-c5, either now or at a later stage. There is no Black Bishop and White's whole plan is based on that fact. He will attempt, in due time, to place a Knight at d6, supported by his pawn at e5. If this can be done without weakening the position somewhere else, Black's game will then be lost" (Capablanca 1921, 24).
16...Be8
White to move
Capablanca's long comment on this position in A Primer of Chess offers exceptional instruction to the developing player.
The defensive position is Steinitzian in its character with most of the pieces massed on the last two rows. There are no weak points in Black's game, but the Black position suffers from lack of space for his pieces to maneuver. White's policy should be therefore to keep the Black pieces within their restricted territory, so that, sooner or later, in order to free them, Black may be forced to make a move that will weaken his structure. White may also take advantage of the fact that the Black squares c5 and d6 are not easily guarded, and try to place his knights in those squares. In order to place a knight at d6 White must first play e5. This advance must be well times, keeping in mind all the time that it will create a permanent weakness, by establishing a backward pawn at d4. It will also create a hole at Black's d5 where the Black pieces may be strongly posted, especially the knights. In the position of the diagram White must be on the lookout also for f6, which would permit the Black bishop to go to h5, pinning the knight at f3 and indirectly increasing the pressure against White's pawn at d4. (217-219)Lakdawala's metaphors are interesting:
The roaches, though driven out of sight, yet remain within the walls. Lasker pulls a Steinitz by scrunching up all his pieces on the first rank, perhaps hoping to egg Capa on to overextension in the future. In doing so he initiates a contractionary spiral, losing more and more space. This was actually one of the worst strategies against Capa, who was a master at grabbing territory without ceding an inch of concession.17.Qb3 Rec7 18.a4
"In order to drive back the knight, so as to have the Black pieces crowd each other" (Capablanca 1935, 219).
18...Ng6 19.a5 Nd7 20.e5 b6
"White has absolute control of the Black d6 square, so Black prepares for an eventual advance of his c-pawn to c5. It is evident that Black's position is very cramped, but it is not easy to see how to obtain a definite advantage for White" (Capablanca 1935, 219)
21.Ne4 Rb8
White to move
"The position is very interesting. But what is there to be done? Possibly the best move now would be a6 followed by Nd6, but that simply means that in his previous move Black should have played first bxa5 before playing Rb8. The only move that covers all these points is Qa3. White, however, failed to make it and as a result Black managed to come out rather well from this position" (Capablanca 1935, 220)
22.Qc3
This small error may have extended the length of the game.
"22.Qa3 was best. The text move gives Black a chance to gain time" (Capablanca 1921, 24)
22...Nf4
"The result of White's last move; the Black knight comes into d5 with a tempo" (Capablanca 1935, 220).
23.Nd6 Nd5 24.Qa3 f6 25.Nxe8
"This Bishop had to be taken, since it threatened to go to h5, pinning the Knight" (Capablanca 1921, 24).
25...Qxe8 26.exf6 gxf6
"To retake with either Knight would have left the e-pawn extremely weak" (Capablanca 1921, 24).
27.b5
22.Qc3
This small error may have extended the length of the game.
"22.Qa3 was best. The text move gives Black a chance to gain time" (Capablanca 1921, 24)
22...Nf4
"The result of White's last move; the Black knight comes into d5 with a tempo" (Capablanca 1935, 220).
23.Nd6 Nd5 24.Qa3 f6 25.Nxe8
"This Bishop had to be taken, since it threatened to go to h5, pinning the Knight" (Capablanca 1921, 24).
25...Qxe8 26.exf6 gxf6
"To retake with either Knight would have left the e-pawn extremely weak" (Capablanca 1921, 24).
27.b5
Black to move
"The exposed position of the Black king is rather inviting for an attack, but before going into it White must liquidate his queenside pawns in order to remove all possible sources of weakness. Once those two pawns are exchanged, White can devote all his attention to the attack against the king without having anything to worry about on the other side" (Capablanca 1935, 221).
"In anticipation of this move, Black should have initially played bxa5" (Lasker, 25).
27...Rbc8
Black's next few moves are practically forced. Here, for instance, 27...c5 28.dxc5 bxc5 29.Bc4 and Black's position would be untenable (Capablanca 1935, 221).
28.bxc6 Rxc6 29.Rxc6 Rxc6 30.axb6 axb6
"After all these exchanges, Black's only compensation for the exposed condition of his king is the passed b-pawn, but the White bishop prevents its advance" (Capablanca 1935, 221).
31.Re1
"Possibly 31.Bb5 Rc7 was a better way to continue the game" (Capablanca 1935, 221). He offers the same suggested improvement in the earlier book.
31...Qc8
White to move
Capablanca sealed his 32nd move. See "Capablanca -- Lasker, Game 11 (concluded)" for the rest of the game (to be posted 14 April).
Works Cited
Capablanca, José Raúl. World's Championship Matches, 1921 and 1927. New York: Dover, 1977.
_______. A Primer of Chess. New York: Harcourt, 1977.
Lakdawala, Cyrus. Capablanca: Move by Move. London: Gloucester, 2012, Everyman ebook.
Lasker, Emanuel. Mein Wettkampf mit Capablanca. Berlin and Leipzig: Walter de Gruyter, and Co., 1922.
Reinfeld, Fred. The Immortal Games of Capablanca. New York: Horowitz and Harkness, 1942.
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