Alekhine-Levitsky match, Game 3: Levitsky blunders in favorable endgame; Alekhine now leads 3-0

Alexander Alekhine took a 3-0 lead in his match against Stepan Levitsky when the latter, perhaps fatigued after a complicated struggle, miscalculated in a favorable position, voluntarily returning his material advantage and allowing a forcible transition into a pawn endgame clearly winning for his opponent.  The loss by Levitsky comes as a blow to his supporters, who, only minutes before the end, entertained high hopes that their favorite would record his first victory in the match, which will go to the first contestant to win seven games outright.

Levitsky, playing White, chose the Giuoco Piano for this encounter, concentrating his forces on the Queen-side and leaving the King's wing to its fate, as an examination of the position after Black's 20th move will instantly make clear.  Alekhine, never hesitant to attack, advanced his forces toward the enemy monarch, to whose aid Levitsky hurried his own troops, thereby maintaining the balance.  At his 33rd turn Alekhine blundered, overlooking a clever riposte by his opponent, as a direct result of which White won the exchange,  with, as Alekhine himself admits, strong prospects of winning the game.  Yet Levitsky returned the "favor" almost immediately, his 37.Rd4?? converting a likely won endgame into a clearly lost one.  The loser remarked afterward that he had foreseen the resultant pawn endgame in his calculations, but had simply misevaluated it, the sort of unfortunate occurrence experienced at some point by all chess players, here rendered all the more tragic by the high level of this contest and the state of the match.  Whether Levitsky will prove able to recover from this self-inflicted blow, only the future will tell.

We present the game, with notes by :the winner:

 

        

Havana tournament, Round 13: Marshall wins, leads by point entering final round; Capablanca defeats Janowski

Frank J. Marshall and José R. Capablanca, current first- and second-place contenders at the Havana international chess Masters' tournament, both registered victories in the thirteenth round, with Marshall defeating Rafael Blanco and Capablanca besting third-place contender David Janowski.  Entering the fourteenth and final round Marshall, with a score of 10 1/2, leads his Cuban rival by a full point, and thus has assured himself of at least a share of top honors in the event, while Capablanca, who at 9 1/2 enjoys a margin of one and one-half points over Janowski, is likewise certain of second place.  In other games, Oscar Chajes defeated Abraham Kupchik, while Charles Jaffe and Juan Corzo played to a draw.

Marshall vs. Blanco, a Queen's Gambit Declined, soon reached an endgame with two Rooks and six pawns per side, with the United States Champion possessing in addition a Knight against Blanco's Bishop.  The first player gradually made inroads into Black's game, obtaining a passed d-pawn and securing a fine position for his Knight.  At the 40th move Marshall won a pawn, and thereafter steered the game victoriously into port with the steady hand of a Master:

   

Capablanca and Janowski contested a rich and difficult game in a Ruy Lopez, following the lines of the Cuban's victory over Chajes in the previous round until Janowski chose to deviate from that earlier path, preferring 7...Nd7 to Chajes's 7...exd4.  The veteran Parisian Master, who has played much of this event with youthful vigor, offered a sacrifice of the exchange, securing as compensation excellent posts for his other pieces, in particular his Knight, which stood most powerfully on the d4-square.  Capablanca, in turn, worked steadily to alleviate Black's pressure, first exchanging the well-placed Knight and then preparing a counter-sacrifice of the exchange, a transaction that yielded him an extra pawn in the endgame.  Still, the tense struggle continued, with Janowski skillfully laying clever snares for his youthful antagonist (see, for example, Black's 37...d3), and Capablanca equally skillfully making slow but steady progress toward victory, a goal he at last achieved at the 52nd move.  This was Master chess, no less on the part of the vanquished than that of the victor.  Capablanca thus avenges the defeat suffered at the hands of the same opponent in the first half of the tourney, and, as noted above, assures himself, at the minimum, of second prize; as for Janowski, third prize, notwithstanding this loss, is already his, as Kupchik, the next nearest pursuer, lags two full points behind.

Chajes defeated Kupchik in a Four Knights' Game, with White's pair of Bishops dominating the play throughout much of the encounter.  The fortunes of the two combatants have shifted dramatically in recent days: Chajes, who had recorded but one victory through the first ten rounds, has now scored the full point in three of the last four; Kupchik, by contrast, has lost three games running, and, with a margin of a mere one-half point over both Chajes and Jaffe, and paired tomorrow against Capablanca, he risks losing the fourth prize, which had seemed assuredly his for quite some time.

Jaffe and Corzo faced off in a Queen's Pawn Game, producing a long and hard-fought struggle, fascinating in all its phases.  The fighting spirit of the two players, far removed from the battle for top honors, is to be commended, and we urge our readers - some of whom, we know, are prone to leave unexamined contests with a drawn result - not to overlook this colorful battle:

 

Scores after 13 rounds:  Marshall 10 1/2; Capablanca 9 1/2; Janowski 8; Kupchik 6; Chajes, Jaffe 5 1/2; Blanco 4; Corzo 3.

The fourteenth and final round will be played tomorrow, March 6, the pairings being Janowski-Marshall, Kupchik-Capablanca, Blanco-Jaffe, and Corzo-Chajes.  

Havana tournament, Round 12: Marshall draws with Corzo, maintains lead; Capablanca, Janowski narrow gap with victories

United States Champion Frank J. Marshall saw his lead reduced to one point after the twelfth round of the Havana international chess Masters' tournament, the tourney leader playing an exciting draw against Juan Corzo while his closest pursuer, José R. Capablanca, native of the Cuban capital, registered a victory over Oscar Chajes.  France's David Janowski, currently in third place, also narrowed the distance between himself and Marshall, defeating Rafael Blanco in masterful style to  move within one and one-half points of the leader with two rounds remaining.  As Capablanca and Janowski will be pitted against one another in the thirteenth round, and Janowski and Marshall will clash in the fourteenth, a dramatic finish remains well within the realm of possibility.

Corzo and Marshall contested a fluctuating and far from faultless game in a Petroff Defense, with sharp tactics in abundance and each player overlooking opportunities to claim a distinct advantage, two examples of which are cited in the game score below.  The drawn result, most unexpected given the recent form of the combatants, ends a run of seven consecutive wins for the American Champion and five consecutive losses for his Cuban counterpart, and leaves the ultimate issue of the tournament very much an open question:

Capablanca dispatched Chajes with surprising ease in a Ruy Lopez, first weakening and then eliminating his opponent's pawns without allowing the slightest glimmer of counterplay.  A glance at the position after White's 20th and 30th moves will suffice to demonstrate the results of the Cuban's briskly efficient style:

Janowski crafted a fine effort against Blanco in a Dutch Defense, sacrificing the exchange and demonstrating yet again the power of his cherished pair of Bishops.  The Frenchman, who complained of the climate during the recent tourney in New York, seemingly finds the warmth of Havana more to his liking, and has produced a passel of fine games in the current event:

The day's final pairing, Kupchik vs. Jaffe, a Ruy Lopez, proved a tragedy for the first player, who obtained an excellent position only to overlook an obvious bit of tactics at the 24th move, an error costing two pawns.    Yet the game nevertheless remained in approximate balance, White's position having been so strong before his oversight, and many spectators were predicting a drawn outcome when Kupchik committed a second, and this time fatal, oversight with 36.Qf3??, after which the rejoinder 36...Rf5, forcing the win of Queen for Rook, compelled resignation.  With 36.Qe5 White in all likelihood would have held the game:

Scores after 12 rounds:  Marshall 9 1/2; Capablanca 8 1/2; Janowski 8; Kupchik 6; Jaffe 5; Chajes 4 1/2; Blanco 4; Corzo 2 1/2.

The thirteenth round will be played today.

Alekhine-Levitsky match, Game 2: Alekhine wins again, leads 2-0

Alexander Alekhine defeated Stepan Levitsky in the second game of their match at St. Petersburg, achieving victory in a struggle lasting 28 moves.  Alekhine, who likewise prevailed in the first contest, now leads the race to seven wins by the score of 2-0.

Alekhine, playing White, chose the Bishop's Gambit, the same opening adopted by his opponent in their first encounter, with Levitsky on this occasion leaving the path of the earlier game at the third move, preferring 3...Nf6 to 3...d5.  Alekhine's selection of the rare 5.Nge2 in place of the more usual 5.Nf3 prompted his opponent to set in motion a vigorous counter-attack via the sacrifice of two pawns, a stratagem whose correctness will surely be subject to much analytical examination.  In the present contest, White successfully warded off Black's early aggression and soon seized the initiative himself, breaking through Black's defenses with the sacrifice of a Knight at his 18th turn, and forcing resignation 10 moves later.  The reader will find several attractive variations in the notes to the game, which have been graciously supplied by the winner:

The third game is scheduled for today.

Havana tournament, Round 11: Marshall wins again, defeating Kupchik; Capablanca held to draw by Jaffe; Janowski falls to Chajes

Tourney leader and United States Champion Frank J. Marshall scored yet another victory in the eleventh round of the Havana international chess Masters' tournament, defeating Abraham Kupchik in 31 moves and increasing his margin over second-place competitor José R. Capablanca to one and one-half points after the latter was held to a draw by Charles Jaffe of New York.  David Janowski of Paris, who had stood equal with Capablanca entering the round, dropped to third position, two full points behind Marshall, following his defeat at the hands of Oscar Chajes.  In the day's other game, Rafael Blanco defeated Cuban compatriot Juan Corzo, throwing caution to the winds and scoring the point in a complex sacrificial attacking game.

Marshall, eschewing safe play in his new role as sole leader of the event, chose the Danish Gambit against Kupchik, but could derive no advantage therefrom.  Indeed, the second player, in possession of an extra pawn in a double Rook endgame, appeared at first glance to hold whatever winning chances there existed in the position.  Yet after Black's 28...Raa5? (28...Rga5 and 28...Rxd4+ were afterward suggested as sufficient to hold the game) Marshall produced another of his famous "swindles," his 29.Rdd8! creating a sudden mating attack from which Black could not escape unscathed.  Kupchik resigned at the 31st move; the final mating variation, incorporated into the game score below, is as pretty as it was unexpected.  With this victory Marshall has now won seven games running; i.e., one against each of the other competitors in the field, a singular achievement of which he can justifiably be proud:

Jaffe, in what had been anticipated as a "needle" match after certain comments made by Capablanca regarding the American's loss to Marshall, opened with the Queen's Gambit Declined and allowed his opponent to make no headway, deploying his forces soundly and exchanging pieces as opportunity arose.  The two combatants reached an equal Rook endgame at the 34th move and agreed to halve the point shortly thereafter, thus concluding a rather quiet encounter whose influence on the score table may well prove more significant than its inherent content:

 

Chajes, who scored a fine victory over Jaffe in the previous round, produced another masterful effort today against Janowski, who defended the Queen's Gambit Declined in rather risky fashion, creating a number of weak points in his position in the interest of gaining active play, a hope destined to go unfulfilled.  White's skillful and patient maneuvering deserves careful study, and reached fruition at last with the move 40.g4!, winning the Black Knight, and, very soon afterward, the game:

  

Blanco essayed the Center Game against Corzo, and the two countrymen produced a thrilling encounter, with White sacrificing piece after piece in the effort to checkmate the enemy King and Black defending coolly  in the face of ever-changing threats.  Corzo at last erred at the 31st move, his 31...Bg6 allowing the winning stroke 32.Nh7!, whereas 31...Qe1, preparing to offer Queen for Rook in reply to a discovered check by White's Knight, appears to have been the correct reply.  Beyond those brief remarks we dare not venture, the complexity of the game, the pressure of time, and, above all, our knowledge of our own analytical limitations all militating against further commentary on our part, except to commend this spirited battle to the attention of our readers:

  

Scores after 11 rounds: Marshall 9; Capablanca 7 1/2; Janowski 7; Kupchik 6; Chajes 4 1/2; Blanco, Jaffe 4; Corzo 2.

The 12th round will be played on March 3. 

Alekhine-Levitsky match, Game 1: Alekhine lands first blow, wins with Black in Bishop's Gambit

St. Petersburg:  Alexander Alekhine scored a victory in the first game of his match against Stepan Levitsky when the latter, at the 25th move, committed an oversight, losing his Queen for Rook and Knight and incurring a disadvantage that proved insuperable in the subsequent play.  Alekhine thus leads the match, whose victor will be the first to win seven games outright, by the score of 1-0.

As we reported previously, certain specific conditions have been agreed governing the openings to be allowed in the current contest, and Levitsky selected the Bishop's Gambit as his weapon of choice for the initial encounter, following, with 6.Qf3, the path chosen by Duras on several occasions at last year's gambit tournament in Abbazia.  The game, a lively affair, seemed in balance through the first 20 moves, before beginning to turn in favor of Black, a process substantially accelerated by the unfortunate 25.Qe5?  Readers will find the score of the game subjoined, along with a few comments by the winner, Alekhine, translated from the Russian for exclusive publication here.  The second game is scheduled for today; we expect to present it forthwith.

Havana tournament, Round 10: Marshall defeats Capablanca, claims lead; Cuban misplays superior position, falls to tie for 2nd-3rd with Janowski

Yesterday's tenth-round battle between the leaders of the Havana international chess Masters' tournament resulted in a dramatic victory for United States Champion Frank J. Marshall when Cuban national hero José R. Capablanca misplayed an advantageous position, overlooking first an excellent winning chance, and later committing a fatal error in an ill-advised attempt to force matters in a drawn endgame.  With this victory, his sixth in succession, Marshall assumes the lead in the tourney with 8 points, a full point ahead of both Capablanca and French maestro David Janowski, who equaled Capablanca's total of 7 by defeating Cuban Champion Juan Corzo.  In other games Abraham Kupchik maintained his fourth place standing with a victory over Rafael Blanco, while in a battle between American representatives Oscar Chajes defeated Charles Jaffe, gaining revenge for the defeat inflicted on him by the same opponent in the tourney's first tour.

Capablanca opened with his King's pawn vs. Marshall, who chose the Petroff Defense in reply.  Playing in his usual clear and powerful style, the Cuban obtained an excellent position, and by the 30th move it was obvious to all that White stood much better.  With 33.Re7, as pointed out afterward by Capablanca, White could have taken large strides toward victory; instead, the move 33.Be7 allowed Marshall the surprise rejoinder 33...Qd7!, retreating the Queen, which had only just emerged into play, and holding the position.  A subsequent exchange of major pieces brought about an equal Bishop endgame, with a draw widely expected, until Capablanca at his 45th turn erred with 45.d5+, allowing the Black King to enter his position, after which White's game soon became untenable.  Marshall's victory, while undoubtedly a disappointment to many in attendance, was sportingly greeted with warm applause by the Cuban spectators, and Sr. Capablanca has demonstrated equal sportsmanship in providing a few comments to the game:

 

Janowski, who is enjoying an excellent tournament, defeated Corzo in a French Defense, choosing as White the rare gambit line 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Be3 dxe4 4.Nd2 f5 5.f3.  The Frenchman later recovered his sacrificed pawn, and with 31.Re8 initiated a most powerful attack, notwithstanding the absence of Queens.  Aficionados familiar with the style of Janowski will note that, as so often in the past, his pair of Bishops once again did yeoman's work, as a glance at the final position will suffice to demonstrate:

Kupchik, playing White, experienced little difficulty in defeating Blanco in a Dutch Defense, surprising his opponent with the move 2.Bg5 and soon gaining the advantage.  With two pawns in hand by the 25th move, the endgame proved easy enough to win for the New York Master:

Chajes and Jaffe produced a fascinating struggle in a Ruy Lopez, the final phase in particular being of gripping interest, with each player in possession of a Rook and two Knights and White doing his all to prepare, and Black to prevent, the construction of a mating net.  We urge our readers not to deny themselves the pleasure of examining the score of this game, won by Chajes, Jaffe at last succumbing to the difficulties of the defense:

 

Scores after 10 rounds: Marshall 8; Capablanca, Janowski 7; Kupchik 6; Chajes, Jaffe 3 1/2; Blanco 3; Corzo 2.

The eleventh round will be played later today.

  

Fine finish

We present a game played in London on the 22nd inst. in a match over 50 boards between teams representing Middlesex and Essex, won by the former side, the score being 34 1/2 to 15 1/2.  We are informed that the player of the White pieces is "quite young," and a new member of the West London Chess Club.  The finish is very fine; a Queen sacrifice always pleases:

 

Havana tournament, Round 9: Capablanca, Marshall again victorious, remain tied for lead; will meet in next round.

The leaders of the Havana international chess Masters' tournament, José R. Capablanca and Frank J. Marshall, both scored victories in yesterday's ninth round, with the Cuban ace tallying his third win in succession and the United States Champion his fifth.  The two rivals thus continue to share first place, their margin over the nearest competitor, David Janowski of Paris, having now grown to a full point after the French representative could only draw his game against Charles Jaffe of New York.  Abraham Kupchik, currently in fourth position, regained some of the ground lost as a result of yesterday's defeat at the hands of Janowski by scoring a quick win over Cuban Champion Juan Corzo, and now trails the Frenchman by one point.  Interest in the tournament, already high at the outset, is increasing by the day as the hotly-contested race between the leaders continues, and with Capablanca and Marshall set to meet in the tenth round, there is speculation that even the spacious playing hall of the Ateneo de la Habana, the tournament venue, may prove inadequate to accommodate all who wish to attend.

Capablanca handled the Black pieces against his countryman Rafael Blanco, who bravely chose the Evans Gambit against his renowned opponent.  At his 12th turn White sacrificed a Bishop, initiating a sequence that ultimately left him with approximate material parity - Rook and pawn against Capablanca's two minor pieces - but bringing about a position in which the weakness of White''s pawns and the activity of the Black forces decided the struggle.  Blanco resigned at the 38th move, during the last ten of which he had stood a full Bishop in arrears:

 

 

Marshall sportingly admits that he has experienced rare good fortune in this event, with yesterday's game vs. Chajes furnishing yet another example thereof.  The United States Champion, as first player, gained no advantage whatsoever from a Queen's Gambit Declined, with the judgment of expert players on the scene tending rather to favor Black, owing to the weak, albeit passed, White d-pawn.  A brief flurry of excitement arose when Marshall succeeded in advancing that pawn to d5 in the face of superior enemy forces, but Chajes, unflustered, soon annexed the booty, reaching at the 30th move an endgame in which, by virtue of his material advantage, he could harbor every hope of winning.  But precisely then did fortune play its role, as Chajes at his 31st turn lost a Bishop to a simple "swindle" a mere two moves in length, after which his game was beyond salvation.  The good player, we have heard it said, is always lucky:

  

Jaffe vs. Janowski saw another Queen's Gambit Declined, in which the players reached a double Bishop endgame after 24 moves, with the second player seeming to hold slightly better prospects, but proving unable to increase whatever small advantage he might possess.  Indeed, it was instead Jaffe who appeared in the ascendancy during then latter stages of the contest, though again no genuine winning chances were to be found.  The two players agreed to a draw at the 68th move, an earlier offer of peace made by Janowski having been rejected by the New York Master:

  

 

Corzo selected the rare Ponziani Opening against Kupchik, who, if surprised by his opponent's choice, nevertheless soon obtained a fine game.  At his 12th turn White, according to Sr. Capablanca, ought to have preferred the retreat 12.Nf3, as after 12.Ne4 and the reply 12...f5, White is lost.  For those readers who, like ourselves, find it difficult at first glance to credit the notion that a position of such seemingly ordinary character can in fact already be hopeless, we have inserted in the game score a few variations adduced by our Herr Fritz; all lead to a loss for White, as indeed did the line chosen by Corzo:

 

Scores after 9 rounds: Marshall, Capablanca 7; Janowski 6; Kupchik 5; Jaffe 3 1/2; Blanco 3; Chajes 2 1/2; Corzo 2.

Today being a free day, the tenth round will be played tomorrow, when as noted the leaders, Marshall and Capablanca, will meet. 

Havana tournament, Round 8: Leaders keep pace; Marshall, Capablanca remain level after victories; Janowski holds 3rd, defeats Kupchik

Tourney leaders José R. Capablanca of Cuba and United States Champion Frank J. Marshall remain tied for the lead after registering victories in yesterday's eighth round of the Havana international chess Masters' tournament, with Capablanca topping countryman Juan Corzo and Marshall scoring an easy win against New York's Charles Jaffe.  In other contests, David Janowski of Paris maintained his grip on third place, defeating his closest pursuer, Abraham Kupchik, while local ace Rafael Blanco scored his second victory of the competition, taking the full point from Oscar Chajes.  For the third round running all games finished decisively, a tribute to the fighting spirit that prevails among the Masters here assembled.

The Jaffe-Marshall encounter, a Queen's Pawn Game, came to an abrupt and unexpected end soon after the former, in an even position, blundered at the 20th move, his 20.Qxd5?? leading immediately to the loss of the Queen.  There the story ought to end, but in the interest of truth we feel compelled to report to our readers that certain suspicions have been raised in Havana, including by Sr. Capablanca himself, to the effect that Jaffe's loss in this game - as well as his failure to win from a most favorable position against the same opponent in the first round - was deliberate, and designed to aid Marshall in the race for first prize in the tourney.  This is a most serious allegation, bordering on a charge of fraud, and to our mind those making it are obliged in good conscience to proffer evidence, and not mere suspicion, of the offense, especially in a case such as this, where the object of the inculpation is an invited guest in a foreign land.  And let us state it boldly: a blunder is not evidence of collusion.  Indeed, Corzo, in the 5th round of the present event, and Blanco, in the 6th, committed similarly egregious errors against Marshall: surely they are not to be suspected of intentionally aiding the American in his struggle with Capablanca?  The intense mental strain of Master chess leads inevitably to occasional grievous oversights, as were seen, for example, in the recent New York tournament in the games - limiting ourselves only to contests involving those in the top half of the score table - Marshall vs. Kupchik, Stapfer vs. Jaffe, and Janowski vs. Kupchik, not to mention perhaps the most notable blunder of the entire event, that committed by Capablanca himself in his 11th round battle against none other than Jaffe.  Whether that defeat, which ended the Cuban's prospects of making a perfect score in New York, has colored his perception of today's affair is a matter about which we prefer not to speculate.  We would observe only that Capablanca, in addition to the usual nerve-racking  tension attendant to participation in an international chess tournament, bears an additional burden in the present competition as the hope and cynosure of his countrymen, a heavy load even for his able shoulders, and one whose oppressive weight may well have led him, in a moment of fatigue and frustration, to utter certain animadversions that do no credit to himself and were surely best left unsaid.

To return to the games, Capablanca employed the Ruy Lopez against Corzo, who chose the Open Defense in reply.  White at his 12th move offered a pawn, which his opponent may well have done better to decline, as after its capture the first player soon obtained such a sizeable advantage in position that the young Maestro, as he himself told it afterwards, deliberately refrained from winning a full Rook, preferring instead to press on with the attack.  which he duly brought to a victorious conclusion at the 35th move:

Janowski, as first player in a Queen's Gambit  Declined, defeated Kupchik in fine style after the latter strayed from accepted paths in the opening.  White first built up a strong center, with his Knights in particular being exceptionally well-posted, and later sacrificed the exchange in order to gain complete control over the position.  A final methodical advance on the King-side left Black without an adequate defense, and Kupchik resigned at the 36th move.  Janowski has to date played some of the most interesting chess of the tournament, and yesterday's win can take a deserved place among his best artistic achievements:

  

Blanco chose the Dutch Defense against Chajes' Queen's Pawn opening, obtaining a superior position on the King-side after White's pawn advance on the opposite wing bore little fruit.  Black's steady pressure forced an error at the 32nd move when 32.Re4? was answered by the pretty 32...Nxg3+, shattering White's defenses and winning the exchange.  The remainder of the game was not without interest, however, and Blanco could have saved himself several anxious moments by first playing 41...Rh3+ before recapturing White's Knight, for the immediate recapture left the White King in a stalemate position and so allowed the first player to pursue the Black monarch for more than a dozen moves with his Rook, said Rook remaining immune from capture throughout the chase.  Blanco nevertheless discovered a path for his King that led at last to the breaking of the stalemate, at which point White resigned.  We have in the past heard the stratagem attempted by Chajes at the end of this contest called a "mad Rook," and readers who have never before witnessed such a thing are particularly invited to examine the score of the game.

Scores after 8 rounds: Marshall, Capablanca 6; Janowski 5 1/2; Kupchik 4; Blanco, Jaffe 3; Chajes 2 1/2; Corzo 2.

The ninth round is scheduled for today.

Havana tournament, Round 7: Marshall, Capablanca win, lead at halfway mark; Janowski 3rd after loss

David Janowski's tenure atop the score chart proved short-lived when he suffered defeat at the hands of United States Champion Frank Marshall in yesterday's seventh round of the Havana international chess Masters' tournament.  The French representative fell from first to third place, overtaken not only by Marshall but also by Cuba's José R. Capablanca, who regained the ground lost through his defeat by Janowski in the previous round by taking the full point from Kupchik in a long Rook endgame and so joining Marshall in the lead.  In other games, Jaffe defeated Blanco and Chajes topped Corzo, thereby completing a complete sweep for the White pieces in this, the concluding round of the first half of the tourney.  The eight competitors have now each faced every opponent once; the second tour, with colors reversed, will begin with the eighth round.

Janowski, full of fighting spirit, essayed the Albin Counter-Gambit against Marshall, and for a time seemed to  enjoy adequate positional compensation in return for his sacrificed pawn.  Yet the American then began little by little to assert himself, driving back the well-placed enemy pieces and launching a winning attack on the Queen-side, where the opposing King had taken residence.  Janowski, faced with the unavoidable loss of his Queen, resigned at the 31st move; subsequent analysis failed to pinpoint the precise moment when he had gone astray, with some experts faulting the thrust 16...d3, and others, including Sr. Capablanca, who had followed his rivals' battle with interest, suggesting 20...Rd4 as an improvement at Black's 20th turn:

Jaffe, as first player, chose the Staunton Gambit in reply to Blanco's Dutch Defense, regaining his sacrificed pawn at the 14th move and maintaining pressure on the opposing position notwithstanding the exchange of Queens.  After Blanco at his 20th turn overlooked an opportunity, again pointed out by Capablanca, to sacrifice a Bishop in return for 3 pawns and good play, the White forces soon infiltrated his game, and Jaffe experienced little trouble in bringing about an endgame in which his passed pawns could not be prevented from advancing:

 

Chajes and Corzo contested a Queen's Pawn Game marked by much maneuvering, a struggle whose first critical moment may well have occurred at the 25th move when the Cuban Champion recaptured on c4 with his d- rather than b-pawn.  This centrifugal reply, while procuring for Black a majority of pawns on the Queen-side, nevertheless opened new vistas for the White King's Bishop, and the second player later felt himself compelled to offer a Rook for that piece in order to blunt its activity.  Chajes, after accepting the offered exchange, soon broke through on the King-side, attaining victory at the 43rd move:

   

In the day's longest encounter Capablanca defeated Kupchik in a Four Knights' Opening, with the Cuban following the lines of his fourth round game with Jaffe until varying with 8.Nd3, a move which, after analysis, he considers superior to his earlier 8.d4.  The players reached an endgame with two Rooks and seven pawns per side after only 16 moves, with White holding whatever advantage, albeit slight, there existed in the position, owing to a greater command of space and the consequent ability to shift his attack from one side of the board to the other as he pleased.  Still, Kupchik defended stoutly, and, in the opinion of his opponent, possessed excellent drawing chances as late as the 53rd move, when an ill-advised capture of a pawn at last dashed his hopes and cleared White's path to victory.  We present the game, to which Sr. Capablanca has kindly added a few brief remarks:

  

Scores after 7 rounds:  Marshall, Capablanca 5; Janowski 4 1/2; Kupchik 4; Jaffe 3; Chajes 2 1/2; Corzo, Blanco 2.

The eighth round will be played today.     

Alekhine-Levitsky match

This contest, scheduled to begin on the 28th inst. in St. Petersburg, will doubtless prove of great interest.  It brings together the winners of the All-Russian Amateur Tournaments of 1909 and 1911, under conditions most propitious for exciting play: the winner of the match to be the first to score seven wins; draws not to be reckoned in the score; and all games to begin with the moves 1.e4 e5, with the Four Knights' and Ruy Lopez openings being excluded.  Added interest is provided by the fact that Levitsky won both his games against Alekhine at last year's All-Russian tourney in Vilnius, a result the young Muscovite will surely look to avenge in the battles to come.

We are most pleased to announce that we will present the games of this match, with brief comments by Alekhine, within a day or two of each being played.  For this extraordinary possibility we are indebted to the special kindness of an anonymous benefactor, a true friend of chess possessing knowledge of the Russian language, who has made special arrangements to receive all pertinent information by cable and to translate it for the benefit of our readers.  We cannot thank him enough.  Russia boasts a long and storied chess tradition, yet much of what takes place there, and much of what is written, often remains unknown to aficionados in other lands, the Cyrillic alphabet and the inherent complexity of the Russian tongue making chess publications in that language well-nigh incomprehensible to all but a lucky few.  A man willing to sacrifice his time and toil in the difficult work of translation, all in order to share freely the riches of Russian chess with the English-speaking world, is a man deserving of the gratitude of every chess player, and we are certain that we speak for all our readers when we express our heartiest thanks and say, Well done, sir!

We append three games as samples of the play of the antagonists in the coming struggle, among them one of the victories scored by Levitsky over Alekhine in last year's Vilnius event.

        

Havana tournament, Round 6: Janowski defeats Capablanca, takes sole lead; Marshall, Kupchik, Corzo tally victories

The course of the Havana international chess Masters' tournament took a most unexpected turn in yesterday's sixth round when veteran campaigner David Janowski of Paris inflicted a convincing defeat upon tourney leader José R. Capablanca, discomfiting the young Cuban's many admirers and supplanting him atop the score table as the event nears the halfway mark.  All other games likewise finished decisively, with Marshall defeating Blanco, Kupchik scoring against Chajes, and current Cuban Champion Corzo registering his first win in artistic style vs. Jaffe.

Janowski, as first player in a Queen's Pawn Game, displayed his finest form in besting his powerful opponent, displacing the Black King in the opening and later compelling Capablanca to station that piece on the rather exposed f6 square in an attempt to hold his threatened position.  The French representative, by means of some well-executed maneuvers with his Queen, masterfully exploited the weaknesses in Black's game, gaining first one pawn, then a second, at last bringing about a Knight endgame in which the Cuban's formidable defensive prowess could only delay, but not deny, the inevitable result.  With this victory Janowski assumes the lead in the tournament, a fair reward for the fighting chess he has displayed thus far:

Blanco,who chose the Four Knights' Game against United States Champion Marshall, seemed from the outset to strive only for the draw, readily exchanging pieces and creating no threats whatsoever against the opposing position.  Alas, as so often occurs in such circumstances, the player who seeks the draw finds a loss, and it was just this fate that befell Blanco, who lost first a pawn at the 24th move and then the game after a terrible oversight at the 33rd:

Kupchik and Chajes contested a remarkably eventful and vicissitudinous game, with the chessboard mayhem first breaking out when the latter, as second player in a Ruy Lopez, sacrificed a Bishop against White's castled position at the 13th move.  This speculative offer, most untypical of the steady Chajes, and perhaps better suited for a skittles or rapid transit encounter, soon proved ineffective, as White easily warded off the enemy attack and subsequently began to gain ground on his own.  Indeed, as pointed out by Sr. Capablanca, had Kupchik at his 26th turn advanced his a-pawn, preparing the deadly threat of 27.Ba4+, the battle might well have ended at once.  Kupchik's choice, 26.Qxe5, which appeared strong at first glance, in fact allowed Chajes to regain his lost piece with the surprise stroke 26...g3!, whereupon there followed a skirmish leading to a position in which Black, in possession of an extra pawn, held excellent winning chances.  Still, the reversals of fortune were not yet at an end, as Chajes, after having made good progress toward victory, began at the 45th move to play unaccountably weakly, first abandoning an open file with his Rook and two moves later blundering fatally with 47...h4??  After Kupchik's 48.Rf5+, Chajes, faced with the loss of his Rook after 48...Kd6 49.Ne8+, or checkmate after 48...Kxe4 49.Bc2, found himself compelled to resign.  Kupchik thus joins Marshall and Capablanca in joint 2nd-4th places with 4 points, one-half point shy of Janowski:

Cuban aficionados dispirited by the defeat of Capablanca could take solace from Corzo's fine victory over Jaffe, a Giuoco Piano in which their incumbent national Champion at last demonstrated his full strength, securing his first full point of the tourney and crowning a worthy effort with an attractive Queen sacrifice at the 29th move.  That Jaffe, whose position might well have justified immediate resignation, chose to play on, only to stumble into an unforced checkmate four moves later, is powerful evidence of the lingering after-effects of a surprise blow like the one landed by Corzo on his unsuspecting opponent:

Scores after 6 rounds: Janowski 4 1/2; Capablanca, Marshall, Kupchik 4; Jaffe, Blanco, Corzo 2, Chajes 1 1/2.

Today being a free day, the tourney will resume tomorrow, the 24th.    

Havana tournament, Round 5: Marshall, Janowski, Kupchik are victors; Capablanca retains lead

The fifth round of the Havana international chess Masters' tournament produced three decisive games, with David Janowski and Abraham Kupchik registering victories and United States Champion Frank J. Marshall convincingly defeating his Cuban counterpart Juan Corzo in only 17 moves.  Nevertheless, tourney leader José R. Capablanca, despite being  held to a draw by Oscar Chajes, still retains his position atop the scoring table, with a half-point margin over Janowski and a full point over Marshall and Kupchik.

Blanco and Janowski contested a Sicilian Defense which soon reached the endgame, the Queens being exchanged as early as the 8th move.  Janowski battled his opponent's two Knights with his cherished pair of Bishops, pieces for which he has long expressed a pronounced predilection.  The French representative appeared to enjoy a slight advantage through most of the encounter, and at last compelled his opponent's resignation at the 54th move after a difficult struggle:

Jaffe chose the Ruy Lopez against Kupchik and, by virtue of multiple displacements of his Bishop and Queen, netted a pawn in the opening, a decision that soon proved unwise, as the acquisition of the booty cost so much precious time that the second player, vigorously exploiting the chances offered him, had established a virtually winning position by the 20th move.  Soon thereafter a Knight endgame arose with Kupchik in possession of two sound extra pawns, and of whose outcome there could be no doubt.  Jaffe fought on to the bitter end, but in our opinion could well have spared himself at least a dozen moves at the finish, and the reader who glances at the final position may decide for himself whether the proper moment to resign had long since passed:

 

Marshall's game against Corzo, a battle of national Champions, proved a far more one-sided affair than expected, with the Cuban ace, as Black in a Queen's Gambit Declined, falling victim to a pretty bit of combinative play at the 15th move and then, obviously taken aback, blundering away his Queen two moves later:

 

Finally, Capablanca, playing Black in a Queen's Pawn Game, found it difficult to make headway against Chajes, despite holding the whip hand, if only lightly, through much of the contest.  The Cuban afterward was most complimentary of his opponent's defense, and demonstrated a trap avoided by Chajes whereby White appears to reach a winning pawn endgame, only to find the tables turned after a surprise rejoinder by Black.  The reader will find this most interesting variation added to the game score below:

 

Scores after 5 rounds: Capablanca 4; Janowski 3 1/2; Marshall, Kupchik 3; Jaffe, Blanco Chajes 1 1/2; Corzo 1.

The sixth round will be played today.