Hi there.
In this lecture, we see Alexander Alekhine against Karel Sterk.
In 1921, Budapest went round four.
We have d4 D5, by the way, the Grand Budapest Hotel is a fantastic film.
Very creative.
I love it.
Recommend that.
Okay, free tip.
So.
Okay.
So D5 we see a3e6c4969c Free Knight BD 7e3.
Bishop D six.
We have now might be five more positional treatment with a small edge would be C5 just trying to gain
space.
This is justifiable say c6 a4 a5 b5 and you know this is tricky for black.
White has a small edge, but black has certain dynamic, you know, ways of playing this, including,
you know, temporary pawn sex like E5 and B6.
But this is beyond the scope of the discussion.
This would be a positional game, more positional game than what was played.
So night B five Bishop E seven.
Queen C C2, C6 nine C3 Black Castles, Bishop D3 D Tank C4, Bishop Tank C4 and now C5 is played D
Take C5.
It seems a bit of a dull decision in the way symmetrical pawn structure.
What possible excitement could result from this position?
Well, let's see.
White Castles.
B6 e4 Bishop B7 Bishop G5.
Queen C eight.
Queen E two.
A number should be four.
It seems Black is trying to put more pressure on E4 here and.
One has to tread carefully here.
If a move like E5 Black could consider bishop type c3 this position black's ready to recapture.
Otherwise on Bishop takes C4.
This would be like a bit shattered for white.
This structure or 94 is a consideration hitting C3 so it has to be careful and keep the dynamic play
going.
So Bishop D3, we have Bishop take C3 here and there making use of this pin move.
Knight takes E4.
This is a bit dodgy, i.e. risky.
If C5 instead rotates, this position should offer some kingside comfort.
After Bishop G6, the king looks fairly secure.
Black has a small edge.
That seems a great way of playing at night C5 So last night takes E4.
We have Bishop takes E4.
Bishop takes E4, Queen takes E4.
So here it looks as though there's a problem.
But Black is resourceful with 95.
Black is, it seems.
Maintaining material quality.
Alekhine plate actually.
Queen E2.
The thing is, the rook is x the queen hair.
There is actually a technical solution involving winning material.
Can you sponsor it?
Yeah, one could actually win material with instead of Queen into Queen Bee one.
The point is, if I A4 we just take.
Thanks very much.
What does Black exactly do after Queen Bee one bishop before we play a free if Bishop a5 b4.
Thanks very much.
We're going to be winning a piece soon if Queen Bee seven.
Sure that gives night be free.
We can actually do better than eight takes here.
If eight takes, then that's that's the point where maybe it's a little bit messy.
Why?
It has, you know, a small edge.
But, you know, we can actually do better, though.
On Queen Bee seven with the quantum of bee free, taking out that bee free resource.
And you know, this is just more clear a piece up.
So anyway, that aside, Queenie two, we have a spectacular game ahead from this position.
Bishop A5 AB one So there's still a threat now of B4 to win material Queen A6 and now Rook c4984 And
it looks as though Hold on, what is that a queen doing is putting himself in a self pin here.
Well, yeah.
Also we should note here this was an opportunity it seems for black f six, but.
Well, it does have Bishop see one.
There seems to be a strong move in this position.
If Rook 88 b4 and we're going to be winning material here, you know this position is a winning material.
You know, we all just the pace up here and we've got attacking prospect still.
So you know, this is going to be fine.
It's going to be great.
So Bishop C1 was possible.
If we look at that again, this this position actually instead of take fourth if.
Queen Bee five.
You know, just taking out the fall and rule 64 as possible.
Yeah.
It's just so you know, sex would have been a safer move for king safety.
But still, you know, why is is going to be winning a winning advantage off to Bishop c1f sex is also
interesting to consider sorry eight six is also interesting to consider here.
But there is a fascinating move here for white from an attacking perspective.
Can you see what that is?
Because we've got this semi rook left and it looks to say, well, we're pinned but we can actually
play Bishop takes h sex and yes, the knight supports the queen.
So this is not about winning the Queen Jesus.
This is not about rook G4 check because the knight supporting the Queen, we're not winning the Queen,
but we have not E5, which is very, very dangerous here in its own right.
It protects C4, which releases the Queen off guard duty for Queen H five and the rook now is ready
to swing with Rook H four.
So say Bishop d2 because rook aca we're going to swing that rook and this is going to be crushing because
of F4.
So Black could do this, but it's a crushing position.
Black's going to end up getting mated, for example.
So let's say rook a.s.a.p though.
Rook h for yeah, as mentioned on me.
So let's say Bishop d2 immediately.
Bishop d2 immediately.
Here we have rook d4 and now say Queen B seven.
Yeah, we're just going to take on D2.
But yeah, there's a lot of problems here for Black in this position.
There are a lot of attacking options, including F4 if Bishop G5 and other ones or H4.
Yeah, I mean it's a rich attacking position basically, so H6 it can't really be afforded.
F6 is often in analysis of this game it comes up as a resource by as Bishop c one with the B4 threat.
Yeah.
This this is pretty good for white.
So anyway, A4 was tried, but now we have an iconic move.
Yes, alekhine has many iconic moves.
So what iconic move would you play here if I give you 5 seconds to pause the video?
And actually this kind of move made me think about my what I thought was a very simple approach to attacking
chess.
When I won the Lloyds Bank Junior Tournament UK in 1999, I basically had this premise, you know,
use your absolutely best resources around the opponent's king.
And actually now when I look at this game, I feel that if you use your best resources around the opponent's
king, it creates an independence.
Level of losing through in other parts of the board because Champ ends the game.
So if you're creating Checkmate Opportunities, you can worry about less about losing material.
So anyway, there's an iconic move here I'm about to show you for 200 points.
Bishop f6 and with Bishop f6, we're looking at G seven and there's a pattern in some alekhine games,
you know, Bishop either F6 or even B2 or a one.
We want to try and get generally a queen to G5 or G3.
If it's G3, you know, it's looking at the directions as well, but we want to maximize that focal
point.
We have Rook FC being played if G tanks, rook G4 check, we are actually just winning the Queen now.
The knight has neglected the Queen.
If King H A we can play Bishop takes G7, Shaq and here Bishop H six and this position we have Rook
G4 check and we're going to be mating like this Bishop or anywhere else where checkmate in a nice make
pattern.
So basically Rook FC eight is played, but here is what I mean.
Use best resources around opponent's king and don't worry about other things sometimes.
So how do we get a queen to G5?
And this is literally because the thing is this is prompted because there hasn't been there's no defensive
pieces around the king.
In fact, we've got this bishop on f6 here.
So what what do we want to play in this position to get a queen to G5?
Yeah.
Queen E5, We play Queen if I get Queen's G5.
If Rook takes the gate, we only get a small engineer.
Queen Kate.
It's only a small edge.
This position Black is ready to defend as well.
Good to have the Queen away from defensive possibilities.
So Queen E5, we have Rook c5 If Queen takes C4.
The point is Queen's five and this is what I mean.
Our back row is not weak enough to be mated yet.
So say G6.
Queen H thinks this.
We're just taking and we're taking.
That's fine.
And we can even here to defend with bishop and fight.
But we can play queen C6 picking up more material.
And that's absolutely winning in its own right.
So if Rook takes C4, we play Queen G5 and here this is funny.
Queen takes G7.
Jack, there's a funny move here.
What would you play for?
100 points?
We want to make queensgate much more effective.
We cover a scape squares when we want to do that, and that's the checkmate.
We want to cover escape squares.
So these two checks are made much more effective.
This is just desperate, desperate and black gets mated.
If g takes f6 rook g for Queen D sex jack is mating.
Or if the king went in the other way.
Queen since f6 is my.
So just to recap here, this is really great stuff.
It's really fun stuff.
If King f8 here with the Queen on C4 instead of the rook, this is a battery, which means our back
row sometimes is dangerous, but we change things up a bit to suit the position to be more appropriate.
Here we don't play 95.
That would be a disaster.
We do have a back row issue potentially like this.
No, what we do in this position, that's good.
If the rook was on C4 and there's no battery in this position.
We played Quincy Aycock and now 95.
Check.
And the point is our Queens attack.
But we're going to get a key check If King C7 were going to get a key check, and then we're going to
take the opposing queen.
And it's still fun and games after that.
And if King Day six, you know, we're taking the queen with Shaq and we're taking eight fans.
Very much so.
Yes.
All you know, really works well.
So in this position, this is what I mean, if you use your best resources around the opponent's king,
it sounds really simple, but actually, aren't we creating independence?
And independence is one of my favorite words.
In recent years, I think successful things have this notion of independence.
It makes them more useful in a greater variety of use cases.
And the idea of using our best resources around the king here creates this independence level that we
can afford to lose material because, you know, that might end the game.
So anyway, we see Rook C5 and now this.
This square is used Queen Geoffrey.
We don't.
Yeah, this is great.
We don't necessarily want good tanks this possession Queen G free Shaq Rook C7.
This is still it's actually rather good for white with 95 power hitting the queen and a hand knight
takes up seven check This is rather nice for white of course, but not as brilliant as the game continuation.
This situation is is in its favor.
But Queen G3 is played.
We see G6 now Rook takes a fall.
So is a piece up Now look when he's a piece up queen Different rook have one now Rook There's no back
road tracks By the way, if Queen takes Rook C1 we have King E2 There's no back road mate here, So
rook aca rook d for Queen in five, Queen F for not minding the exchange of Queens.
Queen C two But now Queen H six and black is getting mated.
End of game Black can only delay queen sex f to this position.
Know black's going to end up getting mated on g seven.
So yes, this game actually does remind me.
Checkmate ends the game.
That's a very powerful thing.
Sometimes we have this choice.
Do we win like a rook which we try and crash for a pawn?
But what if we went for checkmate instead?
Because the opponent might have other stuff to win?
Material, materials, material.
It's only winning a war.
When we go for a checkmate, we're trying to win.
Sorry, winning material is only winning a battle, not the war.
When we go for checkmate, we're winning the war and using best resources around the opponents.
King does create this independence level.
If we lose material, we're only losing a battle.
We're not.
We're not losing the war.
And it's a beautiful rook lift, in effect in this game.
If we go back to key positions, we have that beautiful rook left which creates well, Bishop f6 is
the iconic move after the rook left.
So yes, it really is also trying to backfire against the pinner in variations.
It really is a beautiful iconic move and attack from this position.
Wonderful stuff.
I hope you've enjoyed this as much as me and reinforce the themes, you know, get your resources,
your best resources around only palace king I'm actually thinking, yeah, I had a point.
That's probably why I won that to win.
I had great confidence, you know, So and it creates this independence.
Yeah, you can you can not worry, You worry less.
And that's one of the things about the formula of attacking chess.
If you can worry less about losing material, you know, use your rules.
If you use your Queen G sense when there's already an issue that the opponent is created because they
neglected their king a little bit, that makes all of this much more effective.
Okay, swap a bit of material for King safety.
I hope you enjoyed it so very much.