Bogoljubow, Efim - Euwe, Max [A29]

Zandvoort (7), 1936

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 d5

This time black prefers to fight for the center from the start. This line leads to positions
similar to those in the Sicilian Defense - Dragon Variation but with colors reversed.
White hopes for an advantage since he is a tempo up.

4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nb6

This is almost forced if black intends to keep things under control, since black isn’t able
to keep his knight in the center.
After 5...Be6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0–0 Be7 8.d4 (here white exploits his slight advantage in
development and opens the game) 8…exd4 9.Nxd4 Nxc3
After 9...Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Nxc3 11.Qxc3 Bf6 12.Qb4 white simply wins the “b”
pawn.
10.bxc3 Nxd4 11.cxd4 c6 12.e4 white has the advantage. His strong center, space
advantage, and pressure on the queenside offer good chances to increase his advantage.

6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0–0 Be7 8.a4

White intends to gain space on the queenside by advancing the pawn further, but black
can easily defend, so it doesn’t gain much. However, at least after a7-a5, White obtains
the b5 square for the knight from where it sustains the d2-d4 advance.
Nowadays white prefers the line 8.d3 0–0 9.a3 which will be examined later.

8...a5
This is simple and good. (On many occasions the simple reply is best).

9.d3
But this move isn’t in accordance with the last one and allows black to reach a pleasant
position. Better would have been to head for a “d4” advance.
After 9.Nb5 0–0 10.d4 exd4 11.Nfxd4 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 c6 the game is roughly equal.

9...Be6
Black is simply getting his pieces out (which is the normal course of the game).
An interesting alternative is 9...0–0 10.Be3 Re8 11.Rc1 Bf8. The idea is to play “Bg4-
Nd4” which forces white to open the “e” file. After this black can press along the file
since he has placed his pieces (in advance) well for this.

10.b3
This move is too passive and allows black to get better prospects (due to his better control
over the center and a slight space advantage).
Better would have been 10.Be3 0–0 11.Rc1 Nd5 12.Nxd5 Bxd5 13.Nd2 Bxg2 14.Kxg2
Nd4 with an equal game.

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10...0–0 11.Bb2 f6
Black decides to play on the queenside. Therefore he firmly defends the “e5” pawn,
reducing the scope of white’s dark squares bishop, and leaves his light pieces for active
operations on the queenside.
If he had intended to play in the center (based on an “e4” advance) the proper play would
have been 11...f5 which leads after 12.Nb5 Bf6 13.Nd2 Rf7 to a complicated position.

12.Nb5
This move only helps black to rearrange his forces on better squares.
Better would have been 12.Nd2 Qd7 13.Nc4 Bb4 14.Na2
The tempting 14.Nxb6 is bad since after 14…cxb6 15.Nb5 Qf7 black wins the
“b3” pawn.
14...Bc5 leading to a roughly equal position.

12...Nb4
This is a good positional move. Black places his knight on a dark square (these are
white’s weak squares on the queenside), prepares to close the long diagonal (decreasing
the pressure of white’s light squares bishop), and will drive white’s active “b5” knight
back.

13.Rc1 c6 14.Na3
White knight heads to the “c4” square, closing the“a2-g8” diagonal.
Less accurate would have been 14.Nc3 since after 14…Qe8 (intending “Qf7” in order to
press on the “b3” pawn) 15.Ne4 Nd7 (taking control over the “c5” square), black has an
edge due to his annoying pressure on the queenside.

14...Qd7 15.Nc4
White can remain with a knight on “c4” by playing 15.Nd2 but after 15…Rfd8 16.Nac4
Nxc4 17.Nxc4 Ra6 black has an edge. He will play “b6-c5” (getting a position similar to
the “Maroczy Bind”) obtaining an edge due to his space advantage and white’s lack of
counter play.

15...Nxc4 16.bxc4
Worse would have been 16.dxc4 Qc7 since black has a long-term advantage due to the
weakness of white’s queenside dark squares.

16...Rfd8 17.Nd2 Qc7

The most appropriate idea was to play 17...Rab8 18.Re1 b5 leading to a complicated
position where black has the initiative. The idea of creating a passed pawn on the
queenside (based on a “b5” advance) was used later by black, but white had more than
enough time to prepare for it.

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18.Nb3
At this point the game is roughly equal. Still, black’s chances are to be preferred since he
has a slight space advantage that allows freer maneuvering. His main chances lie on the
queenside (associated with a “b5” advance). White decides to wait and maneuver his
pieces without any particular scope. This isn’t such a bad tactic since it does not create
any weakness. Still, it doesn’t disturb black at all. Therefore a dynamic approach looks
better. White obviously has no chance on the queenside, but he can turn his attention to
the kingside and center. At this point his worst-placed piece is the dark squares bishop
which hits the well-defended “e5” pawn. A good idea would have been to activate it with
the help of a “f4” advance.
After 18.Kh1 (removing the king from the “g1-a7” diagonal, since after “f4” this will be
weak) 18…Qb6 19.Ba1 Rd7 20.f4 exf4 21.gxf4 Na6 22.Ne4 Nc5 23.Nxc5 Bxc5 24.Rb1
Qc7 25.Qe1 the position is equal. Compared with the game, white has active possibilities
on the kingside that do not allow black to push harder on the queenside.

18...Qb6 19.Ba1 Rd7

Black too is playing without any particular plan since doubling the rooks on the “d” file
doesn’t help much. Here too he could concentrate on advancing “b5” with “Qa7-Rab8”.
Note that the tempting 19...Bg4 (threatening “Rxd3”) allows white to activate his forces
with the help of the unexpected 20.c5 which leads after 20…Qa7 21.Qd2 Be6 22.Qb2
Kh8 23.d4 (this is the point of a “c5” advance: now white can activate his bishops)
23…Bxb3 24.Qxb3 exd4 25.Qe6 Bxc5 26.Be4 to a complicated position were white has
good compensation for the missing pawn. (He has good prospects on the kingside since
all black’s pieces are stuck on the queenside.)

20.Nd2 Rad8 21.Qb3 Qa6 22.Rfd1 Qa7 23.Qb1 Rb8

After some maneuvers (without any particular idea), black decides to head for his only
idea (if he intends to improve the position): advancing “b5” in order to create a passed
pawn on the queenside. Still, this isn’t the best moment since white has a good
opportunity to activate his pieces.
Probably he should be satisfied with a “grandmaster draw” that arises after 23...Bc5
24.Ne4 Be7 25.Nd2

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24.Rf1
White is going ahead with his “wait and see” tactic, but misses a golden opportunity to
gain an advantage. The only way to activate the pieces is by undermining black’s center.
This can be achieved only with a “d4” or “f4” advance. Therefore at any move he should
check if such moves are working (mainly “d4” since it doesn’t weaken the king). With
his last move, black released the pressure on the “d” file. Since all white’s pieces are on
central squares, the “d4” advance should work (from a general point of view), therefore
white should check it.
After 24.d4 exd4 25.Qe4 (this is the point of white’s previous move: on this and the next
move he takes advantage of black’s misplaced central pieces) 25…Bf7
After 25...Kf7 26.Qxh7 white has a strong initiative. (Black’s king is weak and his
pieces are on queenside.)
26.Bh3 Rc7 (otherwise black loses the bishop or an exchange) 27.Bxd4 Bc5 28.Bxc5
Qxc5 29.Qf4 Qe5
Trying to hold on to the pawn structure with 29...Qe7 isn’t that great since after
30.Ne4 with “Nd6” and “c5” to come white has strong pressure.
30.Qxe5 fxe5 31.Ne4 white has a slight advantage in the endgame since he controls the
only open file, has his pieces active, and blocks black’s queenside pawns.

24...Rdd8 25.Rc3 b5
Finally, black manages to make this advance which allows him to improve his position.
Now he can create a passed pawn on the queenside which may become extremely
dangerous since all black’s pieces are ready to support it.

26.Qd1
This is the best policy; white waits and maintains the tension on the queenside. This
doesn’t allow black to easily create a passed pawn that can advance further. (Black has to
do some maneuvers which allow white to improve his defense.)
Releasing the tension at once with 26.cxb5 is in black’s interest since after 26…cxb5
27.axb5 Rxb5 28.Nc4 a4 black manages to get his passed pawn, which is difficult to keep
from advancing further.

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26...Na2 27.Rc2
Worse is 27.Rb3 since after 27…bxc4 28.Rxb8 Qxb8 white simply loses a pawn (because
of the pin along the “d” file) gaining nothing in return.

27...Nb4 28.Rc1 Na2 29.Rc2

Of course he is more than happy to repeat moves since black holds the initiative.

29….Nb4 30.Rc1 Qa6

But black isn’t that happy and is rightly pushing forward. Still, making further progress
isn’t that easy.
For example after 30...Qd7 31.Re1
Bad is 31.Rb1 since after 31… bxc4 32.Nxc4 Bxc4 33.dxc4 black has the
unexpected 33…Qg4 stroke that allows him to win a pawn (because he doesn’t
have access to the “c2” square, white cannot defend both the “c4” and “e2”
pawns).
31...Rdc8 32.Rb1 and the game remains complicated.

31.Rc3 Bf8 32.Rc1 Qa7 33.Rc3 Bc5

Since there isn’t much to do, black tries to improve his piece’s position.

34.axb5
White cannot resist the pressure and releases the tension on the queenside/ Although it
proves to be an inspired decision in the game since black blunders later on, this only
helps black since he can obtain the desired passed pawn, which will not be blocked.
Better would have been to maintain the tension with 34.Rc1 since after 34…Bd4 (this
was black’s idea of the previous move) 35.Bxd4 exd4 36.cxb5 cxb5 37.axb5 Rxb5
38.Qa4 white keeps the pawn under control and has some counter play along the “c” file.
The game is complicated yet roughly equal.

34...cxb5 35.cxb5

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35…Na2
The idea behind this move is a good one; black intends to ensure that he can advance the
“a” pawn further. He didn’t take the pawn at once since white can play “Qa4” followed
by “Rfc1”. After this, the pawn cannot easily advance and white gets counter play on the
“c” file. Therefore, black intends to force a “Rc2” move, since afterwards white’s queen
cannot reach the “a4” square, but sadly he missed quite a simple tactical possibility. Still,
the idea behind black’s move is correct. White’s “b” pawn soon falls (he can’t defend it),
therefore advancing the “a” pawn at once strongly suggests itself.
After 35...a4 36.b6 (since the pawn is lost anyway, white tries to gain access to the “a3”
square in order to keep the pawn under control) 36…Bxb6 37.Ra3 Bd7 black has the
advantage. Since white lacks counter play, black can concentrate on advancing the “a”
pawn further.

36.Rc2 Rxb5
This is a blunder that turns around the assessment of the game, and white gets a decisive
advantage with a simple tactical trick.
Here too it wasn’t too late for 36...a4 since after 37.Ne4 Be7 38.Rd2 Qa5 39.d4 exd4
40.Rxd4 Rxd4 41.Qxd4 Qxb5 black is better, although white has some counter play on
the kingside since he has managed to open the game.

37.Rxa2 Bxa2 38.Qa4

This is the point of white’s previous moves. He will remain with two pieces for a rook,
but more important is that he has gained black’s light squares bishops which gives him
good attacking chances on black’s weakened light squares.

38…Rdb8
Neither does 38...Rbb8 39.Qxa2+ Kh8 40.Bc6 Rb6 41.Ba4 Bd4 42.Bxd4 exd4 43.Rc1
give black many chances. The passed pawn is firmly blocked and black has weaknesses
(the “d4” pawn and light squares).

39.Qxa2+ Kh8 40.Bc6

White goes in the wrong direction (he intends to block the pawn), but happily for him,
black cannot improve his defense to take advantage of white’s loss of time with his
pointless idea.
Better would have been to focus on the attack since after 40.Be4 Bd4 41.Bxd4 exd4
42.Qe6 white already has strong threats (Rc1,Qh3) while black’s pawn is far behind.

40...R5b6 41.Ba4 Bd4

This is a good decision since the bishop is blocking the pawns path, but not sufficient to
create counter play.

42.Bxd4 exd4 43.Nc4 Rb4 44.Bc6

White understands that he cannot make any progress with the bishop where it was, so it
goes back to the kingside.

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44…Qc7
Advancing the pawn 44...a4 doesn’t achieve anything since after 45.Bf3 g6 46.Kg2 Kg7
47.Rc1 the pawn cannot advance further and white can improve his position by
advancing the “h” pawn and then heading for a decisive attack.

45.Bf3
White could play 45.Nxa5 Rb2 46.Qa4 Rxe2 47.Bf3 Ree8 48.Nc6, but here black has
some (very slim) chances since all his pieces will only defend the king. Instead he
correctly assesses that the “a” pawn is more of a weakness than dangerous.

45...a4 46.Kg2 h6
This move only helps white since it further weakens the light squares, but black’s
position is too bad to be saved.
For example after 46...Qc5 47.Rc1 Qc7 48.h4 or 46...g6 47.Rc1 Kg7 48.Qa3, black
doesn’t have a chance since white can strengthen his position (before heading for the
final attack) and black only can wait with no opportunity for counter play.

47.h4
White takes advantage of black’s previous move and intends to advance the pawn further,
making sure that the light squares will remain weak.

47…Qd7 48.h5 Rb3 49.Ra1 R8b4

After 49...R3b4 50.Na5 Rc8 51.Qa3 Qd6 52.Rb1 Rb6 53.Qxd6 Rxd6 54.Ra1 white wins
“a” pawn entering into an easily won endgame.

50.Qd2 Qc7
Slightly better would have been to trade a pair of rooks (after this white has to keep an
eye on the “a” pawn with the queen), but this would hardly be enough since after
50...Rb1 51.Rxb1 Rxb1 52.Qa5 Rb8 53.Be4 the king is too weak.

51.Qf4 Qd7
In the endgame that arises after 51...Qxf4 52.gxf4 Rb1 53.Ra2
Trading the rooks would have been a huge mistake since after 53.Rxb1 Rxb1
black’s “a” pawn costs white a piece.
53...Kg8 54.Bc6 white wins the “a” pawn (he has a decisive advantage).

52.Qe4
An immediate win could be obtained after 52.Ne5 fxe5 53.Qf8+ Kh7 54.Be4+ and black
is mated.

52...Rb1
Covering 8th rank with 52...Rb8 allows white to enter after 53.Qc6 Qxc6 54.Bxc6 into the
already mentioned won endgame.

53.Rxb1
With the queens on the board the rooks can be trade since white has a decisive attack.

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53…Rxb1 54.Qa8+ Kh7 55.Ne5 Qc7 56.Qe8
White can easily win also with 56.Be4+ f5 57.Bxf5+ g6 58.Qe8 since black has to give
up his queen in order to avoid mate.

56...fxe5 57.Qf8
This wins too, but also after 57.Be4+ g6 58.Qxg6+ Kh8 59.Qxh6+ Kg8 60.Bd5+ black is
defenseless.

57...Rb6 58.Bd5 Re6 59.Qf5+

Since he loses the rook and is still under a decisive attack, black resigned.

1–0