New York 1924, Round 13: Five wins, no draws

Uncompromising chess

In round 12 former World Champion Dr. Emanuel Lasker was (very) close to a defeat against Dawid Janowsky after mishandling the middlegame but against Bogoljubow Lasker impressed again. Lasker was playing with White, and when it seemed that Bogoljubow was getting good counterplay in a Sicilian the doctor stopped him with a positional pawn sacrifice that forced Bogoljubow to defend a difficult position. Lasker continued energetically to reach a won endgame which he finally converted though missing a couple of shorter wins.

In the first 12 rounds of the tournament Edward Lasker spoilt a number of promising positions but against Savielly Tartakower he finally won after Tartakower took a pawn he should not have taken.

Edward Lasker later revealed his admiration for Tartakower, and how Tartakower complimented him after the game in typical fashion:

After resigning that game, Tartakower said in a very serious tone, "I am going to complain about you to the tournament committee. They should never have invited you to play in this tournament." I was quite perplexed and asked "Why? What reason can you give them?" And he answered, this time smiling a little, "You are much too strong a player."

Among my young opponents in New York I liked Tartakower best. His many-sided interests much impressed me, and I admired his knowledge of languages. He was born in Russia in 1887, but escaped to Vienna after his parents were murdered. He became an Austrian citizen, completed his school studies in Geneva, and obtained his doctorate in law at the University of Vienna. The Austrian capital had probably more budding chess masters in the first decade of this century than any other place in the world, and in this atmosphere Tartakower, studying chess as thoroughly as law, gained the master title when he was only 19 years old.

He became the most prolific writer on the game, and it was he who propagandized "hypermodern chess." The engaging wit in Tartakower's writings captivated his readers, of whom I was one and we enjoyed the biting aphorisms with which he sometimes spiced his criticism of contemporary players, particularly when he included himself.

Before the round Richard Reti and Alexander Alekhine were sharing second and third place with 7.0/11 each, and this made their encounter in round 13 crucial. But Alekhine, who was playing with Black, had a bad day: after seizing the initiative with energetic play he miscalculated and gave Reti an easy win.

World Champion José Raúl Capablanca once again impressed with the ease of his play. Capablanca had Black against Geza Maroczy and outplayed his opponent right from the opening.

Frank Marshall and Dawid Janowsky played a tactical game in which Marshall calculated better.

Results of round 13

Ed. Lasker 1-0 S. Tartakower
R. Reti 1-0 A. Alekhine
F. Marshall 1-0 D. Janowsky
Em. Lasker 1-0 Efim Bogoljubow
G. Maroczy 0-1 J.R. Capablanca

Bye: Frederick Yates

Standings after round 13

Games

Links

• World class tournament in New York about to start
• Round 1: Alekhine starts with win against Yates
• Round 2: Alekhine wins with the Alekhine
• Round 3: Lasker beats Alekhine!
• Round 4: Emanuel Lasker wins again
• Round 5: Capablanca loses against Reti
• Round 6: Lasker and Lasker play remarkable draw
• Round 7: Strong bishops, strong knights and a modern game
• Round 8: Lasker keeps the tempo high
• Round 9: Capablanca convinces, Lasker is lucky
• Round 10: Lasker crushes Reti
• Round 11: Lasker leads at halftime
• Round 12: Lasker wins after stubborn defense