AVRO 1938, Round 5: Fine profits from his rivals’ draws

by Klaus Besenthal
6/7/2020 – At the AVRO tournament in the Netherlands, the lead of the young American Reuben Fine over his closest rivals has increased further. Now that about a third of the games have been played, Fine has collected 4½ points, while World Champions Alexander Alekhine and Paul Keres are lagging behind with 3 points apiece in second place. In round five, Fine was the only one to score a win, while the game between Alekhine and Keres was drawn. | Pictured: Studios of the broadcasting company "AVRO" in Hilversum
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AVRO 1938 - Round 5

In his game against Salo Flohr, Reuben Fine scored a quick attacking victory with the white pieces:

 
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1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Ne7 6.Nf3 Nf5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Bd3 Nh4 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Re1 h6 11.Na4 Bf8 12.Rc1
Black already has reasons to be worried: his king is still stuck in the middle of the board, while White could effectively play c2-c4 at any point. 12...Bd7 Here 12...Nxf3+! would have been more precise. After 13.Qxf3 Bd7 White would have needed to first deal with the unprotected knight on a4. 13.Nxh4 Qxh4 14.c4! Now the knight on a4 is protected, so this move is possible. dxc4 14...Nb4 15.Be2 d4 was more obstinate. 16.a3 would have been responded by d3 17.axb4 dxe2 18.Rxe2 Rd8 This was the alternative, although here White still has an advantage. 15.Rxc4 Qd8 Black could have avoided the queen's trip to h4 and back had he captured on f3 himself. 16.Qh5! White takes over the space that was left behind. Ne7?! This doesn't look good anymore. 17.Rd4 The easiest thing for White to do right now was 17.Nc5! winning. For example: g6 18.Nxb7! 17...g6 18.Qf3 Qc7 19.Nc3 Nf5 20.Nb5 Qb6 21.Rxd7 Kxd7
22.g4 White is not completely accurate. 22.Ba5! would have won by force: Qc6 23.Qd1 Ke7 24.Bb4+ Ke8 25.Nc7+ Qxc7 26.Bb5+ 22...Nh4? It would have been better to start with 22...Qc6! and Black can put up more resistance. 23.Qxf7+ Be7 24.Bb4 Rae8 25.Bxe7 Rxe7 26.Qf6 The situation is hopeless for Black. a6 27.Rd1 axb5 28.Be4+ 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Fine,R-Flohr,S-1–01938AVRO5

Reuben Fine

Reuben Fine has been dominant at the tournament in the Netherlands

World Champion Alexander Alekhine had chances to beat Paul Keres, but he did not make the most of them — until they finally slipped away from him:

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 d5 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Bd3 c5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.a3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 b6 10.a4 cxd4 11.cxd5 Qxd5 12.exd4 Bb7 13.Re1 Rfd8 14.Bg5 Rac8 15.Qd2 Ne7 16.a5 Ng6 17.axb6 axb6 18.h4 Rd7
White has some advantage, because not only does he own the pair of bishops, but he can also move his pawn duo in the centre (and drive the black queen from her beautiful spot on d5). 19.Ra7 It would have been consistent to play 19.c4! Qd6 20.d5! and capturing with exd5? is bad due to 21.Bf5 19...Bc6 20.Rxd7 Bxd7
21.Ne5 Here, again 21.c4! 21...Ne8 A better defence was 21...Bc6! and after 22.Nxc6 Qxc6 the strong white knight would have been traded anyway. 22.c4! Finally Alekhine plays this move, which gives him a clear advantage. Qb7 23.Nxd7 Qxd7 24.h5 Nf8
25.d5 It looks rather obvious that after 25.h6! Ng6 26.Qc3 the weakened black king's position would have been difficult to defend in the long run. 25...exd5 26.cxd5 h6! Now the white advantage is almost gone. 27.Be7 Nd6 28.Re5 Nc4 29.Bxc4 Rxc4 30.Bxf8 Kxf8 31.d6 Rc6 32.Rd5 f6 33.Rd3 Rc8 34.Qb4 b5 35.Rd5 Rd8 36.g3 Kf7 37.Kh2 Qe6 38.Qd4 Rd7 39.Qd3 b4 40.Rd4 Rd8 41.Qg6+ Kf8 42.Qh7 Kf7 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Alekhine,A-Keres,P-½–½1938AVRO5

Alexander Alekhine

Against Keres, Alekhine was not as determined as he usually is over the board

The game between Reshevsky and Capablanca was without tension. Reshevsky was a pawn up in the rook ending, but he could not convert it into a full point.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2 c5 8.dxc5 Nc6 9.Nf3 Qa5+ 10.Nd2 Nxd2 11.Bxd2 Qxc5 12.e3 dxc4 13.Qxc4 Qxc4 14.Bxc4 Bd7 15.Bc3 f6 16.f4 Rc8 17.Bb3 Ke7 18.Kf2 Be8 19.e4 Bf7 20.Rad1 Rhd8 21.e5 fxe5 22.fxe5 Bh5 23.Rd6 Rxd6 24.exd6+ Kxd6 25.Bxg7 e5 26.Rc1 Bg4 27.Bh6 Be6 28.Bc2 Rg8 29.h3 Nd4 30.Bd3 Bf5 31.Bxf5 Nxf5 32.Bd2 h5 33.Bb4+ Kd5 34.Rc5+ Ke4 35.Bc3 Re8 36.g4 hxg4 37.hxg4 Nd6 38.Rc7 Kf4 39.Bb4 Ne4+ 40.Ke2 Ng3+ 41.Ke1 b5 42.Rxa7 Kxg4 43.Rb7 e4 44.Rxb5 Kf3 45.Bd6 Rh8 46.Bxg3 Rh1+ 47.Kd2 e3+ 48.Kc2 Kxg3 49.Kd3 Kf4 50.Rb8 Rd1+ 51.Ke2 Rd2+ 52.Ke1 Kf3 53.Rf8+ Ke4 54.b4 Ra2 55.Re8+ Kf3 56.Rf8+ Ke4 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Reshevsky,S-Capablanca,J-½–½1938E37AVRO5

José Raúl Capablanca

José Raúl Capablanca, Alekhine's predecessor as World Champion, has now noticeably passed his zenith — he has drawn all his games so far

In the game between Botvinnik and Euwe, after forty moves a position was reached in which neither player could have moved anything without making concessions:

 
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1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.b3 Nf6 4.Bb2 Be7 5.e3 c5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 Nc6 9.d4 b6 10.Nc3 Bb7 11.Rc1 Ne4 12.dxc5 Nxc3 13.Bxc3 bxc5 14.Qd2 Qd6 15.Rfd1 Rad8 16.Bf1 Qh6 17.g3 Bc8 18.Ne5 Nxe5 19.Bxe5 Bg4 20.Be2 Qh5 21.Bxg4 Qxe5 22.Qe2 Qd6 23.Bf5 Qb6 24.Qf3 g6 25.Bb1 d4 26.e4 a5 27.Rc4 Qd6 28.Bd3 Rb8 29.Rc2 Rb4 30.Bc4 a4 31.Re2 Qf6 32.Qxf6 Bxf6 33.Rd3 Kg7 34.Kg2 Be7 35.e5 Rfb8 36.Rf3 Rf8 37.Rd3 Rfb8 38.Rf3 Rf8 39.h3 Rb7 40.Rd3 axb3 41.axb3 Ra7 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Botvinnik,M-Euwe,M-½–½1938A13AVRO5

Max Euwe

Mathematician Max Euwe was born in Amsterdam in 1901 — after becoming World Champion in 1935, chess became extraordinarily popular in the Netherlands, despite Alekhine regaining the title only two years later 

Results of Round 5

S. Reshevsky ½-½ J.R. Capablanca
R. Fine 1-0 S. Flohr
M. Botvinnik ½-½ M. Euwe
A. Alekhine ½-½ P. Keres

Standings after Round 5

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Games

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.g3 c5
5.d5N Predecessor: 5.Nf3 Ne4 6.Qc2 f5 7.Bg2 Nc6 8.e3 0-0 9.0-0 Bxc3 10.bxc3 b6 11.Nd2 d5 12.cxd5 exd5 13.Ba3 Qe7 0-1 (37) Reilly,B-Stahlberg,G Ostend 1936 5...Ne4
Threatens to win with ...Qf6. 6.Bd2 E20: Nimzo-Indian: 4 g3 and 4 f3. Bxc3 7.Bxc3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 exd5 9.cxd5 d6 10.Nf3 0-0 11.Bg2 Nd7 12.0-0 Nf6 13.Nd2 Re8 14.e4 b5 15.Re1 Rb8 16.a3 Rb7 17.c4 a6 18.Bf1 Bd7 19.f3 Qc7 20.Qc2 Re7 21.Nb3 a5 22.cxb5 Bxb5 23.Qc3 Bxf1 24.Rxf1 Rb5 25.Rab1 Qb8 26.Nd2 Reb7! 27.Rxb5 Rxb5 28.Nc4 a4 29.e5 dxe5 30.d6 Rb1 31.Qxe5 Rxf1+ 32.Kxf1 Qb3 33.Qe2 h6 34.Kg2 Qc3 35.Ne3 g6 Don't blunder 35...Qxa3? 36.Ng4+- 36.Ng4 Kg7?       36...Nxg4= 37.fxg4 37.d7 Ne3+ 38.Kf2 Qd4= 37...Qd4 37.Nxf6+- Qxf6       Endgame KQ-KQ 38.Qd1? 38.d7 Qd4 39.Qe8 38...Qd8? 38...Qb2+ was worth a try. 39.Kg1 Qb3 39.d7 c4 40.Qxa4? 40.Qd6+- has better winning chances. f5 41.Qc6 40...c3± 41.Qc6 c2 42.Qc3+ Kh7 43.Qxc2 Qxd7
44.Qa2! Kg8 45.a4       a5 is the strong threat. Qc6 46.a5 Strongly threatening a6. Qa6 47.g4 g5! 48.Kf2 Qd6 49.Kf1! aiming for a6. Qa6+ 50.Kg2 Kg7 51.Qb2+ Kg8 52.Qb8+ Kg7 53.Qe5+ Kg8 54.Kf2 Black must now prevent Qb8+. Qa7+ 55.Ke2 Qa6+ 56.Kd2 Qc4 57.Qf5 White should try 57.Qc3± Qf4+ 58.Kd1 57...Qd4+ The position is equal. 58.Ke2 Qb2+! 59.Kd3 Hoping for Qc8+. Qb3+ 60.Ke2 Qb2+ Black defended with fortune. Accuracy: White = 81%, Black = 90%. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Alekhine,A2754Reshevsky,S2745½–½1938E20AVRO1
Fine,R2737Botvinnik,M27631–01938C17AVRO1
Flohr,S2727Capablanca,J2732½–½1938D19AVRO1
Euwe,M2716Keres,P2718½–½1938A84AVRO1
Reshevsky,S2745Fine,R27370–11938E02AVRO2
Capablanca,J2732Alekhine,A2754½–½1938E17AVRO2
Keres,P2718Botvinnik,M2763½–½1938E17AVRO2
Euwe,M2716Flohr,S27271–01938E11AVRO2
Botvinnik,M2763Reshevsky,S27451–01938A25AVRO3
Alekhine,A2754Euwe,M27161–01938D13AVRO3
Fine,R2737Capablanca,J2732½–½1938C17AVRO3
Flohr,S2727Keres,P2718½–½1938E12AVRO3
Capablanca,J2732Botvinnik,M2763½–½1938D93AVRO4
Flohr,S2727Alekhine,A2754½–½1938E16AVRO4
Keres,P2718Reshevsky,S27451–01938C79AVRO4
Euwe,M2716Fine,R27370–11938D43AVRO4
Botvinnik,M2763Euwe,M2716½–½1938A13AVRO5
Alekhine,A2754Keres,P2718½–½1938E58AVRO5
Reshevsky,S2745Capablanca,J2732½–½1938E37AVRO5
Fine,R2737Flohr,S27271–01938C17AVRO5
Alekhine,A2754Fine,R27370–11938C83AVRO6
Flohr,S2727Botvinnik,M2763½–½1938D84AVRO6
Keres,P2718Capablanca,J27321–01938C09AVRO6
Euwe,M2716Reshevsky,S27450–11938D70AVRO6
Botvinnik,M2763Alekhine,A27541–01938D41AVRO7
Reshevsky,S2745Flohr,S27271–01938D95AVRO7
Fine,R2737Keres,P27180–11938C86AVRO7
Capablanca,J2732Euwe,M27161–01938E34AVRO7
Botvinnik,M2763Fine,R2737½–½1938C48AVRO8
Reshevsky,S2745Alekhine,A2754½–½1938E43AVRO8
Capablanca,J2732Flohr,S27271–01938D83AVRO8
Keres,P2718Euwe,M2716½–½1938A12AVRO8
Botvinnik,M2763Keres,P2718½–½1938E29AVRO9
Alekhine,A2754Capablanca,J27321–01938C06AVRO9
Fine,R2737Reshevsky,S27450–11938C97AVRO9
Flohr,S2727Euwe,M2716½–½1938E02AVRO9
Reshevsky,S2745Botvinnik,M2763½–½1938E46AVRO10
Capablanca,J2732Fine,R2737½–½1938E34AVRO10
Keres,P2718Flohr,S2727½–½1938B15AVRO10
Euwe,M2716Alekhine,A2754½–½1938E15AVRO10
Botvinnik,M2763Capablanca,J27321–01938E49AVRO11
Alekhine,A2754Flohr,S27271–01938C90AVRO11
Reshevsky,S2745Keres,P2718½–½1938E47AVRO11
Fine,R2737Euwe,M27160–11938D39AVRO11
Capablanca,J2732Reshevsky,S2745½–½1938D83AVRO12
Flohr,S2727Fine,R2737½–½1938E02AVRO12
Keres,P2718Alekhine,A2754½–½1938B14AVRO12
Euwe,M2716Botvinnik,M27631–01938D96AVRO12
Botvinnik,M2763Flohr,S2727½–½1938D96AVRO13
Reshevsky,S2745Euwe,M2716½–½1938D54AVRO13
Fine,R2737Alekhine,A27541–01938C76AVRO13
Capablanca,J2732Keres,P2718½–½1938E42AVRO13
Alekhine,A2754Botvinnik,M2763½–½1938E19AVRO14
Flohr,S2727Reshevsky,S2745½–½1938E34AVRO14
Keres,P2718Fine,R2737½–½1938C83AVRO14
Euwe,M2716Capablanca,J27321–01938E18AVRO14

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Klaus Besenthal is computer scientist, has followed and still follows the chess scene avidly since 1972 and since then has also regularly played in tournaments.

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