A Rook Down Against a King With Nowhere to Hide
Corzo won a rook and the engine says he was close to winning for seven moves. He also had a king wit…
The Greek Gift That Was Not Sound, and Won Anyway
Capablanca played the classic bishop sacrifice on h7 and the engine says it was not even his best mo…
Attack Where the Bad Bishop Cannot Help!
Black's light-squared bishop ended up on a8 watching the game. Capablanca attacked the other side of…
The Check Janowski Filed Under the Wrong Heading
Janowski had a check that kept his attack alive and never played it, because he had already decided …
Let Him Eat the Pawns: Capablanca at San Sebastian
Bernstein grabs on a2 and c2 while Capablanca builds on the kingside. For a few moves the engine say…
PROVENTION ! Take the Square Away Before the Knight Gets There
Marshall's whole attack rested on one square, h5. Capablanca survived it by kicking the knight away,…
The Knight on f5 That Marshall Could Never Chase
Capablanca puts a knight on f5 and spends the rest of the game building around it. Marshall cannot k…
Let the Pawn Structure Pick the Plan
Capablanca beat Marshall eight to one in their 1909 match without studying openings. This game shows…
Two Questions to Ask When You Are Winning
Most won games are thrown away by trading at random. A pawn up against two opponents in consultation…
The Pawn the Rook Could Not Leave: Capablanca's Advanced Passed pawn
Capablanca out calculates Fox in the complications. He comes out an exchange up and then rolls a paw…
The Attack That Should Not Have Worked: Capablanca's Pawn Storm
Capablanca throws his queenside pawns at a castled king and the engine says the attack is not sound.…
Count Tempi, Not Material: Capablanca Mates Two Pieces Down
Kings castled on opposite wings turn a game into a race. Raubitschek went material hunting with his …
Hunt the Uncastled King: Capablanca at Twelve Years Old
The champion of Cuba chose a gambit to punish a boy with no opening theory. Instead he lost the righ…
Rook Versus Two Pieces: How Carlsen Rescued a Lost Endgame
Anand sacrificed the exchange and had Carlsen lost on the board and down to his last seconds. Carlse…
The Long-Range Pair: How Capablanca Won a Pawn Down
Capablanca dropped a pawn on purpose. To let a long range bishop and rooks on the seventh outclass a…
The Power of the Longest Diagonal: A Bishop That Attacks and Defends
A fianchettoed bishop doing two jobs at once. Protecting its own king and raking the length of the b…
Three to Attack a King: When the King Joins the Attack
How many pieces do you need to mate a king? Against Chajes, Capablanca shows the answer is surprisin…
The Castling Race: Push Pawns, Count Tempi, Win
Kings on opposite wings turn a game into a race. Capablanca shows how to win it: push your pawns, co…
Developed Is Not Active: Piece Activity vs Development
Both sides finish developing, but only one side's pieces actually do anything. Capablanca shows the …
The Square in Front: How to Play Against an Isolated Pawn
The isolated pawn is not won by attacking it. It is won by owning the square in front of it, and Cap…
How to convert like Capablanca !
Capablanca wins the exchange early and then shows the technique: when you are ahead, material is a r…
Take the Outpost: How Capablanca Won by Owning One Square
A hole on d5, a knight that can never be chased, and a whole game built on owning a single square.
Whoever Attacks Wins: How Opposite-Coloured Bishops Beat Capablanca
The last loss Capablanca ever published: with opposite-coloured bishops and queens on, the attacker …