Thursday, March 21

Alekhine-Levitsky match, Game 10: Alekhine, with win, claims match 7-3

St. Petersburg: Alexander Alekhine defeated Stepan Levitsky in the tenth game of their match to claim victory in the contest by a score of 7 wins to 3, with no games drawn.  Alekhine concluded the duel as he had begun it, taking the last three games in succession.  Only in the middle phase of the match did Levitsky display his best form, winning games 4, 5, and 7, though the loser's play in several of the other encounters did him honor, despite the unfavorable result.  With this victory Alekhine reinforces his reputation as one of the strongest of the rising Russian players, and raises hopes and expectations for more successes to come.  He will surely be heard from again.

The tenth game was rather more-sided than most of those that preceded it, with Levitsky countering Alekhine's Vienna Opening in less than optimal fashion, exchanging his opponent's pieces at the expense of developing his own.  An error by Black at the 10th move allowed Alekhine to win a pawn, and thereafter the first player made steady progress, enjoying a three-pawn advantage in a Rook endgame by the time of Black's resignation at the 28th move.  We present the game, with notes by the winner, and we take this opportunity once again to thank the anonymous benefactor whose largesse allowed for the rapid procurement of the game scores and notes, and whose knowledge of the Russian language made possible their translation. 





No comments: