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One of Alexander Alekhine’s most notable qualities was instinct for an attack. Even in seemingly quiet, ordinary positions, Alekhine could sense a target and concoct a powerful attack.
IM Lawrence Trent has selected the most instructive Alexander Alekhine games for his chess24 course “My Favorite Alexander Alekhine Games”, of which this is a free preview.
In this game, the 4th World Champion takes on the 2nd, the uncompromising Emanuel Lasker. The game starts calmly enough, a Queen’s Gambit Declined with Lasker capturing 8…dxc4. This move allowed Lasker to put a Knight on d5 but also gave Alexander Alekhine an extra pawn in the center and let him exchange off his bad Bishop.
Lasker continued by trying to exchange off another pair of minor pieces – a good tactic if you have less space, as he did. Of course, Alekhine rightly refused but Lasker soon gives up his previously unmoved Bishop for a Knight.
Then came a surprise. On move 17, Lasker declined to exchange Queens and played …Qb6 instead. Incredibly, it proved to be the losing move, although no-one would believe it to look at the position after that move. All of a sudden, Alekhine’s pieces leapt forward, creating threats, winning tempi and maneuvering into ever more aggressive formations.
Bobby Fischer remarked about Alexander Alekhine, referring to this game:
Alekhine is a player I’ve never really understood. He always wanted a superior center; he manouevred his pieces toward the kingside, and around the 25th move, began to mate his opponent. He disliked exchanges, preferring to play with many pieces on the board. His play was fantastically complicated, more so than any player before or since. Alekhine once beat Lasker in about 23 moves; his pieces converged on the Kingside, and the game ended with a sudden death blow.
The finish to this game is a lesson in attacking efficiency and overloading your opponent with threats.
Enjoy the video and remember to check out the complete course here.