Understanding before Moving 143: Chess history in a nutshell (25)

by ChessBase
9/17/2023 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 143rd instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues his series "Chess history in a nutshell" and continues to take a look at the ideas and legacy of José Raúl Capablanca. | Photo: Pascal Simon

Key Concepts of Chess - Pawn Structures Vol.1 and 2 Key Concepts of Chess - Pawn Structures Vol.1 and 2

In this two-part course the emphasis will be on typical pawn-structures.

More...

José Raúl Capablanca (3)

To say that Capablanca was famous for his endgame technique is an understatement. In his book "Fischer and his predecessors" Dutch world champion Max Euwe compares Fischer with a number of world champions, and comparing Capablanca and Fischer he concludes:

"In our comparison between Capablanca and Fischer we have seen how both excel in strategy. It is impossible to say which of the two is the greater in this respect. In general, Capablanca's style is clear, while he had the power to win almost equal seemingly boring positions. Fischer, for his part, has fine positional judgement, boundless energy and great fighting spirit."

There is little to add here, except that in Capablanca's style we also see characteristics of Magnus Carlsen's endgame handling! So, let's have a look at Capablanca's virtuoso endgame technique and his great positional skills.

The diagram below shows a position from the 29th game of the World Championship match Capablanca vs Alekhine in Buenos Aires 1927.

Black has just made a mistake with 55...Kf6-g5? His intention was clear: he wanted to exchange as many pawns as possible with ...f7-f5. With what wonderful move did Capablanca now seize his chance to win this endgame?

Master Class Vol. 12: Viswanathan Anand

This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors how to successfully organise your games strategically, and how to keep your opponent permanently under pressure.

This week’s show (for Premium Members only)

Links

More by Herman Grooten and "Understanding before Moving"...


Reports about chess: tournaments, championships, portraits, interviews, World Championships, product launches and more.