Edward Lasker called him the greatest inventive genius the game had ever seen; Euwe called him the greatest attacking player of all time. He was a giant in an age of giants, securing his place in chess history by taking the World Championship title from Capablanca in 1927. In tournaments, he took sole first thirty five times, tied for first twelve, and made second five. At the super-tournament at San Remo, 1930, he obliterated the field 14-1, without losing a game. Alexander Alekhine was the original “Natural Born Killer” of chess.

The encounter below with Maroczy is justly famous, and has received a lavish amount of analytical attention from the players themselves, their contemporaries, and annotators throughout the decades. It is amazing that after 70 years (!) evaluations and opinions of key positions and variations continue to be overturned as fresh resources are discovered. The tactics of this game are yet to be exhausted. Alekhine stalks Maroczy’s king like a tiger, sacking pawns and offering pieces, playing the risky, razor-sharp chess that was his trademark.

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Alekhine/Maroczy: Queen’s Gambit Declined, OrthodoxDefense. Bled, 1931. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Nf3 0-0 7. Rc1 h6 8. Bh4 c6 9.Bd3 a6 10. 0-0 dc 11. Bc4 c5 12. a4 (Alekhine: “This move, in connection with the following isolation of the central pawn, gives the game its character.”) ..Qa5 (Alekhine: “Maroczy from now on plays very enterprising chess, combining defensive moves with counter-attacks against White’s weaknesses at a4 and d4.”) 13. Qe2 cd 14. ed Nb6 15. Bd3 Bd7 16. Ne5 Rfd8 17. f4 Be8 18. Ng4 (Alekhine: “Black…has nothing better than to accept the offer, as by other moves White’s attack would remain–with even material–at least as strong as in the actual game.”) …Rd4 19. Bf6 Bf6 20. Nf6+ gf 21. Ne4 Rad8 (Alekhine: “The counter-attack initiated by the text-move will be refuted chiefly because White will succeed in protecting his bishop indirectly, without any loss of time.”) 22. Nf6+ Kf8 23. Nh7+ (Alekhine: “Perhaps Maroczy underestimated this check. If now 23. …Kg8, then 24. Qg4+ Kh8 25. Qh4! Rd3 26. Qh6 and wins.”) …Ke7 24. f5 (Alekhine: “The first indirect defence: if 24. …Rd3? then 25.f6+ followed by 26.Qd3, etc.”) … R8d6 (Alekhine: “But after this…the Black king has got a comfortable escape at d8. The following reply…was by no means easy to find.”) 25. b4 (Alekhine: ” a surprising solution to the attacking problem: White succeeds either (in case of 25. …Rb4) by playing 26.Qh5! without permitting the strong answer 26. …Qd2! or (as in the actual game) by entering with the Queen into the Black position via e5.”) …Qb4 26. Qe5 Nd7 (Alekhine: “Protects both critical squares and–apparently–at last wins the bishop.”) 27. Qh8 Rd3 (Alekhine: “Losing one move earlier than he should. The best reply 27. …Qb6, would have forced White to disclose the last point of the combination started by his 25th move–28. a5! (the triumph of the neglected pawn!) with two variations: a.) 28…Qa5 29. Rc8, or b.) 28. …Qa7 29. f6+ as in the actual game.) 28. f6+! (Alekhine: if 28. …Nf6 29. Qf6+ and 30. Nf8#; if 28. …Kd8 29. Qe8+! Ke8 30. Rc8#.) 1-0. Nasty, nasty, nasty!