What better than to have a gander at one of the final encounters of two chess immortals, Emmanuel Lasker and Jose Capablanca? This game, played in Moscow in 1936, was one of the last in a series heralding all the way back to 1919. Both players were well past their prime, but this rivalry always brought out the old fightin’ spirit in them. Lasker had beaten Capa here the year before, and the latter was eager for revenge. This game sports a real rarity in the Capa repertoire, where he essays the Black side of a Sicilian Defense. Watch the boys duke it out down to an ending where Lasker almost pulls out a desperado finish!

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Lasker/Capablanca: Sicilian Defense, Moscow, 1936. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cd 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2 Bd7 7.Be3 e6 8.Qd2 a6 9.f4 Qc7 10.Nb3 b5 11.Bf3 Rb8 12.Ne2 Be7 13.0-0 0-0 14.Ng3 a5 (definitely Old School, but remember, this was played in 1936. Botvinnik, who was to rehab the Sicilian, was just starting to get some international attention.) 15.Nd4 a4 16.Rae1 Rfc8 17.Rf2 Ne8 18.Nc6 (in order to play 19. f5 without the reply …Ne5.) Bc6 19.f5 e5 (“What about the backward pawn?…The answer is there ain’t goin’ to be no backward pawn!”–Purdy) 20.Nh5 Qb7 21.Bg5 f6 22.Be3 (a shrewd Lasker trap.) Nc7 (22. …Be4? loses the exchange to 23.Be4!) 23.Qd1 Rd8 24. Rd2 Kh8 (an important preliminary to the lever move …d5.) 25.a3 Rbc8 26.Bf2 d5 27.ed Nd5 28.Bd5 Rd5 29.Qg4 (Another Lasker trap. If 29. …g6 30. fg! Rd2 31.g7+ Kg8 32.Qe6++.) Bc5 30.Red1 Bf2+ 31.Kf2 Rcd8 32.Rd5 Rd5 33.Rd5 Bd5 34.Qb4 Qa7+ 35.Ke2 Bc4+ 36.Kf3 Qa8+ 37.Kf2 Qd8 38.Qc3 (Probably the game loser. White allows the Black queen to penetrate the first rank. 38.Ke1 holds.) Qd1 39.Ng3 h6 40.b3 ab 41.cb Bb3 42.Nf1 Qb1 43.g4 Bc4 (and not 43. …Qa2+ 44.Kg3 Qa3? 45. Nd2.) 44.Ne3 Qh1 (Now the White kingside pawns get gobbled. But Lasker still has something up his sleeve.) 45.Nc4 Qh2+ 46.Ke1 Qg1+ 47.Kd2 Qf2+ 48.Kc1 Qf1+ 49.Kd2 bc 50.a4 Qf4+ (diagram 1, attached.) 51.Kc2 Qg4 52.a5 (Can Black stop this pawn?) Qf5+ 53.Kc1 Qf2 (Played after half an hour’s consideration. Capablanca wanted to play 53. …e4 54.a6 Qc5 55.Qg2 c3 56.Qb8+ Kh7 57. a7 Qe3+ 58. Kb1 Qd3+ 59. Ka2 c2 60.a8(Q) Qc4+, but was afraid there might be some miscalculation. He went with the text, the most clearcut route.) 54.Qa3 Kh7 0-1. (Lasker folds. If 55.a6 c3 56.Qc3 Qf8+. )

A tremendous fight, worthy of these two chess giants. I am completely indebted to Fred Reinfeld for the analysis of this game.