Die Partie von Lasker - Capablanca 1:0 in St. Petersburg. Speziell mit all den Kommentaren von Kasparov wirklich interessant:

Lasker,E - Capablanca,J [C68]
St Petersburg final St Petersburg, 1914
[Comments by Kasparov]

No story about Lasker's chess career is complete without the following famous game. The young Cuban genius, Capablanca, was playing easily and convincingly in this tournament, probably the strongest ever held until that time. Lasker, as usual, began quite slowly and, with just four rounds to go, he was trailing a full point behind Capablanca, whom he was desperately trying to catch. His last chance to fight for tournament victory was to beat the leader.

1.e4 e5 2.Sf3 Sc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.Lxc6 (!)
A very surprising choice. The Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez was a dangerous weapon in Lasker's hands. But nobody in the audience and amongst the participants believed that this quiet opening would work against Capablanca, whose excellent technique was already widely recognised. With the charming self-confidence of youth, José Raoul unfortunately shared this misconception and did not recognise Lasker's real intentions.

4...dxc6 5.d4 exd4 6.Dxd4 Dxd4 7.Sxd4
Now even the queens are off the board. Is this the way to play for a win in the decisive game?

7...Ld6 8.Sc3 Se7 9.0-0 0-0 10.f4 Te8
Later Dr Tarrasch suggested a better line: [10...f5 11.e5 Lc5 12.Le3 Lxd4 13.Lxd4 b6 and despite White's strong passed pawn Black has enough defensive resources. So strong was the impression of Lasker's original plan that the commentators tried to improve Black's play at the earliest possible stage! But Capablanca was right in his assessment: Black had little to worry about.]

11.Sb3 f6 12.f5!
Under the classical rules of the Steinitz positional school this move has to be damned. White gets a weak pawn on e4, Black a stronghold on e5, with a devaluation of White's pawn advantage on the kingside -- too many negative points for just one move. But Lasker's eagle eye had seen much further.

12...b6
and here [12...Ld7 13.Lf4 Tad8 was recommended by stern post-mortem analysts. But obviously the bishop is better placed on b7, where it attacks the pawn on e4]

13.Lf4 Lb7?
Now a serious mistake! In general Black should be happy to undouble his c-pawns, but here the pawn on d6 will become a permanent weakness. Necessary was [13...Lxf4! 14.Txf4 c5! 15.Td1 Lb7 16.Tf2 Tad8 17.Tfd2 (17.Txd8 Txd8 18.Td2 Txd2 19.Sxd2 Sc6 or...) 17...Txd2 18.Txd2 Sc6 19.Td7 Tc8 and after Ne5 Black is fine. This plan was recommended by Capablanca -- but alas, only after the game was over.]

14.Lxd6 cxd6 15.Sd4 Tad8?
Capablanca doesn't take White's plan seriously. The knight on e6 will be a bone in the throat. So ...

15...Bc8
... was obligatory. Maybe the Cuban was too proud to recognise his mistake so soon.

16.Se6 Td7 17.Tad1 Sc8 18.Tf2 b5 19.Tfd2 Tde7 20.b4 Kf7 21.a3 La8?
The question mark is deserved, not by the move, but for the idea to open the a file, which can be used effectively only by the white rooks. Of course Black has lost the strategical battle, but an exchange sacrifice [21...Txe6 22.fxe6+ Txe6 would have given him the best fighting chances.]

22.Kf2 Ta7 23.g4 h6 24.Td3 a5? 25.h4 axb4 26.axb4 Tae7
A sad retreat.

27.Kf3 Tg8 28.Kf4 g6 29.Tg3 g5+
The last move to be criticised by the annotators. But it's too late for good advice. [29...gxf5 doesn't offer any relief: 30.exf5 d5 31.g5! hxg5+ 32.hxg5 fxg5+ 33.Sxg5+ Kf8 34.f6 Ta7 35.Ke5! etc.]

30.Kf3 Sb6
A desperate try.

31.hxg5 hxg5 32.Th3!
Lasker continues to execute his plan without any diversions. [32.Txd6 would have given Black some extra breathing time. 32...Sc4 33.Td1 Th8]

32...Td7
The knight is chained to the b6 square. After [32...Sc4 33.Ta1 the combined invasion of the white rooks on the a and h files demolished Black's defence.]

33.Kg3
The final preparation.

33...Ke8 34.Tdh1 Lb7 35.e5!
[COLOR=teal]For 23 moves (after 12.f5) Black hasn't been able to prevent this pawn from going ahead!

35...dxe5 36.Se4 Sd5 37.S6c5 Lc8 38.Sxd7 Lxd7 39.Th7 Tf8 40.Ta1
Painful punishment for the mistake on move 24.

40...Kd8 41.Ta8+ Lc8 42.Sc5 1-0
and Black resigned, and the old chess wizard Lasker had become the winner of this historical contest. The psychological effect of this brilliant victory was long-lasting. A shaken Capablanca lost with white in the next round to Dr Tarrasch. And even seven years later, in his world championship match against Lasker, he never played 3...a6 in the Ruy Lopez!



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