Hi there.
In this lecture, we see an absolute classic game.
Ossip Bernstein against Capablanca in 1914 Moscow tournament round one.
So here we have D four from Bernstein D five from Capablanca.
c4e69c396 19 three.
Bishop E seven.
Bishop G five Black Castles.
E three Might be D seven Rook.
c1b6.
So the task at variation C takes D five, E takes D five Queen A for Bishop B seven.
And we have Bishop A six now.
So this seems quite logical to try and weaken Capablanca.
Online squares exchange off the square.
Bishops we have Bishop takes a six, queen takes a six, and now C five.
So we're emerging here after Bishop takes up six, Knight takes F six.
We emerge with the hanging pawns structure.
So you might ask, Wow, what is a positional player like Capablanca doing with a structure which doesn't
seem that solid?
So the plan from White generally is try and fix these pawns and then win them later or other operations,
which might be useful, like going for an attack potentially.
But usually fixing the hanging pawns is is the plan that the opponent would use.
So what plan with the hanging pawns that we have with Capablanca here?
Well, one of the perks is immediately used after White Castles, this adjacent file Queen Bee, adding
pressure to B2.
So a concrete threat.
And White doesn't really want to offer a repair to the structure with Queen St b six.
This would be only a small edge for white, although it's kind of interesting.
You know, H six is possible because of the pressure on a two.
And for example here it should be off the B five about even this position of 290 4c298c3 rotates C three
This is about even.
Okay, but we have Queenie two in this game and Capablanca seems to play a paradoxical move.
He's like playing into the plan that should help if these pawns are fixed.
But in these circumstances there's no light square bishop so there's no real attacking potential.
Sometimes default can be a liberating thing for a bishop on B seven, but that's not the case here.
So Capablanca is more banking on transforming these hanging pawns into a passport, potentially, as
we're going to see.
So rook for one, if not before there is bishop before here.
And this position should be about even so for one after eight Knight DH four F4 was an interesting trying
so details.
But this dissolves black structure clearly and black can use Bishop C five to F two.
So this position should be about even.
But 94 was played.
We have Bishop b4 be free here if I free Bishop st C free rook take C free.
There's 94 and here it should be about even black has adequate pressure, which is a perk of this dynamic
structure on the B file.
So be free.
We have Rook AC eight and we see the transformation now to be tanks.
We have basically a past pawn that is blockaded.
We have Rook two and now Bishop takes free.
Rook take C free 95 rook c two.
So this avoids quite a nasty tactic in the position.
If rook takes C four, what would you play with black for 100 points?
The positional player is tactically alert.
To be effective, think of Capablanca tactics.
A strong Petrosian tactics are strong, Adams tactics are strong.
You name it.
The strong positional players have to be strong tactically and realize in this position we've got an
x ray on the C free square tactically.
So 93 is winning material.
So for example, here we're just going to take on C four and then take on D one.
So Okay.
And if rook st C free, rook free.
We're just just won the exchange.
So Rook two avoids that.
But now C free black could have played a four here tactically as well.
This position should be about even.
So.
Okay.
Yeah, there are interesting resources here on the back row in this position, by the way.
You might think, Hold on, Kingsbridge.
What about Route 63?
Yeah, but the thing is, look at Wayne's back row.
There's Queen Bee one check here.
Ouch.
And then once came back, row mated.
There's no air for the king at the moment, so that's something to notice.
So see, free here, though, was played at DC one.
We have Rook.
See five might be free.
Rook see 694 And it should have been really a draw here with the knight going back and how can black
make progress?
But the knight ventured out with Knight B five.
So yeah, Knight be free should be just a draw.
Black has succeeded in transforming the hanging pawns into a possible and that's enough to draw.
You know, sometimes you just have to draw with black but you know here for example, what does black
do?
G six Yeah, we can't really increase the pressure if we don't plays accurately with a free we can't
really increase the advantage.
It seems it's difficult.
You know why it has resources as well.
Like 95 here, this is just a fictional continuation.
And you know, we can see that there are tactics for white as well.
So anyway, might be five though, is a problem.
We have rook see five and now a huge mistake Knight take free.
So remember this back row issue.
The positional player does need to be acutely tactical, tactically aware.
So now what do we do?
Well, Knight, take C free rook takes.
Can you find the move?
Coming up.
Rook, take C free.
And guess what?
Capablanca plays here, which is absolutely devastating and finishes the game.
Move 29 So black to play a pawn down.
So you could say that the passport has just disappeared.
It's transformed itself into a dynamic advantage.
So it's gone.
The passport has gone.
It's a dynamic advantage.
And we can play a real massive tempo gaining move.
Queen Bee two hitting the queen, hitting the rook.
It's crushing.
Game ended here.
Not Queen Bee one check because there's Queen F one and this possession should be equal.
But this is absolutely devastating.
So why it has to resign if Queen E one, Queen C three and the back row is exploited here.
So that's with Queen E one.
If Roxy too.
We have Queen Bee one checking and taking out C two.
If Queen C four, we're taking out C three again and then D one.
And that's going to be mating of the Queen in one taking.
If C eight is tricky, but Queen Bee one check here and then taking on F one and taking on C eight rook
D three We have Quincy one check queen, which is taking F one and taking on the free King F one.
We're just taking on C free.
So yeah, it is absolutely hopeless here.
And this is a highly celebrated game with that beautiful, elegant finish.
So yeah, this is an elegant game of Capablanca.
But the interesting thing to consider, if we look at modern positional players like Adams, he's usually
inflicting structural issues on opponents like double pawns or weak pawns.
And.
It's surprising to see these classic examples of Capablanca where he does have a dynamic structure,
the positional player playing with dynamic structure.
Well, what do they do with them?
They aim to transform them.
And also dynamic players will often aim to transform them.
That's what you have to do with structural weaknesses.
They have to be transformed into something positive.
There has to be an upside somewhere of the hanging pawns, and the upside wasn't going to be in a default
break in this particular occasion.
So it's interesting.
Then it's transformed voluntarily, like fixing them down, giving white the default square voluntarily.
But, you know, the bishop has something to say with the dark squares, you know, C4 is opening up
the bishop for interesting possibilities here.
So, yes, it's playing the position as well, playing the position, transforming the hanging pawns
into a past pawn and taking care of all the the tactical tactical details.
It's tactics that actually kind of win games brutally like Queen Bee two.
So a beautiful finish for an iconic game.
I hope you enjoyed this and got some instructive points from it and so much.